Last week’s UFC 285 produced a fight card where thirteen of the fourteen listed favorites earned victory. The sole underdog of the night was Alexa Grasso +600 earning the strawweight title from Valentina Shevchenko.
This year, favorites are marching to a 71.2% success rate. Meanwhile, our JBJ/Gamrot 135 parlay release last week won, pushing Insight the Octagon profitability to in 2023 to 4-2 +2.10u.
This week, the organization returns to Las Vegas, but rather than the APEX, UFC Las Vegas will be held at the Virgin Hotel Theatre where they’ll employ the smaller 25-foot octagon.
Petr Yan -235 vs. Merab Dvalishvili +210
Bantamweight (135 pounds) main event
Second-ranked Yan and third-ranked Dvalishvil vie for the opportunity to stand with ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley as the next legitimate challengers to the Bantamweight title.
Yan has competed in main events in four of his last five bouts. A Master of Sport in Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts, Yan’s also complemented by a BJJ blue belt. He’s versatile, experienced, savvy, and he’s a very fluent boxer. His ability to increase pressure and intensity and create momentum as the bout goes on has been a trademark of his performances.
Though a loser of his last two on the record, a closer look into those bouts shows that after defeating current fifth-ranked bantamweight Cory Sandhagen, Yan lost two split decisions. One to current Champion Aljamain Sterling and the most recent to Sean O’Malley in a fight that many, including myself, awarded to Yan.
Dvalishvili is the athlete no one wants to compete against. As opposed to his foe Saturday, Merab races out in bouts like a ‘bat out of hell’ with smothering forward wrestling pressure. He’s unrelenting with his will to force opponents back into the corner of the cage, then onto the canvas for a clobbering.
Dvalishvili will have the advantage on the mat, and he must compete on the feet only long enough to clasp onto Yan. Should he be unable to drag Yan to the canvas, Dvalishvili will get painted by Yan, who will do everything in his power to keep this bout on the feet.