UFC Vegas 72 Gambling Preview: Can Ricky Simon keep rolling over Song Yadong?

Another week, another UFC card — and as has become the norm these days, it’s not a particularly good one. UFC Vegas 72 is headlined by a fun matchup between Song Yadong and Ricky Simon, but the rest of the card leaves plenty to be desired. Still, the best way to spice up an underwhelming card is to lay some action on it, so let’s try to add some fun to the festivities this weekend with a few bets for UFC Vegas 72.

As always, all odds are courtesy of our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Straight Bets

Ricky Simon, -115

Look, Song Yadong is awesome. He’s got explosive power, decent grappling, and he’s still super young. But Simon is ROLLING right now. He’s won five in a row, he’s looked dramatically improved each time out, and most importantly, he’s a supreme athlete. Just go watch his most recent fight against Jack Shore. Shore is a very good fighter and Simon looks like he’s playing a different sport. Athleticism is a cheat code in MMA, and while Song is a fair athlete himself, the speed and power Simon brings with his takedowns and grappling should be enough to get him the win this weekend.

Cody Brundage, +195

If this one goes to the mat, it’s all over. Rodolfo Vieira is a 58-time world champion grappler or something ridiculous like that. The man is sick on the ground. He’s also at least vaguely competent on his feet. The problem is, Vieira simply does not have the cardio necessary to compete at this level. If he cannot find an early takedown and submission, he falters — and Brundage, for his many faults, is a decent wrestler. I expect to see the ol’ Chuck Liddell game plan here, and if Brundage can simply make it out of the first, he can start picking up the pace and outworking a fading Vieira.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Prop Bets

Caio Borralho by Submission, +120

In his three UFC fights thus far, Borralho has been in the co-main event twice, winning both but unanimous decision. That’s going to change this week though as Mr. Co-Main Event finally secures his first finish inside the octagon.

Borralho is a very solid BJJ practitioner — who once grappled to overtime with Jailton Almeida — but he’s faced a string of guys in the UFC who were not looking to get finished. Michal Oleksiejczuk is not that dude. Oleksiejczuk has only gone to three decisions in 10 UFC fights, and three of his five career losses have come by submission. Oleksiejczuk is going to throw the kitchen sink at Borralho, and in so doing, he will open himself up for the submission.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Parlay of the Week

Caio Borralho, -365 + Martin Buday -110

If you’ve been reading this column for any length of time, you’ll know that there are very few things I like more than a gimmick parlay, and this one may just be my masterpiece, because at UFC Vegas 51, something unprecedented happened: Two fighters won Technical Decisions on the same card. Technical decisions are incredibly rare in MMA, much less two of them happening on the same night in the UFC. Those two men? Borralho, who beat Gadzhi Omargadzhiev, and Buday, who beat Chris Barnett. In both instances, the winning fighter committed a foul in the final round, but instead of getting disqualified, referee Dan Miragliotta simply stopped the bout and sent them to the judges. So, with both guys now once again fighting on the same card, I’m teaming them up for the Cheaters Always Win Parlay.

Parlay these two bets together for +143 odds.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Long Shot of the Week

Cody Brundage by Submission, +1400

Yes, I know I just talked about how Vieira is a multiple-time world champion in BJJ, but as the old saying goes, fatigue makes cowards of us all. Alexander Hernandez submitted Vieira by simply tiring him out and then catching him in a guillotine. I’m already predicting fatigue to be a major factor in Brundage’s favor here, so might as well just commit to the bit, particularly at these long odds.

Wrap Up

Unfortunate week last week. We finished down but if Matthew Semelsberger wins the decision (like I think he deserved), it would’ve been a cash. Welp, that’s how it goes. We press on this week.

Until next week, enjoy the fights, good luck, and gamble responsibly!

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