UFC Fight Night 65 Date: May 9, 2015 Arena: Adelaide Entertainment Centre City: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is set to return to Australia this Saturday (May 9, 2015) with UFC Fight Night 65: Miocic vs Hunt. The event will feature an entirety of 12-bouts, all live on UFC Fight Pass. Preliminary action will get going at 7:45pm ET with eight bouts, and the four-fight main card will get underway at 11pm ET. If interested in wagering on this fight card, all betting lines will be made available at Several Bookmakerss. Here are my preliminary card plays for UFC Fight Night 65 in Australia: Welterweight bout: Jonavin Webb (+100) vs Kyle Noke (-110) Fight Prediction: Webb is making his promotional debut and taking on Noke, who is the biggest test of the 26-year old’s professional mixed martial arts career. Noke is in good shape for this fight and hopeful to get his hand raised in front of his native Australian crowd. Long story short, I like Webb for a play in this fight, even though I am aware Octagon jitters could potentially play a factor and that Noke has had a great camp. I just think Webb is the superior grappler heading into this fight and I expect him to use said superior grappling to get the better of Noke, ultimately either submitting him or picking up a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards. Gabe’s Call: Webb by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Webb (+100) 3u to win 3u Women’s Strawweight bout: Bec Rawlings (-160) vs Lisa Ellis (+150) Fight Prediction: I slightly favor Ellis in this match-up, as I think she is capable of scoring takedowns and spending enough time in top position to pick up the decision, should the fight hit the cards. I could see her catching a submission, but I think a win on the cards is more likely. This is a “dog or pass” situation for me and I am opting to take a shot with the dog. Gabe’s Call: Ellis by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Ellis (+150) 1.5u to win 2.25u Women’s Strawweight bout: Alex Chambers (+190) vs Kailin Curran (-210) Fight Prediction: This is “make it or break it” time for both women’s 115-pounders, but even more so for Chambers, who is nearing 40 years of age. I think Curran is the more skilled fighter with the brighter future in the sport, but I think there is a good chance that Chambers’ heart alone could be enough to get the better of Curran here and ultimately pick up the win. This is the most important fight of her career and potentially her last; I expect her to give it everything she’s got. Fighting in front of her home crowd and without the support of her family, Chambers has a lot to prove and I believe she will look to do that when she enters the Octagon tomorrow night. This is another “dog or pass” situation for me and I have decided to take my chances with the undersized underdog. Gabe’s Call: Chambers by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Chambers (+190) 1.7u to win 3.23u Welterweight bout: Brendan O’Reilly (+100) vs Vic Grujic (-110) Fight Prediction: I think Grujic is the superior mixed martial artist heading into this 170-pound contest and I expect him to get the better of O’Reilly over the course of three rounds to take home a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards and ultimately return to the win column. This could be a “loser goes home” fight for both fighters, and I think O’Reilly is going to be the one sent packing. This is more of a fade on him than anything else, as I don’t believe he is UFC-calibre and don’t think of him as much more than a punching bag. Unless he precisely connect’s with old man Grujic’s chin, I don’t see how he wins this fight. Gabe’s Call: Grujic by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Grujic (-110) 3.3u to win 3u Flyweight bout: Alpetkin Ozkilic (-185) vs Ben Nguyen (+170) Fight Prediction: Simply put, I think this is a coin-flip fight and I slightly lean with Nguyen to get his hand raised. I could see him picking up the nod on the judges’ scorecards following three competitive rounds of action, and I could also see him stopping Ozkilic, especially in the later rounds, where I think he will be the fresher fighter, even considering the fact that this is his first drop down to 125-pounds. Gabe’s Call: Nguyen by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Nguyen (+170) 2u to win 3.4u
