UFC 290 Betting Tips
4:10am Robert Whittaker vs Dricus Du Plessis – Dricus Du Plessis to win
4:30am Brandon Moreno vs Alexandre Pantoja – Alexandre Pantoja to win
5:00am Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez – Yair Rodriguez to win
*A Treble on these selections adds up to around 31/1 with Paddy Power. TAP HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP INSTANTLY.
UFC 290 – Las Vagas, USA
TV: BT Sport 1, BT Sport Box Office
Robert Whittaker vs Dricus Du Plessis – Dricus Du Plessis to win
Sunday, 4:10am
Dricus Du Plessis is a big underdog for a reason. The reason being Robert Whittaker has proven that he is the best middleweight in the UFC not named Israel Adesanya. But here’s why I don’t feel that dumb backing Dricus Du Plessis.
Bobby Knuckles tends to have a tough time with everyone. And that’s because the Aussie doesn’t have many finishes.
He hasn’t had a knockout since 2017 with his last 6 wins coming by decision. He doesn’t get many knockdowns let alone knockouts. He doesn’t have any submission wins either.
Du Plessis has 8 knockouts and 10 submission wins on his record. Since signing with the UFC, he’s unbeaten with 3 KO/TKO’s, 1 submission win and 1 unanimous decision.
If we start comparing striking stats it doesn’t look too intimidating either. Whitaker lands 4.48 significant strikers per minute compared to 6.72 per minute for Du Plessis. Dricus has him on striking accuracy too. Dricus lands 55% of strikes attempted compared to 42% for Whitaker. What about takedowns? Whittaker attempts 0.82 takedowns per 15 minutes. Dricus attempts 2.83.
Whitaker can win by outclassing Dricus Du Plessis. But Du Plessis can win by finding a knockout, jumping on a submission or just outworking the Australian over 5 rounds. I’ll have a punt on Dricus Du Plessis to win.
- WELCOME TO PP NEWS: NEW TO US? CLICK HERE FOR OUR £/€20 SIGN-UP OFFER
Brandon Moreno vs Alexandre Pantoja – Alexandre Pantoja to win
Sunday, 4:300am
The Assassin Baby is the UFC Flyweight champion after coming out on top in the fourth (and hopefully final) fight against Deiveson Figueiredo in January earlier this year. After that quadrilogy, you would think we would see a fresh match-up for Brandon Moreno. But Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja have crossed paths twice before. Both times resulted in Pantoja getting his hand raised. First on the Ultimate Fighter in 2016 (which is technically recorded as an exhibition match) and then again in the UFC in 2018.
There’s no question that this version of Moreno is on another level than the two previous iterations Pantoja defeated. But we can’t go too far wrong backing the #3 ranked flyweight at this price to beat a guy he’s beaten twice before. This is my pick of the weekend, I think Pantoja has his number. Pantoja to win.
Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez – Yair Rodriguez to win
Sunday, 4:300am
At first glance, it sounds like a dodgy shout and it probably doesn’t get much better the more you think about it. But I think Yair is a wildcard that could find a way to get an upset.
Alexander Volkanovski is 2nd on the UFC pound-for-pound list, he’s undefeated in the weight class and his stock is up even in defeat against Islam Makhachev earlier in the year. But we can’t pretend that he hasn’t had a lot of close fights. In the Max Holloway trilogy, it is widely believed that Max should have won the decision in their second fight at UFC 251.
Either way, it was very close and all 3 fights with Max went the distance. 9 of his last 11 wins have also gone the distance. Bryan Ortega really got beat up by Volk and he still managed to have two great opportunities to take the belt. First, a tight-mounted guillotine turned Volk’s head purple before he managed to escape. And soon after that Volk had to Houdini himself out of a fully locked-up triangle. Volkanovski is beatable is my point.
I’ve looked at the stats and admittedly, it doesn’t look good for Yair Rodriguez. Alexander The Great lands more strikes, has better striking accuracy, he absorbs less strikes, he gets more takedowns and he defends takedowns better. Yair does offer a stronger submission threat though.
Despite so much going in Volk’s favour, Yair Rodriguez’s style makes him a dangerous opponent for anyone. He’s known for his hand speed and head kicks. He’s also known for throwing unorthodox techniques and has picked up a couple of funky highlight reel KO’s in the UFC. It’s evident that fighters are not used to dealing with a guy doing Tekken moves in the octagon. Yair has up to 25 minutes to land a devastating shot and he has the speed and creativity to do it.
UFC 290 Betting Tips
Robert Whittaker vs Dricus Du Plessis – Dricus Du Plessis to win
Brandon Moreno vs Alexandre Pantoja – Alexandre Pantoja to win
Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez – Yair Rodriguez to win
*A Treble on these selections adds up to around 31/1 with Paddy Power. TAP HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP INSTANTLY.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
READ MORE
- Get more UFC Tips Paddy Power News
THE LATEST UFC ODDS ARE ON PADDYPOWER.COM RIGHT NOW
THE PADDY POWER GUIDE TO SAFER GAMBLING – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
