UFC Fight Night 86 Date: April 8, 2016 Arena: Arena Zagreb City: Zagreb, Croatia The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be making a trip to Zagreb, Croatia for the first time in promotional history with UFC Fight Night 86: Rothwell vs Dos Santos. The main card will get going at 2pm ET on FOX Sports 1, with preliminary action preceding it on the same channel at noon ET and 10:30am ET on UFC Fight Pass. If interested in wagering on this parlay, or any bouts for this fight card, all betting lines are currently made available at Several Bookmakerss. Here is my parlay: Heavyweight bout: Curtis Blaydes (-145) vs Francis Ngannou (+125) Gabe’s Thoughts: I believe Blaydes is going to try to avoid Ngannou’s insanely dangerous power and attempt to take this fight to the mat, where he should enjoy a massive advantage, being a National Junior College Champion wrestler. I see Blaydes having a very clear route to victory in this heavyweight match-up, but I don’t think he will find success with his gameplan. I have a feeling Ngannou connects and ends the fight early, before Blaydes even has the opportunity to attempt a single takedown. Though, should Blaydes be able to secure a takedown in the first round and keep the Frenchman on his back for the remainder of the stanza, it will practically be a do-over when the bell rings for the second round, as was the case with Ngannou in his promotional debut, where he was outwrestled in the first round and knocked his opponent out cold at the start of the second. To conclude, over the course of 15-minutes of scheduled action, I favor Ngannou to land a fight-ending strike. That said, should this fight reach the judges’ scorecards for a decision, it would most likely be Blaydes taking the nod, but I think Ngannou would stand a decent chance at winning a decision, as well, if Blaydes’ chin somehow manages to hold up. Gabe’s Call: Ngannou by T/KO (punch, 0:18 round 1) Light Heavyweight bout: Igor Pokrajak (+310) vs Jan Blachowicz (-370) Gabe’s Thoughts: I think this is the biggest mismatch on this fight card and the betting lines indicate it. I see value in Blachowicz at his currently juiced offering price of -370, as I think he should be a -500 betting favorite heading into this 205-pound contest. The Pole has his back against the wall, coming off back to back unanimous decision losses to Jimi Manuwa and Corey Anderson, respectively. This is do-or-die time for him and I think he will walk right through Pokrajac, who is returning for his second stint with the promotion. Gabe’s Call: Blachowicz by T/KO (strikes, 3:48 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Parlay: Ngannou (+125) and Blachowicz (-370) at +185 for 1.75u to win 3.25u
