UFC 303 is shaping up to be an engaging night at the fights despite the absence of the original headliner on the card, Conor McGregor. Stephen DeAugustino welcomed NBC Sports UFC and Betting Analyst Brad Thomas to this week’s episode of “Octagons, Circles, and Squares” to break down a couple of this weekend’s matches.
Thomas started with a look at the Ian Machado Garry (14-0 / 7-0 in the UFC) vs. Michael Page (22-2 / 1-0 in the UFC) bout.
“I’m actually looking forward to this fight the most and I think a little bit has to do with me kind of underestimating MVP in his first fight. In that last fight for MVP, I was definitely on Holland, and I kind of thought it would be an easy fight. It was anything but. MVP was able to stand in there, bang, and land some nasty elbows. He also was able to protect himself on the ground against a black belt, and that didn’t go unnoticed...Ian Garry is a great striker, but I think this is going to be a tough bout for him. I’m actually gonna take MVP.”
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He went on to further explain why he is not laying the juice with Garry.
“If we look the last fights that Ian Garry had, it was a lot of him having a massive advantage in striking, but the unorthodox striking of MVP, his speed, his quickness, and he has legitimate knockout power, I think that it could end the undefeated run for Garry…even if you think Garry is a little bit better, there’s no way that you can lay -155 when you’ve got MVP who is just as talented at +130.”
The other fight Thomas discussed at length was the featherweight bout featuring Diego Lopes (24-6 / 3-1 in the UFC) and Brian Ortega (16-3 / 8-3 in the UFC).
“I think this price (Lopes at -145) is just drastically wrong…I’ve seen Diego Lopes be as short as -130. I thought the -130 was something that you absolutely had to jump on. Brian Ortega (+120), let’s give him his flowers, right? The dude is hard to finish…this guy has a brutal, brutal chin…Diego Lopes is a phenomenal, great striker. He’ll be able to match up on the ground too with Ortega. I just think that this is Diego Lopes’ time. When you look at the two fighters and you just compare the two in terms of the “it” factor, I think Diego Lopes brings that…the dude is just legit.”
Again, no McGregor this weekend but the UFC did an exceptional job filling the card with captivating matchups that include a handful of the rising stars in the sport.
Enjoy the fights.
Join Vaughn Dalzell and Brad Thomas every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for Lunch Money as they find bets and have some fun at…lunchtime. Follow @NBCSportsBet and join the fellas as they turn lunch money into dinner money.