UFC Fight Night: Vera vs Sandhagen

What’s up fight fans? Welcome back to another Fight night breakdown.

UFC 286 at the O2 arena was electric and there were some amazing fights as Leon Edwards defended his belt in grand fashion.

We came close to cashing two tickets but managed to get the big underdog pick in Justin Gaethje at 3/1 odds.

This week we've got a great Fight night line-up in a packed arena in San Antonio, and we cannot wait to watch and break down these fights, so let's get to it!

Marlon Vera vs Cory Sandhagen

The bantamweight division is as stacked as it has ever been and the willingness of top talents to fight each other has made it even better.

We've got an excellent fight worthy of headlining in a packed arena this weekend as Marlon Vera looks to build a case for a title shot against former interim belt challenger Cory Sandhagen.

Chito has started to hit his peak lately and looked really sharp in his recent performances against Dominick Cruz, Rob Font, and Frankie Edgar.

He has a patient fighting style and he gets better as the fight goes on after making reads on his opponents and always finds his spots to shine.

The Ecuadorian is a finisher with a lethal kick-heavy attack and an underrated submission game which has given him 16 career finishes.

This week he has a great stylistic clash against a man who many believe will hold the UFC belt one day.

Cory Sandhagen has gone toe to toe against some of the best in the division such as former champions like TJ Dillashaw, Petr Yan, and Frankie Edgar.

Cory is a volume-heavy striker known for his spontaneous innovation who has added explosive knockout power and submissions threat to his arsenal.

He's knocked out some tough opponents like Song Yadong and Marlon Moraes and gained valuable experience in close decision losses to TJ Dillashaw and Petr Yan.

This is a great clash of styles between two elite kickboxers who are different yet very similar in their approach toward fights.

Vera will hold the power advantage and look to remain patient while coming strong in the championship rounds.

Whereas Cory will overwhelm Chito with his footwork, volume, and diversity in strikes throughout 25 minutes.

Best Bets

Our first bet this week comes on an explosive middleweight bout between Chidi Njokuani and Albert Duraev.

Chidi is dangerous on the feet and he's facing Duraev who has been finished in all his losses.

Duraev was exposed in his last fight which proved that if he cannot get the fight to the ground, he has nothing to offer on the feet.

We're siding with the explosion of Chidi "Bang Bang” to stuff the early takedowns and get a finish.

Our next pick comes on a fun flyweight fight between Alex Perez and Manel Kape.

We like violence on this one as Alex Perez is coming off two devastating losses via finish and he has been finished in all but one of his career losses.

Kape has been on a good run having finished two of his last three wins and 17 of his 19 career wins.

We think both these ranked flyweights will come firing out of the gate to look for a finish and should get it within 12 and a half minutes.

Our final bet this weekend is on our main event between Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen.

We agree that Cory should be the favourite here given the strength of schedule and his volume in a 5-round fight.

Although Vera has the ability to download data and make things happen in the later rounds.

We'll take a shot at Chito to make lightning strike again at plus odds.

Selection: Chidi Njokuani (Win market) @1.6

Selection: Under 2.5, Alex Perez vs Manel Kape (Asian Total) @1.59

Selection: Marlon Vera (Win market) @2.37

Selection: Parlay all Selections @6.14