UFC on FOX 26: Lawler vs. Dos Anjos
Date: December 16
Arena: Bell MTS Place
City:Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is headed back to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada with UFC on FOX 26: Lawler vs. Dos Anjos. The stacked 12 fight card is set to kick off with preliminary action on UFC Fight Pass at 4 p.m. ET. Prelims will continue on FOX Sports 1 at 5 p.m., with the main card getting going on FOX at 8 p.m. If interested in wagering on any bouts for these fight cards, all betting lines are made available at Several Bookmakers.
My Fights to AVOID betting are:
Light Heavyweight bout: Misha Cirkunov (-165) vs. Glover Teixeira (+145)
Gabe’s Thoughts: I think this is a coin-flip matchup in the UFC’s 205 pound division, so at the current odds, I see this as a dog or pass situation, and ultimately, I am going to opt to pass on making a play on the +145 dog in Teixeira here. I can’t fault anybody for playing him at the current price, but personally, I would need to see him at +170 to even consider a play. As for my official pick, I will side with the Brazilian, as I think he has more routes to victory than his Russian-Canadian counterpart. Cirkunov has an excellent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game, but so does Teixeira, so I don’t think he will be able to win by submission. Teixeira is the superior striker of the two, so I think Cirkunov’s chances of catching him are very slim. Cirkunov winning on the judges’ scorecards is probably the most likely outcome to this matchup, even though it is the only way I could see him getting his hand raised. Teixeira’s chin is going, so a lucky knockout would not be completely surprising, I just am not expecting it. As for the Brazilian, I think he is capable of defeating Cirkunov by decision or T/KO, and for my official pick, I’ll side with him, and my guess is that he clips Cirkunov early and puts him away.
Gabe’s Call: Teixeira by T/KO (punches, 1:46 round 1)
Gabe’s Recommended Play: AVOID
Lightweight bout: Abel Trujillo (-200) vs. John Makdessi (+170)
Gabe’s Thoughts: I think Trujillo should be a -150 betting favorite in this 155 pound matchup, so I see no betting value in him at his current offering price of -200. At the current odds, I believe this is a dog or pass situation, and I will have to pass on playing Makdessi at +170. He is the superior technical striker in this matchup and is capable of defeating Trujillo by T/KO or decision, and he has the hometown advantage heading into this bout, so I definitely cannot blame anybody for taking a shot at him at the current price. I would need to see him at +200 to consider a play. I could see Trujillo winning this fight on the feet, but I think he will be trying to take Makdessi to the mat, and the question would be whether the Lebanese-Canadian’s takedown defense will hold up or not.
Gabe’s Call: Makdessi by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Gabe’s Recommended Play: AVOID
