One of the prelims at UFC 189 is a three-round bantamweight bout between Cody Garbrandt and Henry Briones. According to the current betting lines available at Several Bookmakers, Garbrandt is a -600 favorite (bet $600 to win $100) while Briones is a +450 underdog (bet $100 to win $450). MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened up Garbrandt at -380 and Briones at +260, and action has come in on the favorite Garbrandt. I agree with the money that has come in on Gabrandt as I believe he will win this fight impressively. Here’s why. Garbrandt (6-0) defeated Marcus Brimage via TKO in his UFC debut earlier this year at UFC 182 in a fantastic performance. The 23-year-old Americans showed in that fight that he has great boxing and huge knockout power for his weight class as he was able to put out a tough guy in Brimage in the last 10 seconds of the fight with strikes. Training at Team Alpha Male, Garbrandt is constantly improving his game. He has great striking, his wrestling is solid, and he’s young and hungry. He looks geared to be a future bantamweight contender, and an impressive win over Briones will likely allow get him a step up in competition for his next outing. Briones (16-4-1) was a cast member on TUF Latin America and he won his UFC debut in impressive fashion, taking out Guido Cannetti via second-round submission. Overall he is undefeated in his last eight bouts and looks to be a better-than-expected fighter at 135lbs for the UFC. With 14 finishes in his career, he is a finisher, and he can finish opponents by either knockout or submission. However, he generally hasn’t fought very good competition. The 34-year-old Mexican is a decent fighter but at his age and in the weight class he’s in, it’s really hard to see him as a contender, and going up against a young killer in Garbrandt it’s easy to see why he’s the underdog in this one. I’m very high on Garbrandt and believe he can crack the top 15 at bantamweight very soon. He has really good striking and his wrestling seems to be on point as well. To me, this fight with Briones is a step down. I know Briones had an impressive UFC debut, but he was fighting a really bad fighter, whereas Garbrandt was fighting a good fighter in Brimage and was even more impressive. Both guys are hittable but I think Garbrandt packs more power and I think he can get to Briones’ chin and knock him out, although a decision wouldn’t surprise me either. Regardless of method, I expect Garbrandt to get his hand raised in this one, and even at -600 he’s someone to think about parlaying as I just don’t see how he loses this fight.
