UFC Fight Night 88: Almeida vs Garbrandt Date: May 29, 2016 Arena: Mandalay Bay Events Center City: Las Vegas, NV The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back in Las Vegas, NV with UFC Fight Night 88: Almeida vs Garbrandt. The night of action features 11 bouts, culminating with a five round bantamweight showdown between two of the most feared, undefeated prospects in the division. Preliminary card action gets underway at 6pm ET on UFC Fight Pass and 7pm ET on FOX Sports 1, with the main card kicking off on the same channel at 9pm ET. If interested in wagering on this parlay, or any bouts for this fight card, all betting lines are currently made available at Several Bookmakerss. Here is my parlay: Featherweight bout: Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens (+145) vs Renan Barao (-165) Gabe’s Thoughts: Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao is set to make his featherweight debut after losing a pair of title fights to DJ Dillashaw via knockout. He lost his title in this first fight, and failed to get it back in the second fight. I think “Lil’ Heathen” is a stiff test for him in his 145-pound debut but I think it is one he can pass with flying colors, as long as he proves to not be on a decline. I can see Barao winning this fight in any fashion; submission, T/KO or decision. That said, I do favor him to fight smart and technically outpoint Stephens for three rounds of actin en route to picking up a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards, making a safe entry into the featherweight division and it’s rankings. Though he is capable of putting Stephens away, he should know it is no easy task, so I expect he will fight smart and look to outpoint. However, if he guns guns out looking to get a highlight-reel finish in his 145-pound debut, I would not be surprised. In any case, as long as he avoids getting caught and knocked out, I think Barao should walk away with this one. I think he should be a -230 betting favorite heading into this contest, so I see value in him at his current offering price of -165. Gabe’s Call: Barao by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Middleweight bout: Alberto Pereira (-140) vs Jake Collier (+120) Gabe’s Thoughts: In short, this is more of a fade on Collier than anything else. Pereira is a solid, undefeated prospect who has finished eight of his nine professional mixed martial arts victories and I expect that trend to continue against Collier in Las Vegas this Sunday night. Gabe’s Call: Pereira by T/KO (strikes, 1:17 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Parlay: Barao (-165) and Pereira (-140) at +175 for 2u to win 3.5u
