- Total Invested: $100
- Last Week’s Profit: $33
- Total Profit: $173
- Potential Profit This Week: $120
The one and only $100 investment in the Tap In betting fund is still fully intact as last Friday David Teymur came out of UFC Fight Night 131 with a unanimous decision win over Nik Lentz. The Swede kept our profits in the green while also firmly establishing his name in the Lightweight Division, running his win streak to 8 fights. Now the octagon flies from Utica, New York to Chicago, Illinois for UFC 225 Saturday, June 9th.
This card is arguably the deepest in UFC history, with 8 current and former titleholders or challengers fighting Saturday night. That also means that a few UFC veterans that look to be past their prime will step in the cage. I see two lopsided matchups that are good bets for the odds, featuring a fighter on the rise against a vet whose career looks to be over the hill. I think these are sure things, so the best way to go is to parlay both bets together to multiply profits. Parlaying is risky though, one loss topples over the whole bet.
Alistair Overeem (43-16) +155 vs. Curtis Blaydes (9-1) -185
MMA and kickboxing legend Alistair Overeem takes on #4 ranked Heavyweight Curtis “Razor” Blaydes. Overeem is a former UFC title contender, K-1 Grand Prix winner, and Strikeforce champion in his 19-year career. “Ubereem” doesn’t look like the fighter he once was, having last been ruthlessly knocked out by Francis Ngannou. In the other corner, The Native Chicagoan Blaydes is on a sharp rise through the Heavyweight division ranks, winning four straight with his sole loss coming in 2016 to the same Francis Ngannou.
Since then Blaydes has done nothing but dominate the big boys of the 265-pound division. Curtis was a junior college national champion in wrestling and those skills have easily translated to the cage, in his last fight he manhandled Mark Hunt around for three round en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Alistair Overeem’s loss to Francis Ngannou was more swift and shameful than Blaydes’, getting knocked out cold by a vicious uppercut in the very first round. Blaydes looked more comfortable standing up against one of the best in the world, Ngannou. But a swollen right eye forced the doctors to stop the fight and the victory was awarded to Ngannou. Blaydes game isn’t on the feet, but he has shown noticeable improvement with every fight with his hands.
The kickboxing legend Overeem is 38 years old now and will have a tough time keeping up with the younger Blaydes. Overeem is a counter puncher who will be forced to guess whether the long frame of Blaydes goes for a takedown or a strike. Alistair will be too slow to knock down the stone-chinned Blaydes and will ultimately succumb to the takedown. If Blaydes runs into any trouble, his ground game will be his friend en route to a decision victory.
Andrei Arlovski (27-15) -185 vs. Tai Tuivasa (9-0) -225
Another fight cut from the same cloth, Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa goes up against former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski. Tuivasa is an absolute monster in the cage. The ruthless power kickboxer is undefeated with nine wins all by first round KO. The 25-year-old turned pro 8 years ago and has considerable experience for a young gun. He definitely won’t be fazed seeing the MMA legend Arlovski across the cage.
Arlovski is a savvy veteran with two stints in the UFC under his former Heavyweight champion belt dating back to 2000. Andrei has fought the likes of Francis Ngannou, Stipe Miocic, and Fedor Emelianenko in his storied career. The only problem is that he got knocked out by all of them…
Tuivasa looks like the next big thing at Heavyweight. His athletiscism for his size coupled with the quick and vicious striking game is Velasquez esque. Arlovski at age 39 doesn’t have the same pep in his step, and will be an easy target for “Bam Bam” on the feet. It’ll be interesting to see if Tuivasa can extend his first round KO streak to 10; regardless in any round, I see this going the Aussie’s way via KO.
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