Hey all!
So glad to be back and hopefully I can stick around. With a 3-year-old and 1-year-old running around, not sure I will always have the time to do as much as I would like but I love contributing to this great community. So we'll see if I can stick around for a bit. I just want to thank you all for the great info you put out. I still check in and follow a lot of plays and you guys are great. The summer can be a bit slow, so I figured now is as good of a time as ever to give you some options in the fight world. Let's get to it! These fights all go down tonight, so fade, follow or pass as wanted.
We got five fights going down tonight at 8EST on UFC Fight Pass. I picked two to play.
Antonio Jones (7-1) vs Edmen Shahbazyan (6-0) ... Jones +195
Jones is a big dog, but he is worth a hard look. Shahbazyan is a young 20 year old fighter who has won all six of his fights by stoppage. He is a student of the notorious Edmond Tarverdyan, coach of Ronda Rousey. Tarverdyan is one of the more overrated coaches in the sport and this particular pupil, while impressive, has racked up wins against opponents with a combined record of 21-51, which is absolutely atrocious in MMA. It is an understatement to say he has never been tested.
On the other hand, the 33-year-old Jones is a little old to start up a career but has four straight wins including two over actual competition in Roger Narvaez and Artenas Young, who came in to their respective bouts as two fighters with potential. Unlike Shahbazyan, Jones is finding ways to get Ws over real competition. No doubt Shahbazyan is the better athlete and has raw skill, but a step up like this might be too much, especially at +195. The play is Jones for me.
Domingo Pilarte (7-1) vs Vince Morales (7-1) ... Morales -285
This is heavy chalk, but not as heavy as the other two very solid favorites tonight in Onyenegecha and Barber. I think there is still some value here and if it scares you away, perhaps a parlay with Jones is in order. Morales is on a five fight win streak and all his victories have come by KO or submission. That streak includes a victory in the Triple-A that is Bellator. Pilarte, while impressive when he was active, has not fought in more than a year. The last fight before his lengthy layoff was a split decision over a warm body. Stepping into the hot streak of Morales seems like far too much to me.
There it is. Again, I hope you've all enjoyed the summer and hopefully I will be around to post more plays going forward again. You're all the best.