The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA for the third time in promotion history with UFC Fight Night 63, which will be headlined by a five round main event contest between top featherweights Chad “Money” Mendes and Ricardo “The Bully” Lamas. The main card action will kick off with six scheduled bouts at 1pm ET on FOX Sports 1, with a four-fight preliminary card preceding it on the same channel at 11am ET. If interested in making this parlay, or any other wagers for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available at Several Bookmakerss. Here’s my three-way parlay for UFC Fight Night 63 in Virginia: Women’s Bantamweight bout: Julianna Pena (-270) vs Milana Dudieva (+230) Fight Prediction: This was a fight I originally thought of as a “dog or pass” situation and was eyeing a play on the underdog Dudieva when the odds were initially released by Several Bookmakerss. However, after doing my homework on the fight, I can’t help but like Pena’s chances of getting her hand raised when these two square off on Saturday night. I believe she is hungry and I expect to see her return from her extended injury layoff in dominant fashion, a la Dominick Cruz vs Takeya Mizugaki. I think Dudieva is a legit fighter and I expect her to stick around in the UFC, unless they keep feeding her to the biggest of wolves. While I think Dudieva’s future inside the Octagon is a bright one, I think she is outmatched in this contest. I think Pena will find success with her takedowns and will ultimately secure a finish, if not earn a unanimous nod when the fight hits the judges’ scorecards for a decision. Gabe’s Call: Pena by Submission (armbar, 2:33 round 2) Featherweight bout: Clay Guida (-250) vs Robbie Peralta (+210) Fight Prediction: Both 145-pounders have stepped it up a notch with their training, as they have both found new homes to prepare for this contest. Guida has been training at California’s Team Alpha Male, while Peralta has been at Montreal’s famed TriStar Gym. In this contest, I expect to see the best Robbie Peralta we have ever seen. He is no longer half-assing it in the UFC as a part-time fighter with a full-time job on the side; finally, being a professional mixed martial artist is his full-time job, and that sacrifice is likely to pay off for Peralta. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will start paying off this weekend, as I think “The Carpenter” will find success taking “Problems” down and controlling him on the mat long enough over the course of three rounds of action to pick up a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. Things could get quite entertaining on the feet, with Peralta possibly hurting Guida, but I think Guida will ultimately manage to take the fight to the mat and make sure to end the rounds in his world. I could see Guida submitting Peralta, but I am favoring a decision win for the veteran. As for a hedge, I like sprinkles on Peralta by T/KO (+515) and Peralta ITD (+415). Gabe’s Call: Guida by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Heavyweight bout: Shamil Abdurahimov (-265) vs Timothy Johnson (+225) Fight Prediction: Much like with the Pena bout, this is another contest in which I was originally considering a play on the underdog. Again, with further study, I ended up making a complete 180 and siding with the favorite, which in this case is Abdurahimov. I think there is a chance that Johnson could hurt him in the first round, however, I think Abdurahimov will survive the potential early onslaught and come back to win the second and third rounds to pick up the unanimous nod from the judges at Octagon-side. When the opening bell rings, I expect them to start exchanging on the feet, and this being a heavyweight contest, a knockout finish by either party would not be a surprise. That said, I like both fighters’ chances of avoiding the early finish, and I see this fight eventually turning into a grappling match-up, and I give the edge to Abdurahimov in that department. Throughout this contest, I expect him to use his superior wrestling to score enough takedowns and spend enough time in top control on the mat to secure rounds in the eyes of the judges. I could see him scoring a late stoppage, possibly a rear naked choke submission, but more often than not I think Abdurahimov takes this one on the scorecards. Gabe’s Call: Abdurahimov by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Parlays: Pena (-270), Guida (-250) and Abdurahimov (-265) at +164 for 1.25u to win 2.05u From a previous article for this card: Pena (-270) with Chiesa (-370) at -135 for 1.7u to win 1.25u, Guida (-250) with Chiesa (-370) at -129 for 1.85u to win 1.44u and Abdurahimov (-265) with Chiesa (-370) at -134 1.95u to win 1.46u
