UFC Fight Night Bonfim vs. Brown drops this Saturday at the APEX facility in Las Vegas, NV.
Thirteen scheduled bouts will be presented with fighters arriving from across the globe to compete in battles being waged from 115lb flyweight ladies to 265lb heavyweight men!
Again this week, the combatants populating this fight card are as relatively obscure and unrecognized at this stage of their careers as the UFC strives this time of year to get fighters scheduled to help fulfill contractual obligations as well put losing fighters on notice.
There are but a handful of fights with aggressive age differences on this card, these statistically favor the younger athlete. Save for one battle on this slate being lined -270 to the favorite, all the other fights on the card are lined competitively for these bouts are well matched.
Last week’s UFC card was/is engrossed in yet another betting scandal however this one is more serious than the last occurrence. I hesitate to report more than this because details are scant and it is responsible to wait for the hard facts before jumping on unreported fact.
Suffice it to say the feds may now be involved. The UFC could now be in a situation of explaining to authorities why they allowed the fight to move forward AFTER they had been warned about the inequities discovered in the betting markets by their watchdog entity Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360), a global compliance technology and advisory platform specializing in comprehensive integrity and regulatory technology*.
More news is coming for certain, and I’ll have strong opinions but only once the hard facts are brought to light!
Last week I split my positions as we earned victory and profit from the Stevie Garcia domination, yet we were robbed of a victory because of ultra dubious refereeing in the Delija vs. Cortez-Acosta fight where Delija was awarded the win, then after video replay and a ten-minute delay the fight was resumed. Seems the UFC is forceful enough to forge their own rules on the fly in these events?!
My fear is that the UFC is transitioning from a legitimate sport with wagering integrity (ala Boxing in the eighties) to scripted outcomes like the WWE. Let’s hope I am incorrect.
Let’s break down a couple of scheduled bouts!
Gabriel Bonfim -185 vs. Randy Brown +160 Welterweight (170lbs.) main event
Brazilian grappling talent Bonfim is a mixed martial artist who has realized a 5-1 result since his entry into the organization in 2023.
Bonfim, twenty-eight is an accomplished grappler who realizes an average of four plus take downs per fifteen minutes of fighting. His take down defense is solid yet his striking, pedestrian as it is, is still very much in development while his strike defense borders on inadequate.
Bonfim employs forward force to immediately engage opponents. His will to employ his grappling acumen help him cloak the fact that on the feet he is not to the level of top ranked talent in the UFC’s welterweight division.
I say this on the heels of a very controversial (yet another one) decision earned in his most recent fight against Steven Wonderboy’ Thompson. In that fight twelve of fourteen press credentialed professionals in attendance scored the fight for Thomson yet Bonfim was ‘awarded’ a split decision?!
Thomson, a forty one year old with dynamic kickboxing and stand up skills schooled the Brazilian and avoided being grounded yet despite the fact that he did everything he could to ethically earn victory, the decision went to the fighter who has more future merit for the organization as opposed to the fighter who actually won the fight.
Get used to this fight fans because it’s not going away.
In any case, the singularly dimensioned grappler Bonfim takes this fight against another tall, long well-rounded opponent in Randy Brown.
Brown, a Jamaican with a black belt in BJJ and a wealth of experience fights out of Queens, NY.
Brown’s been in with a more competent set of UFC foe, he’s faced fighters of every shape and skillset and provided he can depend on his stout 79% take down defense in this encounter he should be in position to wage this war with Bonfim from the stand-up position which greatly favors him in this fight.
Brown, despite being seven years the more mature fighter at thirty-five is two inches taller than his Brazilian foe as well he sports a six-inch reach advantage over Bonfim who may find it arduous to gain inside position on the athletic jawbreaker from Jamaica.
The telling factor in this fight is where it takes place because if Bonfim is able to bring Brown to the basement floor, he’ll hold advantage but not dominant advantage.
Should Brown be able to keep the Brazilian grappler at distance in a standing battle and force Bonfim into the second round and beyond, he’ll be in terrific position to utilize his well-rounded fight weaponry and beat the Brazilian in a standing battle.
Brown +160
Total in this fight: 2.5Rds Over -120
Robert Valentin -185 vs. Jackson McVey +160 Middleweight (185lbs)
Valentin is from Switzerland and arrives to this matchup having lost all three of his previous UFC fights.
He was able to take Torrez Finney, a novice wrestling based Mixed Martial Artist no longer on the roster to a decision loss but was starched in his other two battles to Atiba Gautier (to which there is absolutely no shame) and Ryan Loder, which is shameful.
Valentin is primarily a grappler as he has submitted foes in six of his ten victories, his feet are slow, his striking is lethargic/telegraphed while his chin is suspect.
In Jackson McVey we have an athlete who will be four years the younger fighter with two inches in height advantage arriving from the MMALab in Phoenix.
McVey will have the benefit of travelling just an hour to get to Las Vegas where Valentin must undertake cross Atlantic travel and its complexities.
McVey’s debut in the UFC was a stinker as he was submitted in the first round by Bruno Ferreira which adds intrigue to this fight for now McVey, on the bounce must again deal with a deft grappler who is going to try to grab an appendage and snap it.
This is the first bout on the card, and one fight fans do not wish to miss because the younger, taller more capable fighter in this matchup is McVey who is poised and prepared to offer a top effort in his sophomore UFC bout.
McVey +160
Total in this fight: 1.5 Under -185
Lean over
Friday morning the ‘But Business Podcast drops at GambLou.com. All my final releases .3
Thank You for reading and enjoy the fights!
*Integrity Compliance 360 description came from their webpage.