Betting: UFC 286 Preview
Minty Bets and Kevin Iole discuss the upcoming UFC 286 PPV in London, England this Sat. March 18.
Video Transcript
MINTY BETS: This Saturday at The O2 Arena in London, we've got UFC 286. Yahoo's very own Kevin Iole joins me to give out his best bets for the main and co-main event.
In the main event, we have a welterweight title bout between Kamaru Usman at minus 250 versus Leon Edwards at plus 190. Kevin, this is the third time that these two will be fighting. So do you see The Nigerian Nightmare coming out on top here? Because I do.
KEVIN IOLE: I do, Minty. I think we have to, at this point, forget the first fight. That was eight years ago, almost eight years ago-- more than seven years ago right now. We have to put that one behind.
But the fight that really made the difference in these two's careers was at UFC 278, when Leon Edwards, in the waning second of a fight that Usman had won, locked up, wrapped, and in the win column, Leon Edwards head kicks him and goes ahead and wins the welterweight championship. I think you see by the odds, people expect to see Usman dominate that way again.
And I think here's a way it may end up happening-- I think Leon Edwards, fighting in front of the home crowd-- MMA is huge in England, as it really is everywhere in the world. But they love their hometown fighters.
And I think you want to see-- Leon Edwards is going to want to put on a show for his hometown fans. And I think trying that is going to probably lead to mistakes. And so I kind of like Kamaru Usman to use his wrestling, to fight conservatively, and to come out on top in this one.
So I will go ahead and lay the money. And I will bet Kamaru Usman to win, win the trilogy, and most importantly, regain the UFC welterweight championship.
MINTY BETS: In the co-main event, we've got a lightweight bout between Rafael Fiziev, minus 225, versus Justin Gaethje at plus 180. Kevin, I don't know your picks yet, but I'm kind of on Justin Gaethje here. I mean, he's such an aggressive, very scrappy fighter. And no disrespect to Fiziev, I think he's actually on track to be a very high level, elite fighter. But I don't see Justin Gaethje losing this. What are your thoughts?
KEVIN IOLE: You know, I'm going to disagree with you there. I think this is a fight that could go either way. And I think the number is a little bit high, to be honest with you, on Fiziev, which had me thinking very long and hard about Justin Gaethje.
But I think Justin Gaethje is in a bad spot in this predicament. And I think Rafael Fiziev needs to take a step forward in his career. And I think he's going to do that.
I think Fiziev will find a way. I think he has more aspects in his game that he can rely on. So I like Rafael Fiziev to win this.
I'm going to lay the money on it. I'm going to kind of sweat that one out because that-- and a Justin Gaethje fight, always tough to bet against Justin Gaethje. But I like Fiziev here. So one of us will have a win. We know that.
MINTY BETS: To recap Kevin's UFC 286 picks, he's on Kamaru Usman to win the welterweight title and Rafael Fiziev to win the lightweight bout. Thank you so much, Kevin. Good luck.
KEVIN IOLE: Thank you, Minty.
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