PFL Battle of the Giants and UFC Vegas 99 Playing Preview: Will Francis Ngannou win his comeback struggle?

It’s MMA double header this weekend as each the UFC and PFL are placing on occasions this Saturday. The largest (each actually and metaphorically) is PFL Battle of the Giants, that includes the return of Francis Ngannou as he faces Renan Ferreira. That occasion additionally options quite a lot of different marquee matchups together with Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco and Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards 2, amongst others. Then the UFC offers followers an exquisite little nightcap with UFC Vegas 99, headlined by a middleweight matchup between Anthony Hernandez and Michel Pereira.

With a lot to select from, let’s dive proper into the bets this week.

All odds are courtesy of our associates at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Straight Bets

Larissa Pacheco (-148)

Cyborg vs. Pacheco is arguably one of the best struggle of all the weekend. That includes the No. 6 and No.7 ranked girls within the MMA Combating pound-for-pound rankings, it’s a bout that, on paper, needs to be distinctive. However I’m not satisfied.

Cyborg is an all-time nice however she’s additionally pushing 40 years previous and hasn’t appeared nice in years. Her final significant win was Julia Budd and that was again in 2020. Since then it’s been a parade of undersized or woefully overmatched opposition. Now to be truthful, Pacheco has had the identical situation, however the distinction between them is Pacheco at the very least is working roughshod over that opposition.

On high of that, Cyborg has appeared wildly disinterested all week, whereas that is the largest struggle doable for Pacheco. All this collectively makes me suppose the youthful champion is in nice place to get her hand raised on Saturday.

A.J. McKee (-176)

McKee takes on Paul Hughes in the primary card opener of the PFL this weekend in a struggle that will very effectively be the individuals’s major occasion. McKee is already a star and Hughes has all the trimmings of a future one, he simply wants the precise wins. Sadly for “Huge Information” this received’t be a kind of. McKee is just too dynamic for the younger Irishman, each on the toes and on the ground. I count on Hughes to offer a great displaying of himself, however it is a bit an excessive amount of, too quickly for Hughes.

Michel Pereira (+114)

Over within the UFC, the primary occasion between “Fluffy” Hernandez and Pereira is an absolute banger. Hernandez is without doubt one of the middleweight division’s premier grapplers and Pereira is without doubt one of the sport’s premier wild males. Since transferring as much as 185 although, Pereira has been much less wild and extra “unstoppable killing machine.” Three fights, three first-round finishes, a mixed struggle time of three minutes and one second. “Demolidor” has been deadly since he stopped chopping a lot weight, and I imagine it’ll proceed. Hernandez wants takedowns to win and Pereira stuffs these at a 94 p.c price. “Demolidor” continues to stand up the ranks.

Photograph by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC by way of Getty Photographs

Prop Bets

Asu Almabayev by KO/TKO (+750)

Why not have just a little enjoyable, eh?

The prelim major occasion over within the UFC options Almabayev taking up Matheus Nicolau in a battle of ranked flyweights. Almabayev is one among many new hotshot guys coming in at 125 kilos and why I truly suppose Nicolau might be just a little undervalued straight up, I like a flyer on this line for one cause: all 4 of Nicolau’s profession losses have come by way of KO or TKO.

Almabayev goes to get takedowns and when the submission sport fails him, then he could pivot to ground-and-pound. I believe there’s some life on this large of a line right here.

Jean Matsumoto By Factors (+100)

Additionally on the UFC prelims, Matsumoto takes on two-time The Final Fighter winner Brad Katona in a bantamweight matchup that ought to favor him closely. Katona desires to wrestle and grind however Matsumoto is a vastly superior athlete and striker. I believe he can stuff sufficient takedowns and win this struggle on the toes, and since Katona has by no means been completed, it is a good value for what is basically the way in which Matsumoto can win.

Photograph by Justin Setterfield/Getty Photographs

Parlays

Francis Ngannou (-260)

I’m, frankly, shocked that the road on Ngannou has dropped this a lot. Don’t get me unsuitable, there are causes to doubt him — he’s been out of MMA virtually three years, he was brutally KOed earlier this yr, his life has been hectic — however nonetheless, the gulf in accomplishment between Ferreira and Ngannou is VAST. Like, Grand Canyon huge.

Ferreira has come alongside within the PFL however that is additionally a person who misplaced to Rizvan Kuniev 18 months in the past! That’s the identical Kuniev who simply went on Contender Sequence this yr. His greatest win is Ryan Bader, a profession mild heavyweight! I like Ferreira however the one manner he wins that is if Ngannou is completely shot, and I don’t see that.

Francis is quicker, hits tougher, has the higher chin, and is a greater striker than Ferreira. It solely takes one, however I’ll be fairly stunned if that one lands on Ngannou this Saturday.

Johnny Eblen (-400)

In an analogous vein, I’ll be flabbergasted if Fabian Edwards beats Johnny Eblen — as a result of they fought 13 months in the past and Eblen demolished him! Sure, Edwards began that struggle effectively, however fairly clearly the second Eblen determined to actually struggle, Edwards had nothing for him. I believe this time Eblen received’t come out so flat and make a press release early over Edwards.

Parlay these two bets collectively for -212 odds

Wrap Up

Must be an incredible weekend of fights. Truthfully, I’m fairly pumped about the primary card of the PFL (the undercard, we don’t want to debate) and this UFC card is fairly stable for an APEX present. Let’s take pleasure in it after which it’s on to UFC 308.

Till subsequent week, benefit from the fights, good luck, and gamble responsibly!

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