XFN 11: Back To The O2 Arena takes place Thursday, June 28 at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. The offshore sportsbooks recently released full odds for the card, and here they are:
XFN 11: Back To The O2 Opening Odds
Karlos Vemola -350
Patrik Kincl +250
Petr Knize -600
Gregor Herb +400
Tomas Kvapil -675
Dennis Poborsky +425
Ludovit Klein -530
Kamil Selwa +350
Ivan Buchinger -600
Jaroslav Pokorny +400
Makhmud Muradov -1200
David Ramirez +600
And here are my initial reactions to the XFN 11 opening odds:
– The main event sees former UFC fighter Karlos Vemola take on Patrik Kincl in a battle of Czech native. Vemola (20-5) previously competed in the UFC from 2010-2013 where he went 2-4 before being cut. Since then, he’s gone 11-1 on the European regional circuit with his only loss in that time coming to current UFC fighter Jack Hermansson. Vemola is 32 and is currently riding a four-fight win streak, and it’s possible the UFC could give him another look if he wins this fight. Kincl (19-8) is a veteran of the European regional circuit as well and has fought the likes of Alexander Shlemenko and Magnus Cedenblad, though he lost both of those fights. He is currently 6-0, 1 NC over his last seven fights and has been looking good. The problem is, Kincl is a welterweight while Vemola is a light heavyweight. I think the size difference comes into play in this fight, and I see Vemola dominating and getting the finish.
– A notable middleweight bout sees Petr Knize take on Gregor Herb. Knize (9-1) is currently riding a six-fight win streak and his only career defeat came to Vemola. The problem is he’s 40-years-old and he has had multiple long layoffs during his career. Herb (15-8) is a veteran of the German regional scene and in his most recent bout picked up a knockout win which snapped a three-fight losing skid. The problem is, Herb hasn’t fought since 2015, and at his age the layoff is a huge concern. Herb has definitely fought tougher competition in his career, though, so I don’t really agree with Knize being such a huge favorite here. Based on recent activity level I can see why Knize is favored to get the win, but there’s no way I would recommend betting on a fight between two 40-year-olds.
– A name that fans may have heard of is Ivan Buchinger, who takes on Jaroslav Pokorny in a featherweight contest. Buchinger (33-6) is a long-time veteran of Cage Warriors and M-1 Global, and he has notable wins over the likes of Mairbek Taisumov and Stevie Ray, as well as a knockout loss to Conor McGregor. The 32-year-old has been inconsistent as of late, going 2-2 in his last four outings, altenating submission wins with knockout losses. Pokorny (14-6) has won five-straight fights on the Czech regional circuit and I’m not quite sure why he’s being counted out so much in this fight. Buchinger is a beatable, inconsistent fighter and once again there’s no way I would recommend laying that kind of juice on a guy like that. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Pokorny pulled off the upset.
