SMUGGLING DUDS UFC 253 GAMBLING GUIDE

After some time on main land the UFC returns to Fight Island for an absolute corker of a card that might produce one of the greatest middleweight title bouts of all time. Don’t forget to have a look at our wild card bet right at the end!

Main Card (BT Sport 1)
MAIN CARD
Israel Adisanya (c) vs. Paulo Costa (Middleweight)
Even with a record of 13 wins, 0 losses and 11 knockouts, Israel Adisanya feels his opponents record means nothing due to lack of worthy opponents. Our biggest fear is that this main event has produced a lot of trash talk, and some bold statements on how they intend to win (more so from Costa) but will end up a monumental let down with both fighters afraid to go for broke due to fear of being caught. It shouldn’t and hopefully produces something spectacular. Will the Brazilians aggression be his downfall in this one? It really is a case of Bull Vs Matador. Could fans see the belt change hands? We believe so.
WINNER: Costa
METHOD: KO/TKO

Dominick Reyes vs. Jan Błachowicz (Light Heavyweight)
With a vacated title at stake this should fuel the fire even more for both fighters. Being a more reserved and respectful athlete Blachowicz has often gone under the radar but make no mistake he deserves his ranking and is one of the best in the division and arguably the greatest male fighter to come out of Poland. Many people still aren’t on board with the hype surrounding Reyes (it is felt even though he lost by UD, he didn’t face the best version of Jon Jones in his last outing). Blachowicz by submission is worth a shout as that is probably the only way he wins here. Expect some world class striking from both that could result in a decision but ultimately Reyes should find the button and switch Blachowicz’s lights off if he wants to become champion in style.
WINNER: Reyes
METHOD: KO/TKO

Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Royval (Flyweight)
Another team mate of Israel Adisanya who will be expected to get his hand raised but Kara-France is up against and a fighter who has submitted his last three opponent with ease. Royval refers to himself as a ‘Raw Dawg’ but he is quickly turning into a grappling expert. Underdog to score a win.
WINNER: Royal
METHOD: Submission

Ketlen Vieira vs. Sijara Eubanks (Women's Bantamweight)
Vieira won’t have her coach in the corner for this one after he tested positive for COVID-19. Time will tell if that makes a difference. A sure fire hit to go the distance.
WINNER: Eubanks
METHOD: Decision

Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov (Featherweight)
Possibly the toughest bout to call on this card. Based on the cardio of Tukhugov and how good he looked in his last outing we are edging towards the tiger Muay Thai athlete.
WINNER: Tukhugov
METHOD: Decision

Preliminary Card (BT Sport 1)
Brad Riddell vs. Alex Da Silva (Lightweight)
Fighting out of the prestigious City Kickboxing gym, Riddell has stated he isn’t looking to end up in another brawl. We say give it a minute and the NZ native will be back to doing what he does best.
WINNER: Riddell
METHOD: Decision

Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Matthews (Welterweight)
Once again we find ourselves predicting a fight that involves someone who should have called it a day a long time ago. Former TUF champion and, we hope, future UFC Hall of Famer Diego Sanchez manages to stay in the spotlight following a controversial win in his last outing. Is it finally time to hang up the gloves? Yes, it really is.
WINNER: Matthews
METHOD: KO/TKO

Shane Young vs. Ludovit Klein (Featherweight)
We feel like a lot of underdogs have been picked on this card but it is always with good reason and research. Making your debut against the current UFC middleweight champions team mate is no easy feat but check out some of the vids of Klien on Youtube and you’ll see why we think he might steal the show.
WINNER: Klien
METHOD: KO/TKO

William Knight vs. Aleksa Camur ((Light Heavyweight)
A familiar face on Dana White’s reality shows (we’ve lost count) Knight finally gets a shot in the big leagues. He certainly looks the part and most will expect him to walk through his opponent. We are not so sure. This will be a rude awakening to life in the UFC.
WINNER: Camur
METHOD: KO/TKO

Early Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Juan Espino vs. Jeff Hughes (Heavyweight)
Espino hasn’t been since defeating Justin Frazier in the TUF 28 finale back in 2018. He showed great potential on the reality show and time off shouldn’t have affected him too much. A submission over Hughes is the likely outcome.
WINNER: Espino
METHOD: Submission

Khadis Ibragimov vs. Danilo Marques (Light Heavyweight)
Having had such an awful time in the UFC (at 0-3 in UFC fights) we are surprised to see Ibragimov he’s been handed a lifeline to stay in the organisation. He’s fighting Danilo Marques who makes his UFC debut and will probably lose again. The young Russian really is fighting for survival here so we are going to put our faith in him to scrape a decision.
WINNER: Ibragimov
METHOD: Decision

WILD CARD BET: Paulo Costa via submission