UFC Vegas 35 - Barboza vs Chikadze Predictions & More
August 26, 2021
UFC Vegas 35 comes at us Saturday Night at 7PM EST from the Apex in Las Vegas. The card also doubles as The Ultimate Fighter Finale and is a quality card as Fight Nights go.
The main event on this card is absolutely one to be excited about. It is a striker’s delight and one of the most anticipated main events in recent memory. More on that fight later.
The Ultimate Fighter finales took a hit when the presumed would-be middleweight winner TreSean Gore was injured during his fight camp and replaced by Gilbert Urbina. Urbina will face Bryan Battle to see who will be crowned the middleweight Ultimate Fighter. This is a close fight that has an accurate line with Battle being a moderate favorite.
On the bantamweight side, Ricky Turcios will take on Brady Hiestand. Turcios is a moderate favorite, but I think that line could and should get a little bit wider. While Hiestand is younger and has the higher ceiling, it is currently Turcios that is the much more well rounded and advanced fighter. I expect both fighters to spend ample time on the UFC roster. More on this fight later.
The remainder of the card brings some quality as well, from the prelims on down. The debut of Mana Martinez and his power at bantamweight is an anticipated one to kick off the night. Martinez via KO was extremely close to being a dedicated betting play.
We will have four UFC betting plays on the card, with the three of the four coming late on the card, including the main event. Let’s dive into those plays.
Edson Barboza -115 vs Giga Chikadze
Fight is five rounds at 145 lbs and is -135 to end inside the distance.
Ricky Turcios -165 vs Brady Hiestand
Fight is at 135 lbs and is +125 to end inside the distance.
Kevin Lee -155 vs Daniel Rodriguez
Fight is at 170 lbs and is -125 to end inside the distance.
Dustin Jacoby -175 vs Darren Stewart
Fight is at 205 lbs and is +110 to end inside the distance.
Other Fight Predictions
👊 Bryan Battle via decision over Gilbert Urbina
👊 Andre Petroski via submission over Michael Gillmore (the Petroski R1 sub line at +240 is quite attractive)
👊 Makhmud Muradov via KO over Gerald Meerschart
👊 Alessio Di Chirico via decision over Abdul Razak Alhassan
👊 Wellington Turman via decision over Sam Alvey
👊 JJ Aldrich via decision over Vanessa Demopoulos
👊 Jamall Emmers via decision over Pat Sabatini
👊 Mana Martinez via KO over Guido Cannetti (Mana KO feels quite likely)
