Our website is supported by our users. We sometimes earn affiliate revenue when you click through the affiliate links on our website.
The Fight Analyst had another winning night at UFC 273, going 2-1 on his best bets. That makes it six consecutive winning events, bringing his overall record to 17-7 over the last two months of fights. Let’s see who he’s cashing in on this weekend at UFC Vegas 51.
UFC 273 delivered one of the best fight cards of the year. Alexander Volkanovski battered “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung to a 4th round TKO victory. Aljamain Sterling became the undisputed bantamweight champion defeating Petr Yan by split decision. And in the people’s main event, Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns went to war for 15 minutes. We were able to see Chimaev fight through adversity against the No. 2 ranked welterweight in the world, and show that he’s the real deal and one step closer to a potential title shot.
We have a great fight card on tap this weekend, headlined by two of the welterweight’s best in Vicente Luque and Belal Muhammad. Let’s take a look at the Best 3 Bets for UFC Vegas 51.
$1000 Welcome BonusTrey Ogden vs. Jordan Leavitt
| The Fight Analyst’s Pick |
|---|
| Trey Ogden -134 to win |
In the lightweight division, we have a scrap between “The Monkey King” Jordan Leavitt and promotional newcomer Trey Ogden.
Ogden has been a mainstay on the regional scene, fighting the who’s who outside of the biggest promotion. He has a plethora of MMA experience as he will be coming into this fight with 19 professional fights, making this walk to the cage his 20th fight. That experience should help him in his debut against a fighter in Leavitt who is still fairly new to the sport.
Leavitt came into his contender series fight and made quick work of his opponent, tapping his to an arm-triangle choke that ultimately got him a contract. Since then he has gone 2-1 in the promotion with notable finishes of Matt Wiman via a vicious slam and an inverted triangle choke against Matt Sayles.
This is going to be an interesting fight because Leavitt is a very awkward fighter to gameplan against. Both fighters are submission specialists with 17 combined submission wins between them. Honestly speaking, Leavitt has had some easy fights in his wins in the UFC beating fighters that have troubles with grappling. This one will not be an easy one as Ogden can match the grappling and is the far superior striker. Ogden will be able to stuff the takedown attempts and just pick Leavitt apart at range for a unanimous decision.
| The Fight Analyst’s Pick |
|---|
| Trey Ogden -134 to win |
Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos vs. Mounir Lazzez
| The Fight Analyst’s Pick |
|---|
| Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos -180 to win |
We have an absolute firefight on our hands in the welterweight division between Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos and Mounir Lazzez.
Dos Santos has quietly amassed a 9-3 UFC record which could easily be 10-2 if he won the split decision over Muslim Salikhov. He is one of the most dangerous strikers in the division with 14 of his 23 wins by knockout. Dos Santos can end the fight at any given moment, making this a really dangerous fight for Lazzez.
Lazzez is coming off of his second professional loss at the hands of Warley Alves via a quick round 1 knockout. He is a sniper at range, using his length to keep his opponents at bay and firing quick strikes as they come within the pocket. His length and his movement will be key for him to be victorious in this matchup.
This is a very tough stylistic matchup for Lazzez as he is a striker much like his counterpart. We can expect a grapple heavy approach as he brought to the table against Abdul Razak Alhassan to slow things down but it is hard to envision that to be a successful gameplan. Lazzez may have some early success in the grappling but ultimately Dos Santos shrugs off the takedown attempts and puts a beating on Lazzez and finishes him within two rounds.
| The Fight Analyst’s Pick |
|---|
| Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos -180 to win |
Martin Buday vs. Chris Barnett
| The Fight Analyst’s Pick |
|---|
| Martin Buday -225 to win |
In the heavyweight division, we have a fight between fan-favorite Chris Barnett and contender series alumni making his debut Martin Buday.
Buday came into his contender series fight and made quick work of his opponent, ending him via strikes in the very first round. He is a big heavyweight at 6’4″ and weighing in at the heavyweight limit of 265 lbs. Buday has shown has good grappling skills along with power on the feet and that is going to give Barnett massive amounts of trouble in this matchup.
Barnett came into the UFC on short notice to debut against longtime veteran Ben Rothwell. It seemed to be too big of a step up in competition and got completely steamrolled. His second trip to the octagon was a lot more favorable as he took on the aged Gian Villante and ended him with a vicious spinning heel kick to knock him out. His unorthodox style of striking will be his key to victory against such a dangerous opponent as Buday.
Barnett has a set of skills you don’t see at heavyweight, as he is able to move a lot faster and can throw a variety of different attacks you normally will not see at heavyweight. With that said, it is hard to imagine Barnett being able to do much in this fight against the far larger Buday who stands 7″ taller and has a 2″ reach advantage. Buday will put the pace and pressure on Barnett, take him down and ground and pound to a TKO victory.
| The Fight Analyst’s Pick |
|---|
| Martin Buday -225 to win |