Betting: UFC 284 Preview
Kevin Iole joins Minty Bets to give his best bets for the upcoming UFC 284 PPV card this Saturday in Perth, Australia.
Video Transcript
MINTY BETS: For the first time in a few years, UFC returns to Australia. This weekend Perth, Australia hosts UFC 284. I'm Minty Bets, joined by Kevin Iole, and I'm going to get his best bets for the fights here, starting with the main event, a lightweight title bout between Islam Makhachev at -375 versus Alex Volkanovski at +290. Kevin, I can make a case for both of these guys, so this is actually a really hard fight for me to predict, so help me out here. Who do you like?
KEVIN IOLE: Yeah, you know, first, we should mention, Volkanovski is pound for pound number one in the world. He's the featherweight champion, has won over 20 fights in a row. Makhachev is number two pounds for pound in the world, is the lightweight champion, so it doesn't get bigger than that, right? You've got the two best fighters in the world going at it for the championship, so that makes it a very intriguing fight.
You know, I go both ways on this fight. You know, I know most people are on board with Islam Makhachev, and I am too. You know, Makhachev's grappling is so unbelievable. That wrestling he has has been so dominant throughout his UFC career. But when you look at Volkanovski, and this is a former rugby player, at 5'6'', who was able to compete in rugby, and he's done it everywhere he's gone. He's been doubted. When he fought José Aldo, people didn't think he could do it, and he's come, and he's put himself on the brink of a huge victory. I mean, it will be a career-defining victory if he beats Islam Makhachev.
I think the difference here, though, is going to be the range in the fight. I think the fight's going the five rounds, so I am going to play the fight will go the distance. BetMGM has it up at +$1.20, so I like that. I get a little bit of plus money on that one. Then I'm just gonna go with Makhachev by decision at +175. Volkanovski is so difficult to submit, and I think he's going to be so tuned for this. I don't think you'll see Makhachev get that submission.
And I actually think Volkanovski has the better striking of the two. I know some people may disagree with me, Minty, but I feel like Volkanovski's striking is going to be very effective, and he's going to cause some trouble with some of the calf kicks he does. So I look at it, I'm gonna say the fight goes the distance. I'll take the money on that one. And then I like Makhachev by decision.
MINTY BETS: Moving on to the interim featherweight title bout between Yair Rodriguez at -165 versus Josh Emmett at +135. Now, Rodriguez is quite a fun fighter to watch. He's explosive, but I think Josh Emmett is being underlooked here. I think there's a lot of value on him here. He's the more strategic fighter, in my opinion. What are your thoughts on this one, Kevin?
KEVIN IOLE: I think when we look at the first two fights, or last two fights, on this card, they're both the same way. There's not a lot to choose from between the two guys. It's a really, really close battle, and whoever kind of, at the end of the day, makes fewer mistakes is going to win. I think that's going to be Josh Emmett. I do like him in this fight. I will go ahead and take the plus money on it.
I think, if it was reversed, Minty, I might take the other way, but Emmett is not going to make mistakes, and I think he's primed. This is a really good spot for him. I like him to win this. I think it's going to be an unbelievable fight. This, to me, is going to be the fight of the night. You watch, this will be the fight of the night. I like Josh Emmett to win by decision here.
MINTY BETS: Can't wait. Thank you so much, Kevin.
KEVIN IOLE: Thank you, Minty.
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