UFC Fight Night 92: Rodriguez vs Caceres Date: August 6, 2016 Arena: Vivint Smart Arena City: Salt Lake City, UT The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heads Salt Lake City, UT for the first time in promotional history with UFC Fight Night 92: Rodriguez vs Caceres. Main card action will be live on FOX Sports 1 at 10pm ET. Preliminary action will precede on the saem channel at 8pm ET and on UFC Fight Pass at 7pm ET. 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 live dogs: Middleweight bout: Trevor Smith (+120) vs Joseph Gigliotti (-140) Gabe’s Thoughts: Undefeated 22 year old Gigliotti parlayed a win over John Poppie under the RFA banner into a UFC contract and will be making his promotional debut against 35 year old Smith. The Strikeforce veteran is coming off a unanimous decision win over Dan Miller and will be looking to make it two in a row for himself inside the Octagon by giving Gigliotti his first taste of professional mixed martial arts defeat. The 22 year old has never been the distance in his 7-0 pro career, though he has been to the third round on two occasions and finished the fight both times; once via TKO and once by submission. Gigliotti may or may not have a bright future in the UFC; that is something I am uncertain about at this point. That said, I do think he is taking a big step up in competition with this bout, and outside of landing a lucky shot, I don’t think he gets past Smith. I think Smith’s toughness, grit and veteran experience will benefit him heading into this contest. I see him outmuscling Gigliotti and schooling him against the cage and on the mat. I think Smith takes Gigliotti into deep waters, where I could see him pulling off a finish; but more often than not, I think Smith wins this one on the judges’ scorecards. I think he should be a -240 betting favorite heading into this 185-pound contest, so I like him for a play at his underdog tag of +120. Gabe’s Call: Smith by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Smith (+120) 3.5u to win 4.2u Lightweight bout: David Teymur (-105) vs Jason Novelli (-135) Gabe’s Thoughts: Teymur is 1-0 inside the Octagon looking to go 2-0 in this contest against promotional newcomer Novelli. While Novelli has more official mixed martial arts experience than Teymur, I think he is taking a big step up in competition with this match-up. For Teymur, I think it could arguably be a step down in competition from his last bout against Matin Svensson. With any luck, the winner of this contest will get his very own Wikipedia page! To conclude, I feel this is Teymur’s fight to lose and think he should be a -280 betting favorite heading in, so I see tremendous value in him at his offering price of -105. Gabe’s Call: Teymur by T/KO (strikes, 4:18 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Teymur (-105) 4.2u to win 4u
