TUF 23 Finale Date: July 8, 2016 Arena: MGM Grand Garden Arena City: Las Vegas, NV The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be in Las Vegas on Friday, July 8th with The Ultimate Fighter Season 23 Finale, which will be headlined by a women’s strawweight title fight between defending champion Jaonna Jedredzyk and challenger Claudia Gadelha. The main card will be underway at 10pm ET on FOX Sports 1, with preliminary action preceding it on the same channel at 8pm ET and 6:45pm ET on UFC Fight Pass prior to that.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: Lightweight bout: Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson vs “Ill” Will Brooks Gabe’s Thoughts: Former Bellator lightweight champion Brooks will be making his long-awaited UFC debut in this contest against solid veteran/journeyman Pearson. While the Brit is a solid 155-pounder, I believe Brooks is elite and I expect the difference to be clear on Friday night. Brooks is taking this fight on short notice as an injury replacement for James Krause, but I do not expect that to matter, as it shouldn’t with fighters who are elite. He is a “stay ready so don’t have to get ready” type of fighter who trains out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, FL, so I expect him be ready for a full, hard three rounds of action in his promotional debut, should the contest reach the judges’ scorecards for a decision. I think the fight will be interesting on the feet, but I think Brooks will find success in taking it to the mat, where his superior grappling will be in full display and he will ultimately take home a unanimous 30-27 decision victory on the judges’ scorecards or score a possible submission along the way. Gabe’s Call: Brooks by Submission (rear naked choke, 4:20 round 2) Lightweight bout: Jake Matthews (-150) vs Kevin Lee (+130) Gabe’s Thoughts: Matthews was -210 just a couple of days ago, but public action as brought his betting line down to -150 and tightened things up, which means good news for us Matthews backers! I see this fight as being the real coming out party for the Australian. Lee is making a big mistake by looking past him and wanting to fight Will Brooks. I don’t think Lee is taking Matthews seriously, just like he was not taking his two previous opponents seriously. He was a massive favorite against both of them, and one (Leonardo Santos) knocked him out, while the other (Efrain Escudero) took him to a razor-thin decision that went Lee’s way. He has not lived up to his mouth and ego and I think he’s in for a wake-up call if he really believes Matthews is going to be a walk in the park for him. I think the Australian wears Lee down and eventually finishes him with a T/KO or submission late in the fight. That said, I would not be at all surprised to see Matthews knock Lee out in the opening stanza. One way or another, I think he will find a highlight reel finish and earn another big W. Should the fight hit the scorecards for a judges’ decision, I favor Matthews to pick up the nod there, as well, as I think he is the more likely fighter to win rounds two and three. Gabe’s Call: Matthews by Technical Submission (rear naked choke, 3:23 round 3) Gabe’s Recommended Parlay: Brooks (-380) and Matthews (-150) at -110 for 3.8u to win 4.2u
