This is a shorter article than usual but I wanted to get my plays out there early so you can look through your options today. Sweet 16 college hoops, NBA action, MLB is on the way and UFC 260 is here! What a day for sports!
Parlay- Nurmagomedov, Menifield, and O’Malley (1 unit to win 1.45): The price is hefty but I think it’s worth it. Abubakar Nurmagomedov needs a win after he got caught in a submission and lost in his first UFC fight. Jaren Gooden is a good matchup for him. Expect a cautious, dominant takedown-heavy win and the young man to live up to his name tonight. * Menifield has dropped 2 straight and gets a nice chance to redeem himself against a less powerful and less athletic opponent. There’s a reason why the over is so juiced in this contest– Menifield should be able to land a KO/TKO win here. We’ll take the ML just to be safe. * Sean O’Malley is worth the hype. He’s extremely long, quick and powerful for a Bantamweight and should have no problem making quick work of Thomas Almedia. O’Malley will have to watch for those leg kicks, however, since 2 foot injuries have somewhat limited his meteoric rise. Almedia has been whipping out those kicks more and should target O’Malley often, but the heavy favorite is too big and crafty and should get a clean win.
Luque/Woodley Does Not Go the Distance (+105): Woodley has been vocal about a resurgence and he’ll get a shot to redeem himself against one of the more entertaining fighters in the UFC. The 29 year old Luque has a ferocious, aggressive fighting style and at 5.72 strikes landed and 5.82 strikes absorbed per minute, is not only one of the most voluminous but one of the most hittable fighters in the division. Normally Tyrone Woodley would love a takedown but I think the veteran and former champ wants to make a statement Saturday. Either Woodley gets knocked out here or he tries to go for it all. We’ve heard the cries about how boring his fights can be. That moniker must bother him and he’s too smart to not take advantage of Luque’s defensive holes. I think this one could be explosive– at least that’s what we hope for in a small octagon at the APEX!
Ngannou wins by KO/TKO/or DQ (EVEN): Let’s be clear here– Francis Ngannou will not be winning this heavyweight title bout by submission. I mean, stranger things have happened but yea, no. Not happening. And the longer this fight goes, the more it favors Stipe. We’ve seen how well Stipe was able to absorb Francis’ punches in their first bout. He has a ton of endurance and once he survived that terrifying opening onslaught from Ngannou, he proceeded to take down “The Predator” over and over again. It’ll be a tale of two fights in that sense– if Stipe can survive the first 2 rounds, the champion may prove once again why many think he’s the best to ever do it at this weight class. But not so fast my friends, not so fast. If you’ve listened to Ngannou recently on Joe Rogan or in his countless interviews leading up to this contest, he’s a different fighter. His first fight against Stipe was over 3 years ago– that’s a longgg time. The Cameroonian monster is smarter, quicker, and undoubtedly has a higher IQ and bigger gas-tank after training with Kamaru Usman. He wasn’t ready for that moment in 2018, but I think he’s ready now. His quick work of the best competition in the heavyweight division has been mightily impressive. And you can tell the man is humble and gentle outside the octagon; maybe that’s something that affected his aggressiveness in the past. His most recent win against Rozenstruik revealed a different animal. Ngannou knocked out the talented Rozenstruik within 20 seconds and it was the way he did it that was most impressive. He knew the fight was over, but he kept throwing and landing hellacious punches until the referee basically tossed his body in between him and Rozenstruik. It was a reflection of his confidence, newfound aggression, and how much more precise his striking is. Stipe is one of the smartest and most well-rounded fighters in the history of the sport. But sometimes, just like Jan’s win over Israel at UFC 259, the combination of pure size and skill, along with an elevated fight IQ, is just too much for even the best fighters to overcome. Get ready to crown perhaps the most terrifying champion we’ve ever seen– I think Ngannou erases any doubts tonight.
