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UFC Fight Night 148 Odds, Predictions & Picks

UFC Fight Night 148 Odds, Predictions & Picks

Written by on March 21, 2019

UFC News and Betting Previews| Xbet.ag
On Saturday night, Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, will host UFC Fight Night 148, also known as UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs Pettis. The main event is a welterweight between Stephen Thompson, a two-time title challenger, and Anthony Pettis, former WEC and UFC lightweight champ. The co-main event is a heavyweight bout between Curtis Blaydes and Justin Willis. You can catch the entire event on ESPN+. We have the full card for you, as well as UFC betting thoughts on several of the scheduled matchups.

UFC Fight Night 148 Odds, Predictions & Picks

Main Card (ESPN+)

  • Stephen Thompson vs Anthony Pettis (Welterweight)
  • Curtis Blaydes vs Justin Willis (Heavyweight)
  • John Makdessi vs Jesus Pinedo (Lightweight)
  • Jussier Formiga vs Deiveson Figueiredo (Flyweight)
  • Luis Pena vs Steven Peterson (Featherweight)
  • Maycee Barber vs JJ Aldrich (Women’s Flyweight)

Preliminary Card (ESPN+)

  • Bryce Mitchell vs Bobby Moffett (Featherweight)
  • Frankie Saenz vs Marlon Vera (Bantamweight)
  • Alexis Davis vs Jennifer Maia (Women’s Flyweight)
  • Randa Markos vs Angela Hill (Women’s Strawweight)
  • Ryan MacDonald vs Chris Gutierrez (Bantamweight)
  • Eric Shelton vs Jordan Espinosa (Flyweight)

Stephen Thompson (14-3-1) vs Anthony Pettis (21-8)

This fight involves a former contender looking to reestablish himself in the division again in Thompson. His early run in UFC was impressive, thanks to a series of big knockouts. He earned a shot at the title after beating Rory MacDonald via decision, but then a pair of ugly losses against Tyron Woodley, that all told featured maybe three minutes of solid action, Thompson beat Jorge Masvidal but then looked dreadful while losing to Darren Till. When Thompson is on his game, he uses his opponent’s openings and delivers a beating. However, when opponents hang back and wait for Thompson to initiate, then things slow way down. So can Thompson become an aggressive fighter again? Pettis is also looking for some redemption, as he was headed for elite status in the UFC in 2015, holding the lightweight belt. However, he took a big loss against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185, who brought pressure and punished him against the cage, a recipe that other opponents followed in subsequent defeats for Pettis. After a series of poor bouts, he decided to return to a more home run-style of fighting, looking for huge finishes, and it worked, as he finished Michael Chiesa in the second round and looked like he was going to beat Tony Ferguson before he broke his hand. Thompson comes in as a heavy favorite, and he should win, but Pettis will challenge him. UFC Fight Night 148 Prediction: Thompson wins via decision Curtis Blaydes (10-2) vs Justin Willis (8-1) comes in off a loss to Francis Ngannou, who is the only fighter ever to beat Blaydes in his career. Blaydes has a reputation as a fierce wrestler, but Ngannou is the only opponent who has had the takedown defense to win anyway. Blaydes has added striking to his game, as he showed in wins over Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem. He had won six in a row before losing again to Ngannou — but then Ngannou delivered a knockout in 45 seconds. Willis isn’t the big bomber that you might expect from a fighter of his size. Instead, he has a patient game that involves delivering counters at just the right time. He did knock out Allen Crowder quickly, but other than that, he takes his foes apart, one punch at a time, and he also uses wrestling when he needs to. In his last fight, he delivered a win over Hunt in the cards. Willis is one of the better members of UFC’s new heavyweight corps, but Willis does not have the combination of knockout power and takedown defense to deal with Blaydes. Willis won’t leave the openings Blaydes would need for a knockout, but Blaydes should win on the cards. UFC Fight Night 148 Prediction: Blaydes wins via decision
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