Another big combat sports weekend is upon us. This Saturday, UFC Vegas 94 goes down at the APEX, while over in Tampa, Jake Paul takes on arguably the toughest test of his boxing career when he fights Mike Perry in a boxing match.
So how do you stand to gain from all of this? Here are the best bets for this weekend in fighting.
As always, all odds are courtesy of our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Mike Perry (+300)
The main event this weekend is unquestionably Paul vs. Perry, and it’s easy to see why: It’s a fascinating fight. Paul is the more accomplished boxer and the bigger man, but Perry is a battle-hardened veteran and presents a challenge Paul has never faced before — someone in his physical prime who is going to force Paul to fight.
Throughout his boxing career, Paul has primarily faced woefully outmatched opposition, or fighters who were well beyond their primes. In instances where Paul couldn’t simply run over someone, he was still relatively insulated from suffering too much return fire because his opponents weren’t physically capable of getting into a brawl. That’s not the case with Perry.
While Perry is not a mindless brawler, he’s not that far from it, and excels at dragging opponents into a grimy, in-the-trenches sort of brawl where he excels. He’ll be able to do the same against Paul, who lacks the ringcraft to stick and move for more than a round or two. How will Paul react when he gets sucked into the sludge and has his first real fist-fight? We won’t know until it happens, but until I see him survive and thrive in a fight like that, I think there’s clear value on Perry here.
Amanda Lemos (+110)
Lemos takes on Virna Jandiroba in the main event of UFC Vegas 94, and though she’s the underdog, Lemos has a great shot at pulling off the upset. Since dropping down to strawweight, Lemos has only been beaten by Zhang Weili and Jessica Andrade, two of the most physically impressive women in the sport. Jandiroba is a good fighter, but she’s not a dominant physical force and so she will struggle to gain traction against Lemos. If Jandiroba gets early takedowns, things might change, but I think Lemos keeps this standing and her superior power and kickboxing carries the day.
Doo Ho Choi vs. Bill Algeo UNDER 2.5 Rounds (+145)
While it certainly isn’t the biggest fight this weekend, the main card scrap between “Korean Superboy” and Bill Algeo might well be the most fun one. Both of these guys are terrific action fighters and this matchup looks to be one where they step inside the octagon and light the whole place on fire. Expect both men to come out swinging, and the possibility for a finish is much higher than the odds suggest.
Amanda Lemos (+110) and Steve Garcia (-148)
So it’s a risky gambit to try this, especially with a bet already down on Amanda Lemos, but the last time this parlay happened (UFC Saudi Arabia — Alexander Volkov and Kelvin Gastelum) it won, so we’re running it back. I’m talking, of course, about the Birthday Parlay.
Both Lemos and Garcia were born on May 22. A bond like that, with two fighters on the same card, that’s the spirits trying to tell us something. A higher power is at work here. Especially because I like Lemos to win (as mentioned above) and Garcia has a good shot as well. He’s a better all-around fighter than Seung Woo Choi and he should have the power advantage as well.
Parlay these two bets together for +251 odds.
Kept things tight last weekend and walked away with a good little win. Let’s try and do the same this Saturday.
Until next week, enjoy the fights, good luck, and gamble responsibly!
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