SMUGGLING DUDS UFC 251 GAMBLING GUIDE

When all is said and done, and life gets back to some normality, we will all look back and be grateful the UFC existed. We here at Smuggling Duds HQ have really enjoyed all of these cards and more so predicting the outcomes! Enjoy and be safe.

Main Card (BT Sport 1)
Kamaru Usman (c) vs. Jorge Masvidal (Welterweight)
Originally scheduled to face rising Brazilian star Gilbert Burns, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ now finds himself being challenged by another savage, and current BMF champion, Jorge Masvidal. In version 1 of our 251 gambling guide we had Usman to stop Burns, mainly based on the fact Burns had only competed a few months ago, so it seems crazy that we are now picking Masvidal to stop Usman with less than a weeks’ notice to prepare! Listen, we get it, the likely hood of this happening is very very slim and the cardio of Masvidal might start dropping in the later rounds but we got sick of underestimating ‘Gamebred’ a long time ago and have to follow our hearts on this one. Masvidal wins, McGregor hits send on a tweet announcing he is coming out of retirement and wants Masvidal’s belts.
WINNER: Masvidal
METHOD: KO/TKO

Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Max Holloway (Featherweight)
A rematch of epic proportions! Holloway will be playing it cool as normal but we all know the Hawaiian wants blood. Volkanovski is the real deal, no doubt about it, and deserves all the credit he receives. Are both fighters’ cardio machines? Yes. Will this one go the distance? Yes. Could it be a draw? Yes.
FIGHT TO BE ANNOUCNED AS A DRAW

Petr Yan vs. José Aldo (Bantamweight)
At one point in his career Aldo seemed untouchable. Those days are now gone and he finds himself handed another opportunity to prove he can still hang with the bantamweight elite. This is a very tough fight for Aldo and he’ll need to find his killer instinct, going back to those savage leg kicks of old to stop the monster that is Yan. We think the Russian will prove too much for the Brazilian.
WINNER: Yan
METHOD: KO/TKO

Jéssica Andrade vs. Rose Namajunas (Women's Strawweight)
Thug Rose hasn’t had it easy lately with reports of her losing family members to Coronavirus, but she has once again shown her warrior heart by stepping in to rematch the fighter who handed her, her only knockout loss. Andrade will for sure have a physiological edge over her opponent for sure and the likely outcome will be the same as their first meeting. We really want Namajunas to get back in the mix and hope she has a different approach for victory this time.
WINNER: Namjunas
METHOD: Decision

Amanda Ribas vs. Paige VanZant (Women's Flyweight)
The former golden girl of MMA makes her long awaited return but this time as a huge underdog. PVZ’s decision to go public that she makes more money from Instagram than she does fighting, her lack of desire to remain part of the UFC and the fact she hasn’t fought since January 2019 plus undergoing major arm surgery means the odds are well and truly stacked against her. What we do know however, is that every single UFC card produces at least one massive upset. We are picking PVZ.
WINNER: VanZant
METHOD: Decision

Preliminary Card(BT Sport 1)
Volkan Oezdemir vs. Jiří Procházka (Light Heavyweight)
Prochazka hasn’t faced anyone near as powerful as Volkan Oezdemir and this may well end up being a quick finish.
WINNER: Oezdemir
METHOD: KO/TKO

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Muslim Salikhov (Welterweight)
Another great match up involving two exciting fighters. The ‘King of Kung Fu’ with need to avoid the Brazilian’s submission game to come away with a stoppage, but we think he produces a potential bonus win here.
WINNER: Salikhov
METHOD: KO/TKO

Makwan Amirkhani vs. Danny Henry (Featherweight)
Amirkhani will look to bounce back from a devastating loss in his previous UFC outing against the tough Scott. This one might be very close to swerve it on your accumulator at all costs.
WINNER: Henry
METHOD: Decision

Leonardo Santos vs. Roman Bogatov (Lightweight)
Pretty excited for this one as Bogatov comes in to the UFC undefeated in 10 fights, which is his whole pro MMA career! Santos is currently riding a 12 fight win streak. If the Russian can control the dreaded Octagon jitters he might stand a chance but it will be UFC veteran Santos who takes control from the bell.
WINNER: Santos
METHOD: Submission

Early Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)

Marcin Tybura vs. Alexander Romanov (Heavyweight)
A tough one to call based on the fact Romanov makes his UFC debut on the back of a draw in the PFL in October 2019. Tybura is never going be a title contender but he should be able to score another win here.
WINNER: Tybura
METHOD: KO/TKO

Raulian Paiva vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (Flyweight)
The Kazakhstan grappling machine to score another decision victory.
WINNER: Zhumagulov
METHOD: Decision

Karol Rosa vs. Vanessa Melo (Women's Bantamweight)
Brazil versus Brazil in this women’s bantamweight bout. Based entirely on previous performances (Melo has lost her previous 2 UFC bouts, Rosa won her debut) we’ll say Melo to come up short with the judges for the third time in a row.
WINNER: Rosa
METHOD: Decision

Davey Grant vs. Martin Day (Bantamweight)
Both fighters have not fought in 2020 and will be clean to unleash some frustration. We are going to back UK fighter and all around nice guy ‘Dangerous’ Davey Grant.
WINNER: Grant
METHOD: Decision