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John Howard vs Tim Means Betting Tip Prediction
When you break this fight down it becomes clear that John Howard has almost no chance of winning. Of course everyone has a puncher’s chance, but Howard is not known for his knockout power having only won 2 fights by knockout in 12 career performances in the UFC. It’s also unlikely that Howard could win with a flash knockout because Tim Means has never been finished with strikes in his 34 fight career [24-7]. Over the years Means has shown that he is incredibly tough, incredibly durable and has a great chin. John Howard and Tim Means are both strikers, so I expect this fight to be contested standing up where Means has a significant advantage. There’s almost no way that Howard could outpoint Means because Means lands almost double the amount of strikes that Howard does per minute. It’s also worth noting that Howard is very small for the weight class and doesn’t use any footwork, which will make it easy for Means to land a high volume of strikes on his static target. If this fight does go to the ground, Means has a significant advantage with his strong wrestling and Jiu Jitsu. Howard has spent his entire career trying to avoid guys taking him down, so if this fight does go to the ground it will probably be Means that initiates the takedown. I expect Means to dominate this fight by overwhelming Howard with his wide range of diverse strikes. Means fights very long and has a 4 inch reach which will make it easy for him to land strikes out of Howard’s range, who is very small for the division standing at just 5 ft 7 inches tall. I’m really surprised that Tim Means isn’t the biggest favourite out of all the fights taking place this week. Howard has looked very tentative in his last few fights and this should be an easy matchup for Means.MY BETTING TIP: 10 Units [10% of your bankroll] on Tim Means to win at odds of 1.33 | -307 | 33/100
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Antonio Carlos Junior vs Kevin Casey Betting Tip Prediction
Antonio Carlos Junior looked incredible in his last fight against Eddie Gordon and he’s going to continue improving from fight to fight now that he is training at an excellent camp like American Top Team. Kevin Casey is always dangerous in the first round of a fight because of his knockout power and strong Jiu Jitsu, but this should be an easy matchup for Antonio if he can just make it out of the first round. Kevin Casey is now 34 years old and an ex PED user which means he’s going to find it difficult to compete with a young, hungry fighter like Antonio Carlos Junior who is just 25 years old. The age gap is a significant factor to take into consideration in this fight because Antonio is 9 years younger than Casey and the younger fighter wins around 68% of the time when there is an age gap this big. Antonio’s youth and physicality will give him a huge advantage over Casey, especially the longer the fight goes on. Kevin Casey has a lot of power in his hands, but he is very tentative and doesn’t throw many strikes. This makes him predictable and easy to outwork. If this fight stays standing I expect Antonio Carlos Junior to get the better of the striking exchanges by outlanding Casey by a considerable margin. Both these guys have a high level ground game by Antonio is more dynamic and his size and youth will give him a big physical advantage over Casey. Antonio Carlos Junior is very strong, very aggressive and skilled in all areas. I expect him to win this fight by outworking Kevin Casey in any area that this matchup takes place.MY BETTING TIP: 3.5 Units [3.5% of your bankroll] on Antonio Carlos Junior to win at odds of 1.40 | -250 | 2/5
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Andreas Stahl vs Santiago Ponzinibbio Betting Tip Prediction
Andreas Stahl is very inactive having only competed 4 times in the last 5 years. This will be the first time that Stahl has fought in the last 15 months which means he’s going to struggle against Santiago Ponzinibbio who sets a furious pace. Stahl showed in his last fight against Gilbert Burns that he needs a little bit of time to settle into a fight and shake off the ring rust but Ponzinibbio won’t allow him to get comfortable because he will swarm him from the very first second of the fight. When you watch Stahl fight it’s clear that he’s lacking real competition experience because he is very singular in his approach and doesn’t string his attacks together very well. He’s either throwing one punch, or one kick or going for one takedown, but he’s not very good at putting it all together. Ponzinibbio is a much more complete fighter and I feel that his well rounded skillset will give him a significant advantage in this matchup. Andreas Stahl is a Swedish wrestling champion, so he may have some success with takedowns in this fight, but it won’t be easy to hold Ponzinibbio down who has very good Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and good scrambles. It’s also worth noting that this fight is taking place in a smaller Octagon, which will make it even harder for Stahl to keep this fight on the ground because Ponzinibbio does a great job of using the cage to defend takedowns and work his way back to his feet. We also have to take into consideration the fact that this fight is taking place in Las Vegas and the Vegas judges tend to score fights in favour of aggression and damage as opposed to takedowns and grappling control. This puts Ponzinibbio in a strong position because he fights very aggressively and always manages to hold the centre of the Octagon. In order to beat a guy like Santiago Ponzinibbio you need to either pin him on the ground for 2 out of 3 rounds or you need to finish him inside the distance and I don’t see Stahl being able to do either of those things. Ponzinibbio is simply too tough, too powerful and too aggressive. I expect Ponzinibbio to win this fight by taking the centre of the Octagon and blasting Stahl with powerful strikes. I don’t see Stahl being able to keep up with the pace that Ponzinibbio sets or compete with him in the striking exchanges.MY BETTING TIP: 2 Units [2% of your bankroll] on Santiago Ponzinibbio to win at odds of 1.55 | -183 | 11/20
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Philippe Nover vs Zubaira Tukhugov Betting Tip Prediction
Zubaira Tukhugov is one of those young, up and coming Russian phenoms who appears to already be great at everything at just 24 years old. From what I have seen, he literally has no weaknesses in his skillset and I’m finding it really difficult to see a way in which Nover could beat him. Nover’s striking is very slow, basic and one dimensional, which puts him in huge danger against Tukhugov who has elite striking and vicious knockout power. Tukhugov has shown in his past performances that he is fast, technical and powerful and his ability to switch stances and throw a wide range of strikes will cause a huge problem for Nover. Nover has absolutely nothing for Tukhugov standing up and he’s at constant risk of being knocked out if this fight stays standing. Nover will want to get this fight to the ground as soon as possible, which won’t be easy because he has poor wrestling, weak top control and telegraphed takedowns. Tukhugov has a base in Russian Sambo which means he has strong wrestling and he’s extremely difficult to take down. Nover may appear to be physically strong, but Tukhugov is the better wrestler and I don’t believe that Nover will be able to take him down or keep him down. Philippe Nover is at a big disadvantage wherever this fight takes place and I expect Tukhugov to dominate all aspects of this contest.MY BETTING TIP: 5 Units [5% of your bankroll] on Zubaira Tukhugov to win at odds of 1.31 | -320 | 31/100
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UFC Fight Night 80 Picks
| Paige VanZant | vs | Rose Namajunas | Rose Namajunas to win |
| Jim Miller | vs | Michael Chiesa | Michael Chiesa to win |
| Cody Pfister | vs | Sage Northcutt | Sage Northcutt to win |
| Elias Theodorou | vs | Thiago Santos | Thiago Santos to win |
| John Howard | vs | Tim Means | Tim Means to win |
| Omari Akhmedov | vs | Sergio Moraes | Sergio Moraes to win |
| Antonio Carlos Junior | vs | Kevin Casey | Antonio Carlos Junior to win |
| Aljamain Sterling | vs | Johnny Eduardo | Aljamain Sterling to win |
| Andreas Stahl | vs | Santiago Ponzinibbio | Santiago Ponzinibbio to win |
| Danny Roberts | vs | Nathan Coy | Danny Roberts to win |
| Phillipe Nover | vs | Zubaira Tukhugov | Zubaira Tukhugov to win |
| Emily Kagan | vs | Kailin Curran | Kailin Curran to win |
