UFC 251: Three Massive Fights Ready For Your Bets

UFC251 was meant to take place in Perth, Australia but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic put paid to those plans. The pay-per-view spectacular is now taking place at UFC Fight Island, Yas Island in scorching hot Dubai on July 12.

A trio of massive flights headline an action-packed card and they are ripe for betting on. Create yourself a free Bovada account and grab a welcome bonus of up to $250 ($750 if you use cryptocurrency) ready for this incredible looking fight night.

• Kamaru Usman is the -275 favorite to defend his welterweight title against Gilbert Burns (+210)
• Alexander Volkanovski (-250) is a clear favorite to defeat challenger Max Holloway (+190)
• Petr Yan (-250) takes on veteran Jose Aldo (+190)
• This is the first time in five fights Holloway has started as an underdog
• Aldo fights at bantamweight for only the second time in his career

Usman Is The Clear Bet But Theres Value in Masvidal

You should always look for value whenever you place a bet on any sport. Bookmakers tend to be almost perfect when it comes to setting their UFC odds, but they often leave some value.

The smart money in the Kamaru Usman (-275) versus Jorge Masvidal (+210) fight is obviously on Usman. Hes the clear favorite for a reason.

His nickname of “The Nigerian Nightmare” is extremely fitting because the six-foot 170lb welterweight champion is an absolute beast of a fighter; we wouldnt want to find ourselves in the octagon with him! Usman is 16-1 in his professional career and has won 15 consecutive fights.

Usman secured the welterweight title at UFC 235 thanks to a unanimous decision victory against Tyron Woodley. He then successfully defended his title with a TKO (punches) win over Colby Covington at UFC 245 which was awarded Fight of the Night and the result we predicted.

Despite this, you should take a look at possibly betting on a Masvidal Victory. Masvidal is priced at +210 and that looks superb value for a fighter who has had the last 12 months he has. 

Masvidal knows Usmans style well and will have studied him a lot of late. The fight will be close whatever the outcome. But for now, we wait and see who comes out on top

Pick: Usman to win at -275 but seriously consider Burns if you can get him at +210

Is This a Make Or Break Fight For Holloway?

To say Max Holloway (+190) has been in indifferent form lately is an understatement. The man from Honolulu won 13 consecutive fights from January 2014 through December 2018 but has since lost two of his three bouts.

All three of his last trio of bouts have gone the distance, compared to only one in his five before that. We correctly predicted Holloway would beat Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision at UFC 240, but he then fell to a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Alexander Volkanovski (-250).

You get the feeling Holloway has to win this latest fight against the man who beat him last time out.

Volkanovski has vowed to knockout Holloway and he certainly has the power to do so with 11 of his 21 wins coming via that method. Five of Volkanovskis last seven fights have gone the distance, including his most recent victory against Holloway.

The Aussie, known as “The Great”, is 22-1 in his professional MMA career so its easy to see why Bovada prices him as a substantial favorite here. My head says hell get the job done here against Holloway, but we could see a different Holloway enter the action because he knows his UFC career hinges in the balance. That makes us want to take the +190 available on Holloway.

Pick: Holloway to win at +190

Yan Is The Man To Beat Aldo

Dana White has poured cold water on claims Jose Aldo (+190) is only getting a title shot against Petr Yan (-250) because hes a big name, but we cant see any other reason why Aldo has been chosen for this fight.

Aldo is a huge name in UFC. He remained undefeated for more than a decade and registered 18 straight wins. Back in 2017, he was named the greatest featherweight in mixed martial arts history, but today is a completely different story.

Five losses in eight bouts, including losing his last two fights, paint a picture of a legend coming to the end of his career. Max Holloway won back-to-back fights against him, and by TKO, at UFC 212 and 218. Aldo managed a brace of wins himself before losing to a unanimous decision against Alexander Volkanovski and then a split decision against Marlon Moraes at UFC 245

Yan, on the other hand, is a fighter on the up. His professional career shows a 14-1 record with him being 6-0 since joining the UFC. Half of Yans UFC victories have been unanimous decisions with the other have TKO or KO, including his devastating head kick KO in his last fight against Urijah Faber.

Yan is arguably the best boxer in this weight class and has very good footwork to avoid Aldos attacks. Aldo is certainly no pushover, but expect Yan to retain his title, doing so after winning on points at the conclusion of all the round.

Pick: Petr Yan at -250

If you parlayed these three choices with a $50 bet youd see a healthy return of $502.30. Even if you swap Usman for Masvidal you still see a return of $226.12. Why not place this parlay with one of these leading online sportsbooks