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The Fight Analyst got back to his winning ways last hitting two out of three of his best bets. That puts his overall record at 23-11 and he is looking to keep things rolling this weekend!
The UFC just knows how to put on great fight cards and last week was no different. Last week’s fight card delivered excitement throughout the entire night. Unfortunately, the main event between Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira was lackluster in terms of excitement.
Nonetheless, up next is a great fight card headlined by two of the best in the heavyweight division in Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Both fighters are coming off of one-sided losses and will be looking to rebound this weekend. With that said, let’s take a look at the Best Bets for UFC Vegas 55.
Jeff Molina vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
In the men’s flyweight division we have a fight between two exciting fighters in Jeff Molina and Zhalgas Zhumagulov.
Molina has looked every bit of the prospect he was considered coming into his Contender Series fight. He is currently riding a 9-fight winning streak and back-to-back wins in the UFC thus far. Molina is one that can beat his opponents anywhere the fight takes place, whether it be on the mat or on the feet. He is going to have to bring his A-game in this one to keep his winning ways going against Zhumagulov.
Zhumagulov has had some mixed results since coming into the UFC. He is now currently 1-3 in his UFC career with his lone win coming against the now cut Jerome Rivera. Zhumagulov is a very well-rounded fighter that is able to mix in the grappling with his striking to keep his opponents honest. He will need utilize his grappling in this matchup against Molina if he wants to finally get back on track.
This will be a fun fight between these two action-packed flyweights. I believe Molina is just a bit better everywhere than Zhumagulov, from the striking to the grappling he is a step above. Molina will put the pace and pressure on Zhumagulov making his have to fight on his back foot for the majority of this contest eventually finishing him in the latter portion of the fight.
| The Fight Analyst’s Pick |
|---|
| Jeff Molina -180 to win |
Ode Osbourne vs. Zarrukh Adashev
We have another fight in the men’s flyweight division between two strikers that will look to stand and bang between Ode Osbourne and Zarrukh Adashev.
Osbourne has split his four fights in the UFC thus far. He is coming off of one of his better performances his last time out against C.J. Vergara. Osbourne is a flashy striker with really good submissions which makes him a dangerous opponent for anyone in the flyweight division.
Adashev was a decorated kickboxer outside of the UFC with a 16-3 record. So far, he hasn’t had the best of luck in the UFC going only 1-2 in his 3 fights. He has some great technical kickboxing abilities and will need to utilize that to his advantage against the dangerous Osbourne.
Adashev has underwhelmed in his time in the UFC. He had some praise coming into his UFC debut but has fallen flat. He has had trouble with long rangy strikers with good movement much like Osbourne. I expect this fight to be similar to when Adashev took on Sumudaerji. Osbourne will utilize his reach and speed advantages to keep Adashev at the end of his strikes ultimately punishing him midway through the fight.
| The Fight Analyst’s Pick |
|---|
| Ode Osbourne -173 to win |
Joe Solecki vs. Alex da Silva
In the lightweight division, we have a barn burner of a fight that will have everyone at the edge of their seats between Joe Solecki and Alex da Silva.
Solecki was riding high coming into his fight against Jared Gordon until he gassed himself out and lost a very close split decision. He had trouble controlling Gordon on the mat which zapped his cardio early in the fight. Solecki’s bread and butter is his grappling as we’ve seen time and time again, and he will need to utilize that mightily against the dangerous Alex da Silva.
Silva has had some mixed results thus far in his UFC career with a 1-2 record. He is coming into this fight off of a 21-month lay-off and will be looking to get his first win since he defeated Kazula Vargas in August 2019.
Silva showed that he can win fights on the feet and on the mat as he is a very well-rounded mixed martial artist. He also showed that he has a granite chin when he went toe-to-toe with one of the best strikers in the division Brad Riddell. His weaknesses are his defensive grappling and that he is small for the lightweight division. This bodes well for Solecki who should have no problem taking this fight to the mat and controlling Silva. As long as Solecki avoids getting hurt on the feet he should be able to take Silva down at will eventually taking his back and sinking in the rear-naked choke.
| The Fight Analyst’s Pick |
|---|
| Joe Solecki -163 to win |
