The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back in Las Vegas on Thursday, July 7th with UFC Fight Night 90: dos Anjos vs Alvarez. The 12-fight card airs entirely on UFC Fight Pass, with preliminary action kicking off 6:30pm ET, with main card action getting underway at 10pm 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: Welterweight bout: Alan Jouban (-125) vs Belal Muhammad (+105) Gabe’s Thoughts: This is a striker vs striker match-up in the UFC’s welterweight division and I think there is a good chance we see some fireworks when these two square off. Following a first round knockout at the hands of Albert Tumenov, Jouban returned to the win column with a first round TKO of Australia’s Brendan O’Reilly and will now be aiming to make it two in a row against short-notice promotional newcomer Muhammad. The former Titan FC welterweight champion captured the title with a unanimous decision victory over WSOF veteran Steve Carl and parlayed it into a contract with the UFC. Replacing an injured Nordine Taleb on short notice during Ramadan, the Muslim fighter hopes to pick up his first UFC victory and stay undefeated as a professional mixed martial artist. Training out of Roufusport MMA in Milwaukee, WI, he should be prepared for his debut, even on short notice. I think he is a solid fighter at 170-pounds but would have a brighter future competing in the UFC’s 155-pound division, as I think welterweights in the UFC will prove to be too much for him; and I think that is likely to start with Jouban, who will have a size and strength advantage over Muhammad heading into this contest. They are both excellent strikers but I think Jouban lands a larger number of significant strikes and is more likely to finish the fight, despite being the fighter with the weaker chin of the two. I think Jouban’s Octagon experience will also benefit him in this contest, while I expect some first-time jitters from the promotional newcomer. I think Jouban should be a 2-to-1 betting favorite heading into this welterweight scrap, so I like him at his current near coin-flip offering price of -125. Gabe’s Call: Jouban by T/KO (strikes, 2:01 round 1) Lightweight bout: Joseph Duffy (-370) vs Mitch Clarke (+310) Gabe’s Thoughts: I believe Duffy is the superior mixed martial artist heading into this 155-pound contest, and though I am a fan of Clarke’s and believe he is always a game opponent, I think he is biting more than he can chew here. That said, it is worth noting that he was in that position before against Al Iaquinta, and ever being dominated in the first round, he caught Iaquinta with a D’Arce choke in the second and put him to sleep, ultimately earning the biggest and most impressive victory of his professional mixed martial arts career. I see Duffy’s superior boxing being the difference in this match-up. I think he keeps this fight standing and outboxed Duffy either to a unanimous decision victory on the scorecards or a possible finish along the way. Even at his current heavily juiced asking price of -370, I think there’s value in Duffy, as I think he should be a 5-to-1 betting favorite heading into this contest. I think this match-up is stylistically tailor-made for him to return to the win column in impressive fashion, following his first Octagon defeat, which came via unanimous decision against Dustin Poirier at UFC 195 six months ago. Gabe’s Call: Duffy by T/KO (punches, 0:51 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Parlay: Jouban (-125) and Duffy (-370) at +128 for 3.35u to win 4.3u
