Just in time for the end of the year, WSOF is ready to party once again. Perhaps their brightest prospect, featherweight champion Lance Palmer is in action once again, as he defends his title against Alexandre de Almeida. Palmer has won three straight bouts since his only career loss to capture and defend the WSOF featherweight title. Almeida has only fought outside of Brazil once, as he defeated Saul Almeida just 83 seconds into his lone WSOF fight back in October. The card also features Russian prospect Ozzy Dugulubgov, a fun bantamweight bout between former title challenger Josh Hill and unbeaten Bekbulat Magomedov, as well as another 135lb clash between strikers Sheymon Moraes and Robbie Peralta. Originally the card was scheduled to have Tyrone Spong in the co-main event, but he was forced to withdraw with an injury. His original opponent, Jake Heun, will now be taking on Clinton Williams in the opening bout of the main card. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting line for Friday’s main card of WSOF 26 today at Several Bookmakers. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (NBC Sports Network, 9pm ET)
——————– Brad’s Analysis: Lance Palmer has one way to lose this fight, and that’s if he gets lazy in a scramble and lets Almeida take his back. Other than that, he’s the vastly better wrestler, and even the more dangerous striker at this point. I like Palmer to keep this upright, and eventually catch Almeida to put him out. Hard to bet at this price unless you’re into throwing massive favorites in a parlay, but I wouldn’t waste money on the dog. Ozzy is a guy who has all the physical tools, but sometimes just doesn’t put them all together. I don’t expect that to be the case here, as Herron-Webb isn’t particularly dynamic in any area, and that should allow Dugulubgov to fight however he wants to in this case. Again, not a guy I want to trust at his current line, but I’m not gonna bother throwing money at the dog. I question Robbie Peralta’s commitment at this point in his career. He still works full-time, and now he’s gone from fighting in the UFC to fighting in a second-tier organization. He’s still relatively young at 29, but he’s been around for a long time and might not have that much left in the tank. Also, cutting down to 135 may not do him any favors, especially against a talented striker like Sheymon Moraes. If the public moves the line towards Peralta because of the familiarity, I’ll take a shot on Moraes as the dog. There may be a chance to fade some Russian hype with this latest in the line of Magomedovs. Bekbulat has never faced a wrestler as good as Josh Hill, and his striking still needs a great deal of refinement. At plus-money I’ll take a shot on Hill right now, and hope that the hype moves the line even further towards Magomedov once the public has a look at his glossy record. The opening fight on the card is one I just want to stay away from. I can’t trust Jake Heun at any point, but he should be able to beat a smaller, short notice opponent in Clinton Williams. Both men are dangerous on the feet, but somewhat vulnerable at the same time, and Heun is the more active submission hunter, but has been tapped on multiple occasions himself. If I play anything in this game, it’ll be the under, but even with that set at 1.5 rounds I’m hesitant.