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 these plays, or any plays for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available at Several Bookmakerss. Here are my prop plays: Gray Maynard (-165) vs Fernando Bruno (+145) Maynard by T/KO (+325) 1u to win 3.25u Maybard by Submission (+605) .4u to win 2.42u I think Maynard finally bounces back into the win column with this match-up and I think there is a fairly good chance he does so with a T/KO finish. I think this match-up stylistically favors him to win inside the distance and I favor a play on the T/KO prop at the currently offered price tag of +325 and a stab on the Submission pro at +605, as I think he could finish the fight with a rear naked choke if the ground and pound does not give. Cezar Ferreira (+105) vs Anthony Smith (-125) Smith in Round One (+225) 1u to win 2.25u Smith by Decision (+612) .5u to win 3.06u Ferreira by Decision (+485) .3u to win 1.45u I favor Smith to win this fight via first round T/KO, but I could see this fight hitting the judges’ scorecards, and in such a scenario, I think it could be anybody’s fight. I still favor Smith to pick up the nod, as I think damage done could prove to be the difference, but takedowns and top position could also sway judges in favor of the Brazilian. Jake Matthews (-150) vs Kevin Lee (+130) Matthews in Round Three (+1075) 1u to win 10.75u I see value in this line, as I think Matthews stands a good chance of finishing Lee once fatigue sets in for the Las Vegas-based fighter. I think Matthews will put the pressure on and eventually slow Lee down, ultimately securing a finish in the third stanza, either via T/KO or rear naked choke submission. Anton Zafir (+275) vs Jingliang Li (-335) Jingliang by T/KO (+110) 1u to win 1.1u Jingliang by Submission (+605) .4u to win 2.42u In short, I think Li should be able to put Zafir away in this contest, and I could see him doing so by either T/KO or submission. I do favor the T/KO finish but see value in both of these betting lines.
