TUF 23 Finale Date: July 8, 2016 Arena: MGM Grand Garden Arena City: Las Vegas, NV The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be in Las Vegas on Friday, July 8th with The Ultimate Fighter Season 23 Finale, which will be headlined by a women’s strawweight title fight between defending champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and challenger Claudia Gadelha. The main card will be underway at 10pm ET on FOX Sports 1, with preliminary action preceding it on the same channel at 8pm ET and 6:45pm ET on UFC Fight Pass prior to that.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: Welterweight bout: Li Jingliang (-345) vs Anton Zafir (+285) Gabe’s Thoughts: I believe Jingliang is the superior mixed martial artists heading into this welterweight contest and very likely the best Chinese prospect in the division. I think this is a match-up stylistically tailor-made for him to win, and I expect him to do so handily. I think he is the stronger fighter of the two and the better grappler, thus I see him finding success in taking the fight to the mat, where I see him dominating Zafir. It won’t surprise me to see Zafir tough it out for three rounds to see the judges’ scorecards for a unanimous decision defeat, but more than likely, I think Jingliang is able to secure a finish either via T/KO or submission. I think he should be a 5-to-1 betting favorite heading into this contest, so I see value in his current juicy betting line of -345. Gabe’s Call: Jingliang by Submission (rear naked choke, 4:24 round 1) Featherweight bout: Gray Maynard (-140) vs Fernando Bruno (+120) Gabe’s Thoughts: Maynard is dropping down to the featherweight division for this contest and it is a question mark whether he will be able to make weight. Whether he does or not, as long as this fight goes on as scheduled, I think he will dominate Bruno for a unanimous 30-27 decision victory on the judges’ scorecards, potentially scoring a finish along the way. I would say the odds of Maynard ending this fight inside the distance are somewhat greater than him winning it on the scorecards. I think there is a good chance he comes out of the gate strong and either takes Bruno down and finishes him with a brutal ground and pound, or just gets in his faces and puts together a vicious combination that drops him and allows Maynard to pounce on until the referee intervenes and rewards him the T/KO victory. Gabe’s Call: Maynard by T/KO (punches, 2:55 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Parlay: Jingliang (-345) and Maynard (-140) at +121 for 2.65u to win 3.2u
