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Edson Barboza vs Tony Ferguson Betting Tip Prediction
Edson Barboza showed in his fight against Michael Johnson that he struggles against opponent’s who can stay in the pocket and apply a lot of pressure. That makes Tony Ferguson a really bad matchup for him because Ferguson fights at a relentless pace and does a great job of landing strikes, whilst avoiding damage as he moves forward. Edson Barboza has devastating kicks, but that won’t help him in this fight because this matchup will not take place in a range where Barboza will be able to use his kicks. In order for Barboza to get his kicking game going, he needs time and space and he’s not going to get time and space in a small Octagon against a high pressure fighter like Tony Ferguson. Paul Felder applied a lot of pressure on Edson Barboza in their last matchup, but Felder lost because he fought Barboza in a range where Barboza was able to use his kicks. Ferguson does not fight within that range and Barboza will be forced to try and back Ferguson up with punches. Barboza has high level striking, but he doesn’t have the best hands and Ferguson does a great job of using slight head movement to roll with the punches. Barboza might have superior kicks, but this fight will take place in Boxing range and I give Ferguson a significant advantage when it comes to Boxing. Edson Barboza has excellent takedown defence, but the smaller Octagon will make it easier for Ferguson to cut angles and close the distance. This means that it will be easier to take Barboza down and Ferguson is an absolute monster on the ground. We haven’t see a lot of Barboza’s ground game, but it’s not going to be in the same league as Ferguson’s, who has a strong wrestling background and high level Jiu Jitsu having trained with Eddie Bravo at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu. Ferguson’s style of fighting breaks people and it’s going to be extremely difficult to beat him in a small Octagon because you have less space to try and use footwork to stay on the outside and circle around him. Judges naturally score fights in favour of the fighter who holds the centre of the Octagon and Ferguson will easily maintain control of the centre of the Octagon for the entire duration of this fight. This means that Barboza will have to win inside the distance or inflict significant damage on Ferguson to win the fight. I don’t either of those scenarios happening because Ferguson won’t give him the time or space he needs to get his kicks off. This fight will be a tough matchup for both guys, but Ferguson should win.MY BETTING TIP: 2 Units [2% of your bankroll] on Tony Ferguson to win at odds of 1.67 | -149 | 67/100
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Mike Pierce vs Ryan LaFlare Betting Tip Prediction
Mike Pierce hasn’t fought in over 2 years and a lot has changed in the UFC since then. This will be the first time that Pierce has ever fought the new breed of Mixed Martial Artist who is great at everything and absolutely huge for the division. Pierce is a one dimensional wrestle boxer with lazy takedowns, poor top control and absolutely no striking at all. If this fight stays standing, LaFlare should be able to dominate the striking exchanges with his superior speed, range and movement. Pierce is small for the division and has very bad striking defence and LaFlare should easily be able to light him up. Mike Pierce has nothing for LaFlare in this fight, so I expect him to turn into a panic wrestler very fast and try to spam takedowns in a desperate attempt to take LaFlare to the ground. This won’t be easy because LaFlare has strong wrestling and really good takedown defence. LaFlare also has a high level ground game and excellent submissions. Ryan LaFlare should dominate this match up in any area that it takes place. I expect this bet to be one of our easiest winners of the week.MY BETTING TIP: 5 Units [5% of your bankroll] on Ryan LaFlare to win at odds of 1.60 | -166 | 3/5
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TUF 22 Finale Picks
| Chad Mendes | vs | Frankie Edgar | Mendes to win |
| Edson Barboza | vs | Tony Ferguson | Ferguson to win |
| Artem Lobov | vs | Ryan Hall | Lobov to win |
| Evan Dunham | vs | Joe Lauzon | Lauzon to win |
| Mike Pierce | vs | Ryan LaFlare | LaFlare to win |
| Jason Knight | vs | Tatsuya Kawajiri | Kawajiri to win |
| Gabriel Gonzaga | vs | Konstantin Erokhin | Gonzaga to win |
| Geane Herrera | vs | Joby Sanchez | Sanchez to win |
| Julian Erosa | vs | Marcin Wrzosek | Erosa to win |
| Abner Lloveras | vs | Chris Gruetzemacher | Lloveras to win |
