UFC 217
Date: November 4
Arena: Madison Square Garden
City: New York City, NY
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back in New York City for the third time in promotional history with UFC 217: Bisping vs. St. Pierre. The stacked 12-fight card is set to kick off with prelims on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET. Preliminary action will continue on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m., with the main card firing off on Pay Per View at 10 p.m. If interested in wagering on any bouts for these fight cards, all betting lines are made available at Several Bookmakers.
Here are my plays…
Women’s Strawweight title bout: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (-600) vs. Rose Namajunas (+450)
Gabe’s Thoughts: To put it simply, I see this fight playing out two ways; either the champion earns a TKO stoppage to retain her title or Namajunas catches her in a submission.to take her crown. Whichever the result, I think we see the final result within three and a half rounds of action, which makes me favor the Total of Under 3.5 rounds for a play at it’s currently offered price of +165.
Gabe’s Call: Namajunas by Submission (standing rear naked choke or flying armbar, 3:21 round 2)
Gabe’s Recommended Play: Under 3.5 rounds (+165)
Light Heavyweight bout: Ion Cutelaba (-500) vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk (+400)
Gabe’s Thoughts: At these odds, I think this fight is a dog or pass situation and am quite tempted to play Michal but after tossing and turning with it, I have ultimately decided to pass on making a wager. There is no way I can recommend playing Cutelaba as a 5-to-1 betting favorite in this spot, even though I am a big fan his. I think Michal is going to be a very tough out for him, and if not for the fact that he is taking this fight on short notice, I would have likely taken him here, even as low as +250. It would not at all surprise me to see him get the job done, but Cutelaba is tough to put away, so I think he is going to have to take this fight on the judges’ scorecards. Cutelaba is a finisher in his own right, but I think he is more likely to win this particular matchup on the cards than inside the distance. While I am passing on taking either fighter straight up, despite seeing value in Michal at the current odds, I am opting to play the Total of Over 1.5 rounds here at +180, as I think this fight goes past seven and a half minutes of action more often than not.
Gabe’s Call: Cutelaba by Majority Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
Gabe’s Recommended Play: Over 1.5 rounds (+180)
