UFC Fight Night 98: Dos Anjos vs Ferguson Date: November 5, 2016 Arena: Mexico City Arena City: Mexico City, Mexico The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is set to make it’s return to Mexico City, Mexico with UFC Fight Night 98: Dos Anjos vs Ferguson. The 13-fight card is set to kick off on UFC Fight pass at 6:30pm ET with preliminary action, which will continue on FOX Sports 1 at 8pm and culminate into the main card on the same channel at 10pm. If interested in wagering on this parlay, or any bouts for this fight card, all betting lines are currently made available at Several Bookmakers. Here are my parlays: Lightweight bout: Diego Sanchez (+230) vs Marcin Held (-270) Gabe’s Thoughts: Sanchez is coming off the worst loss of his career at UFC 200 four months ago, being a TKO at the hands of Joe Lauzon; a fighter who is not known for his hands. In a quick return to action, he takes on another submission fighter a la Lauzon who is also not good with his hands. If he ends up suffering another knockout defeat, it would certainly mean it is time for “The Nightmare” to hang up the gloves. That said, I think he will survive 15 minutes in this fight against Held, and I do expect a lot of it to take place on the mat, where I think Held will hold the advantage. Sanchez looked great heading into the Lauzon bout but the outcome was very disappointing for both him and his fans. Even in a loss, hopefully he will put on a good showing on Saturday night. I won’t be surprised to see him pull off the upset, but I think this is Held’s fight to lose and I think he’ll manage to get the job done here in his UFC debut on enemy territory. Gabe’s Call: Held by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Catchweight bout: Joe Soto (-125) vs Marco Beltran (+105) Gabe’s Thoughts: Joe Soto takes this bout on very short notice, replacing an injured Ning Guangyou. Despite the short notice nature of the bout for him and with the fight being in high elevation Mexico City, I think he still stands a good chance of defeating Beltran, be it inside the distance or on the judges’ scorecards. I think he can win the first two rounds and survive the third for a unanimous nod on the cards, should the judges’ have a say in the final outcome. That said, I favor Soto to wrap the show up with a submission here in the opening stanza, making it two straight for himself inside the Octagon following his come from behind third round submission of Chris Beal in his most recent outing. Beltran is constantly improving but I think Soto is the superior fighter of the two at this point in their careers and will find a way to get his hand raised. Gabe’s Call: Soto by Submission (triangle choke, 1:35 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Parlays: 1) Held (-270) and Soto (-125) at +146 for 2.05u to win 3u and 2) Sanchez/Held Over 2.5 rounds (-155) and Soto (-125) at +196 for 1.25u to win 2.45u
