UFC 295 takes place this Saturday at Madison Square Garden and is headlined by a salivating light heavyweight title fight between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira. This card is riddled with great fights from top to bottom.
The prelims feature some stand-out fights as well. A potential Fight of the Night candidate between Joshua Van and Kevin Borjas is one to watch out for. For fans of grapplers, the Lupita Godinez vs. Tabatha Ricci bout and Jared Gordon vs. Mark Madsen should also be fun to watch.
Here are my free UFC picks from the UFC 295 preliminaries from New York.
UFC 295 prelim picks and predictions
Joshua Van vs. Kevin Borjas
• Prediction: Van moneyline (-238)
• Best Bet: Over 2.5 rounds (-115)
Lupita Godinez vs. Tabatha Ricci
• Prediction: Godinez moneyline (-180)
• Best Bet: Godinez to win by decision (+100)
Jared Gordon vs. Mark Madsen
• Prediction: Gordon moneyline (-218)
• Best Bet: Gordon to win by decision (+110)
Click on each fight to jump to the full analysis.
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Both Van and Borjas will be at each other's throats in what should be a see-saw striking contest. Van may have a better technical striking base whereas Borjas is a bit wild. Though Borjas might have a slight edge in power, Van’s upper body movement and work rate should be able to keep Borjas from getting set and landing a big shot.
This should be a close one, but Van’s overall tool kit and cardio should carry him through some rough spots. The call here is that Van and Borjas go to war, but it makes it to at least the third round.
Pick: Van Moneyline (-238 at DraftKings)
Best Bet: Over 2.5 rounds (-115 at DraftKings)
Ricci and Godinez are both grapplers at heart, though some nuances separate the two. Godinez is the better striker who forges ahead with solid wrestling, though she does suffer from low fight IQ and tends to make poor decisions with her offense. Ricci is a BJJ technician who welcomes fighting on the mat, but that’s because her stand-up is lacking.
Godinez is looking like she is getting better, and this is a winnable fight for her. Ricci might not be able to get Godinez down, and she’ll get beaten up for her troubles. Expect Godinez to shut her down and win a dominant decision.
Pick: Godinez Moneyline (-180 at DraftKings)
Best Bet: Godinez To Win by Decision (+100 at DraftKings)
Nobody has had a harder time getting back on track than Gordon. After getting robbed by Paddy Pimblett, and then a no-contest against Bobby Green in the next fight, “Flash” Gordon is 1-2 with a no-contest in his last four fights. His fortunes should finally change at Madsen’s expense. While Madsen is a great wrestler, he doesn’t defend well against takedowns, runs out of gas relatively quickly, and doesn’t have the striking to fall back on.
Gordon is not a world beater, but he is durable and can defend well against takedowns, as well as score a few himself. Madsen is all about the grind, and Gordon is just too crafty to lose to a one-dimensional grappler. The best bet is that Gordon gets a decision win.
Pick: Gordon moneyline (-218 at DraftKings)
Best bet: Gordon To Win by Decision (+110 at DraftKings)
Not intended for use in MA.
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