Posted on Author Lou Categories Profitability, UFC

UFC 304 Edwards vs. Muhammad: Ring that Belal

Manchester, England is the location for this week’s UFC 304 Edwards vs. Muhammad PPV event.

The fourteen-fight production begins with early prelims Saturday at 3:15pm PT, prelims start at 5pm PT then the main card drops at 7pm PT.

These fights transpire in the wee hours Sunday AM in Jolly Ol’ England so the crowd should be in ‘rare’ form for these bouts, ten of which feature English combatants.

Last week two releases split however, the parlay paid +151 so digital results stand 17-15 +5.58u to date.

Champion Leon Edwards -250 vs. Belal Muhammad +210 Welterweight (170lbs.) Title

Since these two fought to a no contest in March of 2021 each has performed brilliantly defeating every challenger faced.

For Muhammad, unrelenting, forward pressure wrestling is his fight foundation, and he compliments that with extreme mental toughness, sheer determination an improved striking/licking offense and simple belief.

Since these two first tussled, Muhammad has improved his striking but as opposed to piecing opponents up, he’s looking to strike only long enough to steal the opponent’s soul by forcing them to battle tooth and nail, second by second and inch my inch for a full twenty-five.

What Muhammad believes is that eventually his calculated aggressiveness early in the fight will allow him to eventually clasp a hold of them and choke them out with a submission late in the fight.

Champion Edwards will be defending his belt at home. The southpaw is the younger man, the taller man and he’ll also hold reach advantages over Muhammad.

Edwards has the ability to thrive anywhere a fight evolves be it wrestling, grappling, striking, or kicking. The dexterity of Edwards, his physical advantages and taking into consideration who he has competed against all force me to regard Edwards as the legitimate favorite in this fight.

On the Muhammad side, it’s his focus, his unrelenting nature, and the fact he has been in the cage against Leon already. Muhammad understands exactly what he must do to accomplish this upset and it begins and ends with sucking the cardio out of the champion and usurping his confidence.

What is intriguing is that almost every other English fighter on this slate is being bet aggressively by the betting public however in this main event Edwards price has only moved slightly.

Current lines show respect for Muhammad yet when I handicap the fight it all comes down to whether Muhammad force Edwards into succumbing.

That’s his path to the championship.

At current pricing, I’ll take Muhammad +210 or better*.

*It won’t hurt to be patient and watch this line because a better price may arise.

Total in this fight: 4.5 Rds. Over -215

Champion Tom Aspinall -355 vs. Curtis Blaydes +290 heavyweight (265lbs.) Title Interim

This is a rematch of a July 2022 fight. In it Aspinall closed at a price of -140 over Blaydes after opening as a dead pick-em.

Aspinall was injured early in the fight which began the process of each man earning their way right back to a title shot. It just so happens that the location is Manchester and on Saturday these two settle who will be the next heavyweight champion after Jon Jones defeats Stipe Miocic then rides off into the sunset.

Blaydes resume is solid, he’s a world class wrestling talent who has developed a better than average power-based strike arsenal into his offense and that striking comes complete with kicks.

Blaydes cardio is a strength, he is unbelievably strong, determined, and confident yet not overly agile or nimble.

Blaydes has competed against heavyweight elite over several years and surely sees this as his best opportunity to be crowned but does that mean he’ll win the fight?

Curtis Blaydes has a single shortcoming, it’s a glaring one as unfortunately, Blaydes has the proverbial glass jaw.

This is not to say he can’t take a punch or battle toe-to-toe but since 2018 his three losses were all to worthy, power based legitimate heavyweight talents who in exchanges were able to blast Blaydes and drop him cheek first onto the floor.

This is the heavyweight division of the UFC and having to try to hide the inability to take one flush on the face is no secret, especially when the athlete is young, driven, confident and does not believe he can be stopped despite past results.

It’s my belief that Blaydes is playing an extremely dangerous game against this Aspinall kid. I’ll also mention that it was Blaydes that called this fight out.

For Aspinall, it’s simple.

He’s smashed each opponent put in front of him since these two first fought. Now he gets the opportunity to correct the blemish on his record that was put there after an injury in a fight that lasted 15 seconds.

Aspinall’s slightly younger than Blaydes, he’ll be taller, more athletic and the faster man in the cage.

Both of these men fight with a full arsenal of skill so it will be interesting to determine where this fight goes and who takes it there.

What Blaydes must execute is enough forward pressure to put Aspinall on the defensive and take this fight right to him. This strategy allows him his best chance to win.

It’s likely that Aspinall’s agility, speed and precision striking will sooner than later force the more methodical Blaydes into attempting to wrestle.

When that transition happens and I believe it will, this fight like an aged Cabernet will begin to open up.

Because if Blaydes is forced to apply wrestling he then leaves himself exposed to Aspinall’s forte’s which is straight knees, power uppercuts and leveraged crosses as he rushes inside to engage.

Total in this fight 1.5Rds Under -166

Modestus Bukauskas -155 vs. Marcin Prachnio +135 Light Heavyweight (205lbs)

These two fighters will each step into the cage on Saturday in must win situations.

Bukauskas won his first two UFC fights before Vitor Petrino finished him in the second round last November.

Bukauskas is a durable, willing striking based fighter with decent wrestling, but his strike defense needs improvement.

Prachnio is the older fighter at thirty-six, but he’s just as desperate for a win as is Bukauskas which enhances the volatility of this fight.

Prachnio is 2-2 in the UFC since 2022, he has competed against worthy competition, and he enters this one off a win.

In my judgement, Prachnio is the more complete striker, he has more innate power than does Bukauskas and he’s been in against a higher degree of pedigreed opponents. For that reason, I ‘ll declare him as a live underdog in a fight that is critical to each man.

Prachnio +135

The ‘Bout Business Podcast drops Friday morning this week as the fights are in England. Access it at GambLou.com

Thank You for reading and enjoy the hostilities.

GambLou

It’s Business!

Posted on Author Lou Categories Profitability, UFC

UFC LV94 Lemos vs. Jandiroba: Crash and Virna

We forge into the second half of the UFC calendar year with UFC LV94 this week.

Last week favorites went 6-3-3 last week pushing the winning percentage this year for chalk to 67.1%.

When will underdog correction present itself…will an underdog correction arise?

I trust that a corrections will transpire before the end of the year.

When? That’s a question I can’t answer as we have six months.

Digital results stand 16-13 +6.03u after last week’s release of Drew Dober failed against a young, faster more fluent fighter in Jean Silva.

Turning to LV 94, Saturday’s fights begin at 2pm PT with preliminary action and 5 pm PT for the main card. The card features twelve scheduled bouts but only two fights pit athletes weighing 170lbs. and above into the reduced confines of the 25’ APEX octagon.

One final note about late July/August in the UFC. This time of year can be stressful for veteran UFC athletes as they have tremendous pressure on them to perform and win.

These middle tier (talent and paygrade) UFC combatants must win to maintain/enhance their standing in the organization against fellow UFC athletes trying to do the same.

These vets must differentiate themselves from the wave of young, inexpensive, and inexperienced labor flowing into the organization from Dana White’s Contender series.

This presents tremendous pressure, but these fighters know that if they ‘put on a show’ they’ll get paid and recognized.

The focus, desperation, and determination this time of year often makes for reckless forward pressing aggression in bouts which is exactly the business the UFC is in.

I believe we’ll see this week as we saw glimpses of last week, violent displays from athletes who are dealing with this exact pressure to remain relevant and who are fighting literally for their careers.

These fighters’ names are less recognizable to mainstream fight fans exemplified by the fact that this card is populated with six athletes’ arriving from Brazil while another four ship in from South Korea.

Just like last week, the names may be obscure, but the fighting will be fierce.

Virna Jandiroba -140 vs. Amanda Lemos +120 women’s strawweight (115lbs.) main event

Fifth ranked Jandiroba faces third ranked Lemos for an extremely compelling fight in the strawweight division between Brazilian contenders.

Lemos, 3-1 in her last four UFC events, is the slightly longer, taller athlete in the cage. She’s a ferocious striker who puts massive pronunciation behind any of her strikes or spinning techniques. She’s extremely aggressive, fast, and mean as a junk yard dog.

Lemos can finish a fight from any position in the cage and is just as capable of drawing taps from opponents as she is knocking them out of their consciousness. What Lemos sometimes fails to administer to however is her pace and on occasion she can find herself struggling late in bouts.

In Jandiroba we have a more strategic grappler as I handicap her. She’s nowhere near as devastating with her striking arsenal and in fact she’ll only try to stand with Lemos long enough to embrace and cling to her for that’s her initial step to success.

Jandiroba must discover a way to envelop Lemos, leverage her against the fence then maul Lemos to transition this fight to the floor. If she can execute that plan, she is likely to earn victory here because her type of steady, matriculated output allows her to compete for thirty minutes let alone fifteen.

What separates these two for me is who each has been in the octagon with and based on the more stringent competition, I must regard Lemos as the athlete I believe earns victory in the APEX Saturday.

Lemos +120

Total in this fight: 2.5 Rds. Over -215

Lean over.

Steve Garcia -135 vs. Seung woo Choi + 110 Featherweight (145lbs)

These two fighters are in this position to stir frenzy as each are savage strikers.

Garcia, a southpaw will hold slight height and reach edges while Choi arrives the younger fighter.

Garcia who fights out of Jackson-Wink in Albuquerque is a forward pressing boxer, Muay Thai striker who aggressively seeks engagement at every forward step. His single point of focus is to place himself in front of the opponent in order to stand firm then heavy haymakers. In Garcia’s case, his power shots can be straight piercing jabs, solid hooks and crosses and bludgeoning leg kicks.

His counterpart Choi is also a deft kickboxer/Mauy Thai striker, so his forward pressing attack revolves around his ability to work his way inside via the teep-kick and calf attack then complete his entry with hand striking and elbows.

Choi, 1-3 in his last four enters off of an impressive win despite the fact that he has been susceptible to power punchers prior.

Once the bell for this fight chimes, I see two determined long lethal striking talents meeting in the center of the octagon to careen kicks and elbows off one another’s domes.

Choi’s been in with the more formidable opponent but has not fared well against them nor has he remained highly active recently as this is his first bout in almost a year.

Garcia is an angry, aggressive instigator and though this may represent a slight step up in class of opponent for him, it’s my take that his aggressive nature and certain power advantage will be enough for him to get his hand raised in what I handicap to be an all-out stand-up war.

Total in this fight 1.5Rds Under -195

Miranda Maverick -205 vs. Dione Barbosa +180 women’s flyweight (125lbs)

Maverick is a wrestling-based dynamo who is a forward pressing problem. Fighting out of team Elevation in Colorado the tiny tornado has been training through a full camp for a fight on this date until that fight was altered and the organization found a replacement so Maverick could keep her fight.

From Brazil Barbosa travels to the US for her sophomore UFC battle after winning her debut at UFC 301 in May.

She’s thirty-two and will be the taller fighter in the cage as well, she’ll be the least experienced athlete which compounds the complexity of this matchup for her.

Barbosa travels across the globe on short notice with the challenge of taking on a relentless wresting wiz who has had a full camp to prepare for a fight on this date.

Barbosa’s striking is still relatively pedestrian, and she’ll surely attempt to use Maverick’s aggression against her in order to work her way into some form of clasp then attempt to transition into a submission attempt.

The issue with that Barbosa plan is that Maverick at twenty-seven years of age has a depth of UFC experience against the elite of the division as well she’s faced fighters with a diversity of skill sets.

To say this is a tough ask for Ms. Barbosa is an understatement.

Maverick’s depth of experience, her tenacity and most especially her wrestling chops work together in this fight to earn her a one-sided victory which based on the total in this fight appears to be a decision.

Maverick is a prime parlay piece or a straight up opportunity.

Maverick -205/Garcia -135 Parlay

1 unit invested returns a potential 1.59u

Total in this Maverick fight: 2.5 Rds. Over -345

The ‘Bout Business Podcast drops this Friday around noon hour PT. Access it for all of my final UFC LV94 releases at GambLou.com.

Thank you for reading and enjoy the animosities.

GambLou.com

It’s Business!

Posted on Author Lou Categories Profitability, UFC

UFC FN Denver: Namajunas vs. Cortez: Rose and Crowned

This week the UFC competes in Denver, Colorado where a summer crowd, a larger 30’ cage and fight influencing altitude may all come into play.

Again, this week, the UFC was given little notice of a main event cancellation. They reacted by shuffling athletes to provide a worthy main event for Denver after doing an amazing job inserting relevant combatants with both co-main and main events of UFC 303 two weeks ago.

My respects go out to the UFC matchmakers.

At the halfway point of 2024, UFC favorites are at a multi-year high of 182-82-4 or 67.9% which is usual as favorite percentages usually run in the 62/63% range.

Digital results entering July stand: 16-13; +6.03u; +119 Ave.

The prelims for this week’s fight card are 4pm PT while the main fight card begins at 7pm PT.

This Denver fight card features eleven bouts, four of the fights being held in weight divisions of 170lbs and greater which translates to approximately 10% higher percentage of finishes.

Rose Namajunas -225 vs. Tracy Cortez +185 Women’s flyweight (125lbs.) Main Event

Cortez steps into this bout on short notice for she was preparing for a short, aggressive wrestling-based athlete next week as opposed to the angular, former title holder and world class athlete in Namajunas.

Cortez, a wrestling-based fighter from Phoenix, AZ jumped at the chance to step up in class to compete against an elite like Namajunas, a fighter that could potentially dominate Cortez with her refined weaponry and experience.

Yet, it’s not out of the question that Cortez is able to ‘wrestle Rose up’ and boomerang a ground control victory into instant notoriety. Surely wrestling will be her approach.

Let’s remember that Cortez has competed at bantamweight and dropped into 125 while Rose did her best work at 115lbs. and is moving up in weight.

This bout being at flyweight may mark ‘two ships passing in the night’ as far as career trajectory is concerned or it could be an announcement by Namajunas that she’s here for this division.

Rose has several factors going for her.

She is an acknowledged world-class talent who has experienced opponent changes not to mention having already competed in five round main event performances numerous times.

Her fighting intelligence is a weapon, and she has fared well since moving to flyweight. Though she does not appear to move as she did when she was a strawweight, Rose competes at home and has no adjustment to make for the drastic elevation change as cardio has never been a question with Namajunas.

Cortez must have an aggressive approach and an unwillingness to compete at distance. She is going to have to overcome much in order to earn success in this fight besides and that’s before dealing with elevation.

The short notice for a main event situation, compounded by the Denver altitude then finally, Namajunas as adversary together spell a challenge for Cortez who may not be quite ready to overcome it all.

Namajunas and Cortez opened as a -110 pick and now Namajunas is -225!

That seems a mis-priced opening number.

Total in this fight: 4.5Rds Over -280

Jean Silva -115 vs. Drew Dober -105 Lightweight (155lbs.)

Brazilian Silva is a cold unadulterated finisher of fights.

Since 2021 he has finished each of the ten foe’s he has faced in the first round save for his last bout two weeks ago when he took Charles Jourdain an accomplished UFC featherweight out in the second round.

Prior to that bout Silva missed weight by some two plus pounds and now is assigned to turn around in just a couple of weeks. He now must compete up in weight (probably where Silva belongs anyway) at 155lbs. and against a formidable and well-established fighter in Dober who is also a natural born banger.

Silva steps well up in class of opponent for this tilt and when I consider who Dober has been in with, what he’s faced and the forms of threats he has seen then it becomes only Silva’s early finishing power that I fear with this investment.

Should this fight get into the second round then it could be target practice for Mr. Dober on a gassed and perhaps over matched Jean Silva.

Dober -105

Total in this fight: 1.5Rds over -125

The ‘Bout Business Podcast are my final releases for this week. It’s available Friday Noon PST. Access it only at GambLou.com

 GambLou.com

It’s Business!

Posted on Author Lou Categories College Baseball, Hockey, NFL, Profitability, UFC

GambLou.com 2024 NFL Consulting & 2024 Fiscal Business report 1st half 2024.

NFL Consulting; GambLou Fiscal Business report 1st half 2024

July is upon us and I am currently undertaking the detailed and comprehensive process of ingesting Warren Sharp’s NFL manifesto which is a refined and detailed NFL team by team breakdown as only Warren can provide.

By the end of July, I will be prepared to offer season win Investments, Future wagers as well begin preparation for the welcome grind that is the NFL regular season and its playoffs.

Interested parties need simply tap the ‘NFL Consulting’ tab at the top of this webpage to access detailed information on the specifics of my service. Any interested parties may also hit me up for 2022 and 2023 NFL results for their review and consideration.

As a note my retention rate for the last decade has been almost 100% with NFL clients the and I look forward to serving those investors again in 2024 as well as new individuals looking to earn on the NFL in 2024.

Here is a snapshot of all GambLou.com results through the first half of the 2024 fiscal year.

          UFC:                                       51-61  +5.47u     5% ROI

College World Series:                       14-13   +3.05u   12% ROI

Stanley Cup Tournament                 39-54  <1.55u> -2% ROI*

*This is the first time since 2013 that I have experienced a negative ROI in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While unfortunate, I report actual results and all clients can count on the integrity of my results as well, the recording of said results. I had a banner 2023 season and my performance in 2024 is simply as the above numbers state.

2024 NHL clients have been offered an incentive to return next year for the Tournament and I will say that any new clients interested in the ’25 Stanley Cup should understand that it’s going to be another decade or more before I lose capitol on this Tournament again!

Interested in reaching out? Lou@GambLou.com

It’s Business!

Posted on Author Lou Categories Profitability, UFC

UFC 303 Pereira vs. Prochazka: Warrior Mentality

UFC 303 takes place this weekend from the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas Nevada.

The PPV event has been upgraded by the addition of a top line main event and highly competitive co main event in place of the originally scheduled charade that featured Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler.

Just last week on this column I mentioned the nimble approach the UFC has in maintaining/replacing signature events when for any number of reasons fighters fall out of bouts. This fight card is a classic example of that.

UFC 303 now becomes a more spectacular card with the addition of Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka as the main event and Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes as its co main event.

Last week I took advantage of a rare opportunity to invest in an elite pedigreed top three rated fighter facing a rising but unproven commodity when Robert Whittaker violently knocked out Ikram Aliskerov in the first round.

Whittaker’s dominant finish over Aliskerov thrusts my UFC profitability this year to 15-12 +6.03u.

Favorites in the UFC are 67% (171-80-4) in 2024. My digital win percentage of 55.5% coupled with an average win price of +120 provided readers a great advantage, especially considering the high rate of favorites this year.

This week we’ll have a live raucous crowd for UFC 303 in Las Vegas as well the larger 30’ cage will be in use,

Early prelims begin at 3pm PT, preliminary action starts at 5pm PT and the main card kicks off at 7pm PT.

Alex Pereira -135 vs. Jiri Prochazka +120 II Light Heavyweight (205lbs.) Championship

This is a rematch of the championship bout waged just last November when Prochazka opened -135 then closed +105 against Pereira.

In that bout the forward pressing Prochazka’s aggression won him the first round before he became overly reckless. He believed he would be able to compete effectively with an elite, pedigreed world class kickboxing specialist who is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Pereira and was KO’d four minutes into the second round for that confidence.

Since that fight Pereira went on to knock out Jamahal Hill in one round in April’s UFC 300 while Prochazka found himself in a firefight with Alexander Rakic on that same card. He won via finish in the second round in a fight where he absorbed substantial damage but was unwilling to acquiesce and used his will to earn victory.

Each man takes this fight on short notice in order to help the UFC salvage this fight card when McGregor vacated the main event with a bruise on his little toe.

Prochazka is the number one ranked contender to Pereira’s crown and while this will be a thrilling rematch, there is little reason to believe that the result we witnessed in November should be much different now in July.

Many will claim that Prochazka has a grappling advantage in this matchup, but I beg to differ.

Not only is Pereira a black belt in BJJ but he has been under the tutelage of Glover Teixeira for several years and it is my contention that we have not seen Pereira apply grappling into his fights because he has not had to call upon the specialty.

None of his foes have forced him to defend the takedown nor have they pursued him with any grappling advances. Rather, Pereira’s foes have chosen to compete with the world class striking talent at his strength, standing which is dumbfounding in itself.

Jiri’s unorthodox striking style, his low defensive guard, and his ability to unleash power from any appendage surely make him an adversary to respect even fear but Pereira is the more calculated, matriculated, battle tested power striker as well his defensive abilities are more established than those of Prochazka.

In a fight where either man is able to put the other man’s lights out, I’ll lean to Pereira in this competitive bout simply because he has more ways to earn victory, his defense is substantially more advance and he carries the momentum of his victory over Prochazka just seven months ago into this rematch.

Pereira -130

Total in this fight: 1.5Rds. Over -175

Lean over.

Diego Lopes -148 vs. Brian Ortega +125 Featherweight co main event

This co main event is a five-round fight.

It will be Lopes’ first foray into five rounds. The fourteenth ranked Lopes has but four UFC bouts of experience. He lost his debut to a ranked Mosvar Evloev then rebounded by finishing each of his last three unranked foes.

Lopes, who has been extremely active since he entered the UFC opened a +130 underdog for this bout. He will be the taller, longer, younger athlete in the cage on Saturday but he’ll be giving away a great deal of cage experience to his adversary. As well his opponent holds well more five round big fight experience than he as well Brian Ortega, Lopes, foe has competed against the elite of the division over the course of the last couple of years.

Lopes would be wise to try to keep this fight standing where his physical traits can be applied. Though he is a black belt in BJJ it is in the grappling and ground rolling where I give Ortega an advantage.

This fight will offer fans striking, grappling, rolling and submission attempts in what I handicap to be a true display of mixed martial arts from both athletes. That said, Ortega was opened the rightful -150 favorite according to my handicapping which I choose to believe is the more appropriate depiction of these men’s fight abilities TODAY.

In a highly competitive battle where the experience, guile and craftiness of Ortega should be the difference over a man in Lopes that is stepping up in competition for this test, I’ll choose to side with the more experienced fighter who opened the favorite and has now become the underdog.

Recency…. It sometimes tells lies.

Total for this fight: 1.5Rds Over -220

Roman Dolidze -145 vs. Anthony Smith +125 Light Heavyweight (205lbs.)

I’m breaking down big boy fighters today for there are much more violent tendencies when large men fight than when smaller men compete in the cage. This is evidenced by the fact that the finishing rate for light heavyweight athletes in the UFC since 2014 is 60% which is the highest rate of any division in the UFC except for Heavyweight.

Roman Dolidze takes this fight on just days’ notice. He does his training between California and X-Treme Couture in Las Vegas which takes travel out of the complexity of the short notice nature of this battle but understand that Dolidze competes at middleweight or 185 pounds and steps up in weight class against a legitimate, tenth ranked light heavyweight for this fight.

Anthony Smith accepts this challenge on short notice also and now competes against a talent in Dolidze who brings a much different fighting style than did Smith’s original opponent Carlos Ulberg.

Dolidze is less elite on the feet than Ulberg, in fact he is wildly powerful yet lacking pace, precision and quickness. Where Smith’s original opponent Ulberg had no ability to grapple/wrestle Dolidze is a talented grappling threat and may choose to attack Smith with that approach.

Anthony Smith is elite anywhere a fight takes place as he is a gifted grappler/wrestler and is able to strike effectively though any power in his striking is accrued over time for he does not possess one punch, fight ending power.

Once this fight begins it will be Dolidze who will immediately look to engage, press forward, and unleash power striking to try to put Amith on his heels and in a defensive nature.

Smith will look to boomerang Dolidze’s aggression into the opportunity to take him to the floor then force him to expend energy returning to his feet as Smith will be the larger force in the cage.

Smith will use his crafty veteran experience to bewilder Dolidze on the feet until he can manipulate the smaller Georgian fighter onto the mat where he may then reign strikes, elbows and eventually submission attempts upon Dolidze who is tough, durable and willing yet rough around the edges when it comes to the refinement of fighting.

Dolidze’s approach is quite simple, apply forward pressure and utilize his fight ending power to bludgeon any opponent.

The risk Dolidze takes in competing with Smith is that Smith’s seen every style of light heavyweight foe. He will be more than willing to allow Dolidze to front run until he makes a mistake which is when the highly experienced Smith will make him pay for his aggressive nature.

As I break this fight down, I see the violent nature of Dolidze being eventually subdued by the diplomacy of the more well-rounded mixed martial artist Smith. For that reason, I’ll invest in

Total in this fight: 2.5Rds Over -120

Lean over.

The ‘Bout Business Podcast drops Friday midday PT and is available at GambLou.com.

GambLou

It’s Business!

 

Posted on Author Lou Categories Profitability, UFC

UFC FN Riyadh: Kang Bang

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia hosts this week’s UFC Fight Night with a main event that was recently changed as original participant Kamzat Chimaev is quite ill and unable to compete. Robert Whittaker will now face Russian Ikram Aliskerov who was scheduled to fight in the co main event on last week’s APEX event.

*Special note that this fight card kicks off EARLY in the States with preliminary action beginning at 9am PT and the main card starts at Noon PT.

I credit the UFC for their tenacity as they’re deft at dealing with fighter changes, suspensions, injuries, and other oddities as they continue to present viable ten to fourteen fight productions on an almost weekly basis.

Last week a rare favorite release lost as Garret Armfield looked potent early in his fight against Brady Heistand then lost energy as Heistand fought the best two rounds of his career and finally submitted Armfield in the third round.

Digital results this year: 14-12 +4.98u

Let’s look at a couple of the fights from Riyadh.

Robert Whittaker -145 vs. Ikram Aliskerov +124 Middleweight (185lbs.) main event

Aliskerov, 15-1 professionally and 2-0 in the UFC arrives at this main event with two UFC bouts under his belt. He is shy on UFC experience, steps up in class of opponent substantially and must travel across the world to make this fight. Aliskerov’s sole professional loss was years ago to the aforementioned Chimaev.

In this matchup, he transitions from competing against a Brazilian grappling-based foe who had not competed since late in 2021 to the number three ranked Middleweight and former champion of the division who has faced elite adversaries through his twelve years competing in the UFC.

Compoundng the complexity of this fight, Aliskerov must travel around the globe and once again undertake an aggressive weight cut as he was called off last week’s bout just days prior to the event.

Aliskerov is a remarkably similar opponent to Chimaev for Whittaker.

He employs solid striking behind an aggressive forward pressing wrestling/grappling attack.

For Whittaker, he will have little to alter in this brief time frame to effectively prepare for this new opponent.

The same cannot be said for Aliskerov who gains great exposure from fighting Whittaker but now must step into the octagon and fight an elite, well-rounded finisher in a scheduled five round fight when he was training for three.

Once the bell for round one clangs, I see Aliskerov attempting to press Whittaker backwards and force him to defend Aliskerov’s wrestling.
His goal will be to sap the energy from Whittaker by pressing him and forcing him to defend the wrestling advances.

Whittaker however has been in the cage with every form of diverse fighter in his career and that includes elite wrestling talents. He will be unfazed and prepared for Aliskerov’s aggressive approach, his tactics, and his southpaw stance.

Whittaker opened -180 for this fight, a number I regarded as fair in this situation if not giving too much respect to Aliskerov. Immediately money came to Aliskerov, which was stunning to be honest.

Eventually this line dropped to Whittaker -135 appeared at which time buyback (much of it from ‘Bout Business Podcast followers) arrived on the former champion.

Currently the number stands Whittaker -148 which in my judgement is still an extremely attractive price on Whittaker.

I find it difficult to believe that Aliskerov, preparing for a totally different style of athlete than Whittaker and an athlete that must now travel across the globe to compete in a scheduled five round fight when he was prepared for three rounds is appropriately prepared mentally and physically to handle this situation successfully.

What Aliskerov is doing by taking this fight is endearing himself to the UFC for saving this main event in Riyadh. No matter the outcome Saturday, Aliskerov has endeared himself to the UFC as a company player and he will be taken care of by the UFC no matter this fight’s outcome in the form of future opportunities to shine.

Whittaker -145

This fight’s total is 2.5 Rds. Over -160

Lean Over

Sergei Pavlovich -225 vs. Alexander Volkov +185 Heavyweight (265lbs) co main event

Riyadh gets a couple of top five ranked Russian heavyweights who oh by the way, have trained together in its co main event.

Fifth ranked and veteran UFC athlete Volkov, a black belt in Tsu Shin Gen, a brown belt in Kyokushin Karate and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has fought in numerous organizations prior to arriving to the UFC.

In UFC competition Volkov has amassed an 11-4 record and has won his last three straight via finish after a loss to Tom Aspinal in March of 2022.

Volkov is 6’7” and prefers to keep his fights standing and badger foes by utilizing his striking skills which are supplemented by the fact that he almost always holds height and reach advantages over opponents.

Volkov can be vulnerable against determined, forceful grappler/wrestlers who are adamant about penetrating Volkov’s distance striking in order to gain pocket position to clasp onto him then try to force the giant against the cage or down to the mat where is size, length and striking are muted.

Enter Sergei Pavlovich, an 18-2 Greco-Roman grappling-based athlete who is ultra-aggressive, explosive, powerful and determined to ground foes, gain top position then reign damage upon them.

Pavlovich won five straight heavyweight battles prior to being dominated in his last fight by Tom Aspinall. In that fight, Pavlovich was exposed as he was unable to cope with Aspinall’s mental toughness, nimble feet, speed, and power.

It is my judgement that this heavyweight outcome will be determined by which man can manipulate the fight to his favor.

Volkov must employ a boxing/kickboxing approach and blister the incoming Pavlovich with elbows, knee’s and strikes.

Pavlovich will work to gain inside position on Volkov. From there he may negate Volkov’s striking/kicking ability and then render his own attack by unleashing furious body and head strikes.

I find Pavlovich to be a typical front running fighter. He will try to finish Volkov early in this fight. However, if he is unable to and this fight transitions into the second round his abundance of physical output compromises his mental toughness as he fatigues and fatigues quickly in that bulky frame.

The Volkov plan revolves around space, distance, and IQ. He must be able to weather those furious first few minutes then use his guile to force Pavlovich to defend and back up where Volkov can utilize his size and length to damage the barrel-chested power striker.

It’s my view that Volkov’s experience, cardio, length, and effective striking can be synchronized to produce a victory but only after surviving what may be a wicked first few minutes of output from Pavlovich.

Total in this fight 1.5Rds Under -130

The GambLou ‘Bout Business Podcast will drop early Friday morning Pacific time as weigh-ins for this card take place Thursday evening 11pm PT.

Enjoy the fights and thank you for reading!

GambLou.com

It’s Business!

Posted on Author Lou Categories Profitability, UFC

UFC FN Louisville Cannonier vs. Imavov: Gorilla Warfare

Last week was the time to take advantage of the torrid run favorites this year in the UFC as the parlay of Sean Strickland -240/Jailton Almeida -170 earned 1.0 unit on a 1.06 unit investment.

To date digital readers are in the black as profitability stands 14-9 +8.73u.

10-2 were favorites at UFC 302 pushing chalk to 149-67-4 this year or 67.7% which is as high as I can remember tracking for favorites in the UFC during this past decade!

Regression must be coming but the great question… is when?

This week the UFC is in Louisville, KY for a card with thirteen scheduled fights, six of which are at the Welterweight (170lbs) division or heavier which may contribute to a higher potential for finishes as fight at 170 pounds and higher finish inside the distance at a clip of just over 59%.

Let’s Keep this momentum moving!

Nassourdine Imavov -130 vs. Jarod Cannonier +110 Middleweight (185lbs.) main event

Eighth ranked Imavov of Russian descent fighting out of France is an ascending talent in this division.

With a solid boxing base Imavov, 13-4 professionally has been developed his mixed martial arts arsenal under Fernand Lopez at the MMA Factory in Paris.

5-2-1 in the UFC, Imavov has been guided against more diversely and highly talented athletes every step of the way during his brief time in the UFC.

Now he gets his second firm test against a top five talent in Cannonier. In his first top five battle, Imavov was dominated by last week’s co main event winner and ex middleweight champion Sean Strickland.

The question to date is, has Imavov developed enough fight diversity and experience in the year and a half since he was squelched by Strickland to be able to compete effectively against Cannonier who by the way defeated Strickland?

In fourth ranked middleweight Jarod Cannonier we have an athlete finitely focused on a final run at a title for Cannonier, who has competed at Heavyweight, light heavyweight and now middleweight is now forty years of age though he competes like a man many years younger.

Cannonier has a granite jaw and an unbreakable will. He’s felt the power of sluggers well larger than his current division and has managed to best every middleweight he’s faced save for his bout against then champion Israel Adesanya.

At middleweight Cannonier is unusually fast and adroit while retaining the power he possessed when he fought at the higher divisions. Cannonier’s grappling is complete yet untested and his desire to earn another title opportunity drives him.

In this matchup Cannonier will possess advantages in speed, footwork, grappling  and power while Imavov will be the man twelve years younger who will also hold a four inch height advantage. Reach advantage goes to Cannonier which in essence negates any advantage Imavov’s height provides him.

Once the bell for this bout begins, it will be Cannonier who is the forward pressing aggressor while it will be up to Imavov to hold his ground and attempt to bully, berate and batter Cannonier as Cannonier forges ahead to gain pocket position then unload on Imavov.

Both of these men are durable and a finish by either seems unlikely at this point as expressed by the total in this fight coming 4.5 rounds to the over -160.

Imavov believes he’s ready to take the top five position from Cannonier and Cannonier believes that by slaying this young ascending talent he only solidifies further his claim to be the next middleweight in line for a title shot.

I believe Cannonier’s physical attributes, his mental capacity, experience and level of competition faced all provide him advantage in this fight.

Cannonier +110

L’udovit Klein -130 vs. Thiago Moises +110 lightweight (155lbs.)

This fight will be crazy as two willing lefties will get the Louisville crowd lit up with their striking prowess.

The Slovakian Klein is 5-2 in the UFC but his wins were earned against dubious talent many of whom are no longer in the organization. An athlete with a boxing background complimented with some BJJ, Klein steps up his level of opponent faced considerably when he climbs into the cage Saturday against Moises.

Moises is a black belt in BJJ who has trained among the slew of elite and diversely talented lightweight athletes in Florida’s ATT gym before returning to Brazil for this camp to train with the Fighting Nerds team, a white hot group of Brazilian killers.

Moises will be the taller, larger fighter in the cage Saturday and he’s competed against an elite level of lightweight competition which is how and why I favor him in this confrontation.

I believe Moises is the faster striker with more developed BJJ acumen and it’s his comprehensive Jiu Jitsu acumen that sets his advantage in this bout.

Moises +110

Total in this fight 2.5Rds Over -195

The ‘Bout Business Podcast is 15-4 over the last three UFC events and stacking profit each week. The podcast drops this Friday around Noon PT and is available at GambLou.com

Thank You for reading and enjoy this Louisville fight card.

GambLou

It’s Business!

Posted on Author Lou Categories Profitability, UFC

UFC FN St. Louis: Lewis vs. Nascimento: Nursultan of Swing

From South America to St. Louis, Mo. we track for this week’s UFC Fight Night event.

This fight slate is comprised of thirteen scheduled bouts to be competed in the larger thirty-foot octagon with participants arriving from thirteen differing countries.

Six of the thirteen bouts feature athletes 170lbs or greater.

Finish rates in three round fights comprised of fighters weighing 170lbs and above are 58.3%, so we may witness violent finishes on this card, at least that is the hope!

Last week Alexandre Pantoja -185 earned a close decision victory over Steve Erceg as well my release of big dog Anthony Smith +435 won via first round submission. What was not anticipated was how efficiently Smith would dispose of Vitor Petrino his Brazilian foe as I advised the over 1.5 Rounds. Smith disposed of Petrino some two minutes into the fight.

Digital profit for 2024 now stands 12-8 +7.73 after last week’s success. The task this week is to keep momentum rolling as we search for profitability in this week’s event.

Derrick Lewis -145 vs. Rodrigo Nascimento +125 heavyweight (265lbs.) main event

Brazilian mixed martial artist Nascimento is the fifteenth ranked athlete in the division. The thirty-one-year-old is a blue belt in BJJ and overall, a well-rounded grappler/striker who steps up in level of competition for this his first five round main event.

Derrick Lewis is now thirty-nine and ranked twelfth in the division. Lewis is not a mixed martial artist rather he is a behemoth of a man who stalks opponents down in order to club them into unconsciousness with his singularly dimensioned one strike KO power.

Lewis is short on footwork, take down defense and stamina though early in fights he displays athleticism and explosion though the limit for his explosiveness is around four minutes, after that Lewis is a telegraphing headhunter.

At this stage of his career, when Lewis fights, he’s calculating how best to expend his precious energy as his one way to earn victory is to touch the opponent on the teeth. With one detonation Lewis can put adversaries to sleep with one telegraphed connection.

That is Lewis’ plan of attack in any fight.

Nascimento’s last three bouts have all gone to decision so he can effectively compete for fifteen minutes, and it must be his approach to take Lewis past the first five minutes to burden the ‘Black Beast,’ force him to tire and therefore make any takedown attempt that much easier to execute.

The issue for Nascimento may be his chin. Is his sole loss earlier in his career to journeyman Chris Daukaus who is no longer in the organization, Nascimento was knocked out and Daukaus has fractions of the speed and power that Lewis holds.

Should Nascimento who opened a pick-em against Lewis be ‘chinny’ as that fight against Daukaus indicated then it is fair to say that he is in real danger against a profuse pounder like Lewis.

The total in this fight is lines 1.5 Under -145 which is concerning if one is trying to make a case for the Brazilian traveling to the ‘show me state’ to compete against a pure knockout threat like Lewis.

Pass

Joaquin Buckley -170 vs. Nursultan Ruziboev +145 Welterweight (170lbs.) co main event

We last saw eleventh ranked Buckley 18-6 overwhelm top fifteen ranked Vicente Luque with his power striking in New York March 30th. That display put Buckley in the rankings as well put the division on notice that this man is a natural born finisher.

Buckley rarely employs a wrestling base developed in high school as his vicious fighting style was groomed in the streets of East St. Louis.

Besides fighting in his home city, Buckley totes momentum into this fight and he is exuding great confidence. Confidence is one weapon UFC fighters often boomerang into dynamic success.

Ruziboev, 34-8-2 enters this fight with vast experience though there are legitimate questions surrounding the authenticity of his record as well the caliber of athletes he’s faced.

Fighting out of the Renzo Gracie camp in Philly which is known for its cultivation and refining of wrestling/grappling based talent, Ruziboev enters this fight off an impressive KO finish of the modestly talented Sedriques Dumas which he accomplished March 30th on the same card as his opponent Buckley.

Ruziboev will hold seven inches of height supremacy and another four inches of leg reach besides his vast advantage grappling.

To date, we have not witnessed Ruziboev tussle against pedigreed UFC talent nor have we watched him have to endure any form or real trouble. That changes in this fight.

Once this scrap starts Ruziboev will look to distance himself strategically from the aggressive keg of TNT that is Buckley. Buckley will be impatient in his attempt to gain inside access and detonate hooks, crosses, elbows, and kicks on the tall man from Uzbekistan.

Ruziboev has everything to gain in this most intriguing battle. He must weather the furious first five minutes of this fight then find a way to clasp ahold of and press the explosive Buckley against the fence then onto the floor.

Then, after Buckley’s explosiveness is usurped by battle (that is the hope anyway) the fight could well turn to the towering, but well-structured grappler Ruziboev who uses a grinding methodology as opposed to immediate and sudden impact.

‘Styles make fights’ as Angelo Dundee used to chime and I regard this fight as exhibit ‘A’ for that quote.

Buckley opened -150 for this fight and his price has risen steadily early in the week.

The total in this fight is 1.5 over -130 which indicates potential success for the Uzbeki grappler as I do see this fight eclipsing that total.

I am back to an underdog release this week.

Ruziboev +145

GambLou ‘Bout Business Podcast with all my releases for this fight card will drop Friday mid-day Pacific time. Look for it at GambLou.com.

Enjoy the fights and thank you for reading.

Posted on Author Lou Categories Profitability, UFC

‘Sneak-Teep’ UFC 301 Pantoja vs. Erceg: Rio Bravo

This week’s UFC 301 will be held in Rio de Janeiro Brazil for a card that features a Brazil against the world theme as Brazilian athletes are featured in all fourteen of the fights presented.

The Brazilians will battle combatants from Peru, Lithuania, Wales, Ukrane, the United States and France among other participating athletes shipping in from various other counties.

Last week favorites realized a 7-6 mark making chalk 111-56-4 this year or 64.9%.

My release of Over 4.5Rds in the main event between Alex Perez and Mateus Nicolau lost making profitability on the year for this column 10-7 +6.23 units.

Time to get back in the win column!

Alexandre Pantoja -185 vs. Steve Erceg +155 Flyweight (125lbs.) Championship

Last week we witnessed a top ranked Brazilian flyweight get KO’d in the second round of the main event.

This week’s main event features flyweight Brazilian champion Alexandre Pantoja who opened -250 against challenger Steve Erceg from Australia +210. Since opening we have witnessed a tsunami of money being dumped on the challenger who now sits at +155.

Erceg 5’8”, is huge for the weight class but inexperienced as he arrives just 3-0 in UFC competition. He’s earned decision victories against two lower ranked opponents before finishing a porcelain jawed journeyman in Matt Schnell in his most recent bout.

Erceg’s ranked tenth in the division and makes his appearance in this headliner based on situational need as the UFC was left without a dance partner for Pantoja after Manuel Kape the original opponent dropped out.

Erceg is a singularly dimensioned power striker. He displays a 77% rate of take down defense though the foes he’s faced in the UFC and prior offered him only pure striking attacks. We’ve yet to see Erceg compete against any real form of grappler/wrestler in his career to date and that all changes Saturday.

In Pantoja we get a Brazilian mixed martial artist who has had to scratch, scrape and claw is way to the title through elite adversaries and a fighter who in his last five bouts has dominated every elite, skilled threat in the division.

Pantoja trains at Florida’s ATT, a renown gym featuring numerous, skilled fighters with diverse body types and fight weaponry. Competing at ATT allows him to refine his fight arsenal on a daily basis against every form of skilled competition.

Pantoja’s a brilliant grappler supplemented with superior striking aptitude and a depth of experience that’s been developed against the ultimate athletes in the division.

Add to this the fact that he competes in front of his Brazilian compatriots Saturday and we have the recipe for a fighter poised to offer his absolute best effort.

It’s my judgement that Pantoja will need to be guarded and evasive early in this fight. He’ll adhere to a strategy of sapping the Australian slugger of his speed, power and ferocity in the first rounds. From there Pantoja will transition into employing his mobility, diversity and experience to out-manuever Erceg, force him against the cage then eventually ground the overmatched Aussie in order to gain top position and dominate.

Pantoja may have to weather early Erceg striking ferocity, but eventually his speed, skill, depth of experience, and championship pedigree will contribute to allowing Pantoja to display his prowess.

It’s my position that Pantoja was a value at the opening number let alone where he is priced currently.

‘Sneak-Teep’ Official Release

Pantoja -185

Total in this UFC 301 main event is 3.5Rds Over -130.

Vitor Petrino -520 vs. Anthony Smith +400 Light Heavyweight (205lbs.)

Unranked Brazilian athlete Petrino, 11-0 professionally and 4-0 in the UFC will arrive to this fight with the favor of the crowd, tremendous momentum, and the seeming ability to finish opponents based on his previous body of work.

However, scrutinizing his career results leaves me with the impression that Petrino is as bloated a favorite as we have seen in the UFC is several months.

Three of the athletes Petrino has defeated in the UFC are no longer with the organization and the other one is of journeyman caliber.

Sure, Petrino’s shown finishing ability, tremendous explosion, and power but in this one he steps up in class substantially.

Petrino’s advantage is that he is nine years the younger man and competing in his home country but in this tussle against tenth ranked UFC veteran Anthony Smith he will be giving away two inches of height besides a busload of experience and fight aptitude.

Anthony Smith does enter this fight after having lost three of his last four fights but let’s not overlook that those losses were against certified top fifteen caliber players in the division. His victory was against fifteenth ranked Ryan Spann.

Smith, a black belt in BJJ, is also a well-rounded striker who uses all four appendages to apply pressure upon opponents, he can wrestle, grapple and compete wherever this fight transitions to and he arrives in Rio feeling disrespected. Here is another case where I believe a fighter is poised to put up a very polished performance.

This line seems completely out of whack so with that said, I will step out and make a nominal investment on Smith based on principle.

Smith .25u to earn 1.0u

Total in this fight 1.5Rds. Over -165

Over -165

This line does not accurately reflect Smith’s fight ability as I look for this one to go to the judges.

Friday mid-day PST the GambLou ‘Bout Business Podcast drops. Access it at www.GambLou.com

Thank you for reading and enjoy the fights!

Posted on Author Lou Categories Hockey, Profitability

The business of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Puck Passion: It’s Business!

All but two matchups for the 2024 Stanley Cup Tournament have been set and the final two teams awaiting their playoff foes, The Los Angeles Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights will have their adversaries decided Thursday evening after each plays their final game of the season.

Those interested in deriving profit from the Passion that is Playoff Puck please hit the ‘NHL’ tab at the top of the GambLou.com webpage for specific membership information.

I’ll have Future positions for the Cup, Series investments as well as Round 1 and game by game positions posted Saturday morning for members.

Daily game positions are posted by 20 minutes prior to puck drop …I post then to ensure goaltending matchups and because the price for underdog positions is at its apex right before they drop the frozen rubber.

Don’t delay, get your membership now to ensure you have access to this most outstanding bracketed tournament.

2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs results:   55-47 +25.20u +29% ROI (+131)

Questions or issues please reach out Lou@GambLou.com