UFC 308 betting tips
7.15pm: Shara Magomedov v Armen Petrosyan
Magomedov to win
9pm: Robert Whitaker v Khamzat Chimaev
#WOP – Khamzat Chimaev to Win & Round 2 to Start
21:45 Ilia Topuria v Max Halloway
Holloway to win
- An accumulator with these bets pays at approximately 8/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
7.15pm: Magomedov v Petrosyan – Magomedov win
Although Dagestan is a hotbed for developing wrestling talent, Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov must not have signed up for after school wrestling practice. Shara has been taken down six times with no takedowns of his own in his three fights so far in the UFC.
Fortunately for Shara, his opponent is also a man who wants to stand and strike. Armen Petrosyan has been taken down 15 times in his 5 UFC fights so if Shara does have a double leg in his arsenal, now is the time to use it.
Both have a strong striking record landing almost twice as many significant strikes as they absorb. Bullet is undefeated while Petrosyan has been defeated three times already in 12 professional fights. I’ll take Shara to win.
9pm: Whitaker v Chimaev – Chimaev Win, Round 2 to Start
Khamzat Chimaev had a flawless start to his UFC career. In his first four fights, he had three finishes in the first round and absorbed just one strike. Absolutely absurd.
As he climbed the rankings and faced tougher opposition, namely Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman, his endurance, his chin and his toughness were put to the test. He seemed to fade as those fights went on but ultimately won and maintained his undefeated record.
Those fights were just three rounds each. This is Khamzat’s first fight scheduled for five rounds. He’ll have to slow down his round our pace if he wants to ensure he can get through this fight.
It’s been seven years since Robert Whitaker was the Middleweight Champion but there’s no denying he’s still one of the best in the division beating Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov earlier this year. Whitaker boasts a strong wrestling defence stopping 82% of attempted takedowns.
With Khamzat going up to Whitaker’s weight class, Bobby Knuckles should be the stronger of the two. Khamzat’s plan is to ‘smesh’, as he calls it, Whitaker should be able to slow those smeshing plans. I like the WhatOddsPaddy selection Khamzat Chimaev and Round 2 to start.
9.45pm: Topuria v Halloway – Holloway to win
Max Halloway giving Gaethje a royal beatdown for five rounds to win the BMF belt blew me away. Gaethje was meant to be too big, too strong and too aggressive for the 145lber going up in weight to challenge for the belt.
If Max can nullify the vicious Justin Gaethje at 155lbs, I’m confident he can quell El Matador’s power and aggression at Featherweight. Topuria is the favourite for a reason. He has four KO/TKOs in his last seven wins.
He can wrestle averaging 1.92 successful takedowns per 15 minutes and he also has a strong submission threat submitting the Jiu Jitsu expert Bryce Mitchell on his road to becoming Featherweight Champion. But Max has never been knocked out. He also has a really strong wrestling defence stopping 83% of takedown attempts.
And he hasn’t been submitted since his debut in the UFC over 12 years and 29 fights ago. As dangerous as Topuria is, Max has the tools to keep himself safe.
Now in terms of MMA math, it doesn’t look so good for Holloway. Topuria made lightwork of Alexander Volkanovski, the Featherweight GOAT in February and Volk beat Max three times before.
But I like the value we’re getting on Hollway and he’s had so many boxing masterclass performances over the years I could see him evading and outsmarting the aggressive Topuria, ironically, like a matador.
UFC 308 tips
7.15pm: Shara Magomedov v Armen Petrosyan
Magomedov to win
9pm: Robert Whitaker v Khamzat Chimaev
#WOP – Khamzat Chimaev to Win & Round 2 to Start
21:45 Ilia Topuria v Max Halloway
Holloway to win
- An accumulator with these bets pays at approximately 8/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*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.
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