Cain Vs Ngannou Betting Odds
Posted : admin On 4/5/2022Is Cain Velasquez the greatest heavyweight MMA fighter of all-time?
Francis Ngannou Vs Cain Velasquez Odds and Betting Prediction - Cain Velasquez (14-2-0) is widely regarded as one of the greatest UFC heavyweights of all time and will be a popular betting pick for UFC on ESPN on Sunday, February 17th in Phoenix, Arizona. Ngannou vs Velasquez Betting Trends & Stats - Velasquez leads Ngannou in both. In total, UFC Fight Night: Ngannou vs Velasquez has 13 scheduled fights with the main card set to air on ESPN at 9 PM ET. Let’s step inside the betting Octagon to take a look at the UFC on ESPN 1 betting odds and see which MMA bets to make, find some betting value, and KO our picks. All betting odds are courtesy of 5Dimes.
Unfortunately, Saturday night will not be able to tell that entire story, but Velasquez has said recently that he would retire if he felt he couldn’t compete at the highest level.
Fans will, however, learn that fact.
Cain hasn’t competed inside the Octagon in nearly three years.
Standing across from him is an absolutely massive heavyweight with the athletic ability of a 170-pounder in Francis “The Predator’ Ngannou.
Here’s a glimpse at Francis flowing on the focus mitts with his coach.
Precision & power.
?? @Francis_Ngannou#UFCPhoenixpic.twitter.com/F3X5WvO6oG
— UFC (@ufc) February 15, 2019
In the co-main event, part-time fighter and part-time UFC commentator Paul Felder is matched up very well with maybe the largest lightweight fighter on the roster, James “The Texecutioner” Vick.
Ready to battle in the desert ? @JamesVickMMA#UFCPhoenixpic.twitter.com/bK6WoM0WBy
— UFC (@ufc) February 15, 2019
You see James leading here with a few jabs before he throws a jump switch or “Burmese knee” as one of my former coaches in the Joe Lewis lineage called it.
It’s like the dive bomber pushup. I’ve heard it called a Chinese pushup or a Hindu pushup, but whatever the namesake, it’s a highly effective technique.
The flying knee for James Vick is no different. In my opinion, it’s the game-changing wild card technique he will likely need to defeat the more technical Muay Thai striker, Felder.
There are a couple very interesting women’s fights on this card including Andrea “KGB” Lee finally getting some action opposite Ashlee Evans-Smith after her scheduled fight with Jessica Rose-Clark in December was canceled at the last minute due to a weight cutting issue from my Aussie pal “Jessy Jess.”
If these matchups aren’t interesting enough for you, “Bruce Leroy” is fighting the son of a man who is widely regarded as the greatest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner that’s ever lived.
Kron (pronounced “Crahn”), the son of Rickson (pronounced “Hickson”) Gracie, is one of the best grapplers in the world right now and has learned MMA not only from his extended family, but from some of the best Gracie Fighters ever in brothers Nick and Nate Diaz.
Gracie will need to use some of that volume striking his team uses to get on the inside of his opponent, Alex Caceres’, long kicks and knees.
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MyBookie has provided us the betting odds for Saturday night’s bone and leather show in the desert. The main card is set to “ding ding” at 10 Eastern. Let’s break them down, find some value, and pick the winners.
Cain Vs Ngannou Betting Odds Prediction
Andrea Lee vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith
This fight isn’t on the main card, but I really like Andrea Lee in this fight. Her opponent, Smith, is only 2-4 in her UFC career and may be on her way out the door with a bad loss on Saturday.
Lee has been through quite a bit in the past year. She has had to file domestic violence charges as well as restraining and protective orders against her ex-husband who also happened to be her head coach.
This is a recurring theme in women’s mixed martial arts today. Her initial opponent for last December, Jessica Rose-Clark was severely beaten as well by her “fighter” boyfriend. That is what led her to leave Australia for the United States.
Just recently, UFC fighter Rachael Ostovich fought Paige VanZant in a heroic effort just weeks after having bones broken in her face by her ex-husband and “training partner.”
It doesn’t matter if your girlfriend or wife is a fighter, striking any loved one out of anger is disgusting and weak.
Thankfully, Andrea will get the opportunity to prove to herself, her fans, and her coaches that she is now a stronger woman and fighter after all of this.
I first saw Andrea fight when she was still very green to the sport. I was training with Roxanne Modafferi at the time when these two met in Invicta Fighting Championships, a strictly women’s organization now owned by the UFC.
Roxanne was able to outduel her younger opponent, but if they met again, I would have to give Andrea the advantage. Her striking is very good. She just needed some cage time and hours back in the lab as well to improve her takedown defense.
She’s the better athlete and overall fighter than Evans-Smith.
Myles Jury vs. Andre Fili
This is a pretty good matchup at first glance, but Myles is the more complete fighter. He just needs to show it.
Myles Jury burst onto the UFC scene as a highly-touted prospect. He was a black belt in BJJ with solid all-around striking and a decent wrestling game to go along with it.
After back-to-back losses to Charles Oliveira and Cowboy Cerrone, though, his confidence went from a 12 out of 10 down to maybe 6 or 7.
That was in 2015, and since then, he has only fought three times. He took all of 2016 off and beat a couple vets the next year before getting TKO’s in the first round by Chad Mendes in ’18.
Andre Fili hasn’t been incredibly busy himself only competing inside the Octagon six times since 2015 amassing a record of 3-3 against good competition.
I give Jury the edge in striking and Jiu-Jitsu. Fili has good takedowns. He took down the power-punching tree trunk that is Dennis Bermudez a little over a year ago in a victory.
Bermudez, while a very powerful wrestler, doesn’t have near the submission prowess of Jury who has had his black belt since before he even appeared on The Ultimate Fighter show in 2012.
Jury wins with kicks and jabs. If Fili gets froggy with the takedown attempt, I think Myles catches his neck.
One thing that does worry me is the heart of Fili. Jury’s heart has been suspect in the past, and we know Andre won’t come close to quitting inside of there.
It’s just three rounds, though, and Jury is just coming into his own at 30 years of age.
Kron Gracie vs. Alex Caceres
There’s no over/under here. This is probably because of the finishing ability of each fighter, particularly Gracie.
Alex is about as varied a striker as one could imagine. He will literally throw anything at you from every angle imaginable.
There isn’t a ton of power in his punches, but his impeccable timing helps out his power significantly. He has six other limbs, though, and they will be flying all over the Octagon toward his opponent, Gracie.
Kron isn’t particularly fast or explosive, but he doesn’t have to be.
Is Demian Maia explosive!?
Heck no!
Does he need to be?
Against dominant wrestlers, it would help considerably. Alex Caceres, though, is the antithesis of a dominant wrestler.
James Vick vs. Paul Felder
Both fighters are big for the weight class. Paul is larger in the legs and the stockier thicker fighter while James has a larger frame and will be the taller longer man on Saturday night.
Each man has stated their desire for a 165-pound weight class as a greater than 10% jump in weight is too much for many guys that feel like they are caught in the middle.
This is a really tough fight to pick. James Vick has only lost twice in his UFC career, albeit opposite a couple Muay Thai strikers similar to Felder.
If James can use his 3-inch reach advantage in the legs to defend the leg kicks of Felder, I think his jab will be more effective, and that will probably lead into one of those “Burmese” knees we talked about earlier.
I’m not extremely confident about this one, but I’ll take the bigger fighter with the better UFC record.
Cain Velasquez vs. Francis Ngannou
Many are quite surprised to see this betting line as close as this. Cain Velasquez is one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all-time. His wrestling and ground-n-pound fighting base are tailor-made to defeat the explosive striker Ngannou.
Or are they?
We were all on the Francis bandwagon until it was drastically derailed by Stipe Miocic who wrestled “The Predator” for five rounds dominating him.
Okay, so he lost to the then-champion while he was still developing as a mixed martial artist. That’s very understandable.
It was Francis’s next contest against fellow knockout artist Derrick Lewis that left us all dumbfounded.
This was THE most boring fight of all-time!
Francis did absolutely nothing while Derrick did just enough (landed one strike per round) to secure the “win.”
Ngannou admitted that the threat of dominant wrestling was in his head and he clearly had not mentally recovered from the Miocic fight.
Derrick Lewis IS NOT a dominant wrestling threat AT ALL, though!
Since then, he rematched Curtis Blaydes, who is a very good wrestler himself, and was knocked out in the first round.
Is he back?
Was he ever here?
Francis has yet to prove himself to be nothing more than a wild card, and if Cain Velasquez coming back after nearly three years off while he recovered from back, neck, and knee injuries isn’t a wild card, I don’t know what is.
Cain is not a big man, and while I think that 235-240 is the optimal size for a UFC heavyweight right now, the size difference in this matchup may be enough to affect the outcome.
Stipe outwrestled Francis, but he is 6’4” with a large frame. Cain doesn’t even break six feet and has his hare of flab.
This fight, along with the co-main, is tough to pick for me.
This is hard for me to do, but I’m picking for Ngannou against Velasquez. I wouldn’t normally do this for either man no matter who they are fighting, but against each other…
Why not?
I think Ngannou catches him with a short uppercut that stumbles the former champ. From there, it’s just one more right and a few hammers, and we bid farewell to Cain Velasquez.
In Conclusion
This is the beginning of an era!
Cain Vs Ngannou Betting Odds Genesis Open
The UFC on ESPN 1 will be broadcast Saturday night from Phoenix, Arizona. Do not miss out!
Before you know it, it’ll be UFC on ESPN 100 when Jon Jones defends his light heavyweight title for the 22nd straight time against Brock Lesnar Jr.
That may be a stretch but look how far we have come since UFC 1 back in the mid-’90s.
Rickson Gracie was competing at that time in PRIDE, and now his son Kron will be making his UFC debut this weekend.
Andrea “KGB” Lee is a Karate stylist with some of the best athleticism in the division. Watch out for her to pick apart the slower plodding wrestler Ashlee Evans-Smith.
Felder and Vick may be the fight of the night. Picking a winner here is difficult, but I’ll take the guy who can get his knee to your chin quicker than most people can land a jab.
Tune in and turn up! Saturday nights are for the fights!