UFC 218 Betting Tips, Picks and Predictions

UFC 218 is a high profile fight card, and we often see fighters more frequently underperform on these kinds of events. I am unsure as to why this happens, but the trend is definitely real. To combat this variable, we need to keep things tight and be sure that we are putting our money into strong positions.

This weekend is a huge opportunity for us to make money, but we must keep things tight and stay disciplined in order to come out with a profit.

Over the last few years, we have performed extremely well in Live Betting on weekends where we have had multiple UFC events. I urge you to join us for our Live Betting Tips this weekend. If the past is anything to go by, we should make a huge profit.

Be sure to join us in our Live Betting Tips feed at the start of UFC 218, to take advantage of our highly profitable Live Betting Tips.

Henry Cejudo vs Sergio Pettis Betting Tip and Prediction

Henry Cejudo vs. Sergio Pettis is an interesting matchup because this will be the first opponent Cejudo has faced in around 2 years who doesn’t have a strong background in grappling. Since he first entered the UFC back in 2014, he appears to be almost reluctant to use his Olympic level wrestling, but I have a feeling that this might change this weekend against a dangerous striker in Sergio Pettis.

Henry Cejudo is smart, he is a competitor, and he will understand that he is only 1 or 2 wins away from another title shot. He cannot afford to lose this fight, and he is a born winner. He knows how to win. Having a winning mentality is a skill, and if you win a Gold Medal in anything at the Olympics, you have learned how to win. I expect Cejudo to take the path of least resistance in this matchup to guarantee that he wins. For that reason, I believe we’ll see Cejudo use his wrestling to put on a grappling clinic for the first time since he started competing in the UFC.

If you go back and watch some of Sergio Pettis’ fights, you’ll see that he frequently looks to take his opponent to the ground to catch his breath. He is even willing to accept bottom position and can be seen pulling guard 10 months ago in his fight against John Moraga.

Pettis’ quest to take fights to the ground is a reflection of his inability to compete at a high pace for 15 minutes. I’m not going to say that Pettis has bad cardio, but he does slow down as the fight progresses, particularly if he is not in complete control. This means that he will often look to take fights to the ground to catch his breath instead of trying to keep a fight standing, which is often where he is most dangerous.

This is a significant detail to pay attention to because Henry Cejudo has the cardio to fight at whatever pace he wants and the wrestling to dictate where the matchup takes place. This means that Henry Cejudo can force Sergio Pettis to fight on his terms. This dynamic makes this a tough matchup for Pettis because if he starts to get hurt standing, he can’t switch to a plan B, and if he starts to get tired, there is no area where he can go to catch his breath.

Henry Cejudo also does an excellent job of using his wrestling in reverse to set up his striking. From the moment this matchup starts, Sergio Pettis will be thinking about defending the takedown, and this will open up many striking opportunities for Cejudo. Skill for skill Pettis is probably the better striker, but the risk of a takedown significantly evens things up, because Pettis will be reluctant to overcommit to strikes and let his hands go for fear of being taken down.

Pettis and Cejudo are still both young in their MMA careers, and they are both making huge improvements from fight to fight, but as it stands today, I believe Cejudo has more weapons that he can use to win. If at any point Cejudo gets into trouble standing, he can use his wrestling to take the fight to the ground, and if he is having success standing, he can use his wrestling in reverse to keep the fight on his terms.

My only criticism of Cejudo is that he has been passive and tentative in some of his past matchups. I attribute this to his early struggles with cutting weight and also his lack of confidence in his striking. Cejudo appears to have tightened up this weakness because he has fought very aggressively in his last two matchups. Unfortunately, the fact that he has struggled with weight cuts in the past and he has had a tendency to put in a passive performance means that we need to not go too big on Cejudo here.

Sergio Pettis tends to struggle against aggressive, pressure fighters, and that’s precisely the style of fighting that Cejudo has used in his last two fights. If this version of Cejudo shows up at UFC 218, he should win easily. If passive, tentative Cejudo shows up this fight will be very close.

I believe Cejudo is a good bet at the current odds because I trust that his past two performances are a reflection of him growing and improving as a fighter. I don’t think someone with an Olympic Gold Medal winning mentality would regress after making such significant improvements. I could be wrong, but I feel it’s much more likely we see Cejudo build and improve on his last couple of performances rather than go back to his old, passive ways.

Reasons for betting on Henry Cejudo