With every UFC event that comes our way, the option to put some money in your pocket is right there. And while many people may be sleeping on Sunday’s Fight Night in Glasgow, it could provide an excellent opportunity to take advantage of some fun bets, ripe for the picking.
The main event will see welterweight submission artist Gunnar Nelson (-160) take on my favourite name in MMA, Santiago Ponzinibbio (+140). Go ahead: say his name three times.
To many, the straight up odds on this matchup appear peculiar, as one would think that Nelson should be a bigger favorite. I for one, agree with this sentiment as Gunnar is coming into this bout a tad underappreciated.
He’s a dominant fighter, a submission wizard and a possess a striking game that few have been able to figure out. If there’s going to be a finish in this one, the fun bet of Nelson via any finish for -105 is solid pick. It’s not a world-beating +404, that you can get for Gunnar to win by decision, but either way, one (if not both of these in a dutch) could pay you handsomely.
In the co-main event, MMA vet Joanne Calderwood (+175) now finds herself in an underdog role as she takes on of the division’s rising prospects in Cynthia Calvillo (-210).
The hype around Cynthia continues to grow, and based on that straight up line, it’s basically telling us she is going to finish “JoJo’. While I do like the straight up line on Calderwood, should Calvillo pull off a stoppage, you can currently get it for +105.
Then we have the expected lightweight barnburner between Stevie Ray (-175) and Paul Felder (155). Minus the kitchen sink, these guys are going to throw everything at each other.
Two thirds of Ray’s bouts have ended before the distance while 62.5% of Felder’s fights have also seen some sort of finish. While not all MMA math makes sense, this one looks like it will not go the full 15 mins.
If you agree, and believe the Scottish hometown product Ray will pull off a finish, you can get him at +340. If you like the American to pull off a win in hostile territory, then Felder via any finish can be picked up at +430. These, my friends, are some fun bets too consider.
In closing, my fellow Canadian Ryan Janes (+395) is the biggest underdog on the card. He’s taking on one of the brightest prospects in the middleweight division, Jack Marshman (-495).
“The Hammer” is not only the heavy favourite in this fight, but he also has a substantial youth advantage versus the Canadian: Jack is 27 while Ryan is 35. Mind you, the BC native has a three inch height and three inch reach advantage against the prodigy from Wales.
While my heart will say take Ryan straight up or via decision (+1000), my gut doesn’t tell me that he will win at least 2 of 3 rounds. I sincerely hope he does, but there will be a barrage of leather coming his way on Sunday and Marshman could pull off the finish (-145).
Don’t forget to check out this past Tuesday’s edition of ‘The Holy Smokes’ podcast, where Sean Ross Sapp and I offered up our own breakdowns of what could go down in Glasgow. And come this coming Tuesday, at 3pm EST, we will hit the video podcast scene again, with a full recap of UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio.
