UFC on ESPN 15 is set for Saturday night from Las Vegas’ UFC APEX facility. Pedro Munhoz will take on Frankie Edgar in the headliner, as Edgar makes his debut as a bantamweight fighter. The two had been set to fight at UFC 251, but Munhoz came back with a positive COVID-19 test, and the fight was delayed. Now he has been cleared, and the two will meet. In the co-headliner, Ovince Saint Preux will meet Alonzo Menifield in a light heavyweight tilt.
Check out the full card for the night, as well as our UFC betting thoughts on the main bouts for Saturday.
UFC on ESPN 15: August 22
Munhoz vs Edgar Betting Preview
Main Card | ESPN / ESPN+
Bantamweight
Pedro Munhoz vs Frankie Edgar
Light Heavyweight
Ovince Saint Preux vs Alonzo Menifield
Light Heavyweight
Marcin Parchnio vs Mike Rodriguez
Welterweight
Daniel Rodriguez vs Takashi Sato
Preliminary Card | ESPN+
Women’s Flyweight
Mariya Agapova vs Shana Dobson
Women’s Strawweight
Amanda Lemos vs Mizuki Inoue
Lightweight
Austin Hubbard vs Joe Solecki
Welterweight
Dwight Grant vs Calen Born
Light Heavyweight
Jordan Wright vs Isaac Villanueva
Welterweight
Matthew Semelsberger vs Carlton Minus
Bantamweight
Timur Vallev vs Mark Striegl
Frankie Edgar tried to win the UFC Featherweight belt three times — and lost each time — so now he has finally come down to 135 pounds to make his bantamweight debut. The promotion didn’t do him any favors, as Pedro Munhoz is one of the top contenders in the UFC Bantamweight division. Munhoz finished Bryan Caraway and Cody Garbrandt, formerly a UFC champion himself, in winning three of his last four fights. The victor on Saturday could get a shot at Petr Yan, who currently holds the UFC Bantamweight title, although Aljamain Sterling also has a claim to be the challenger.
Edgar has put together a terrific career. For a long time, he had only lost to champions, but he has only won once in his last four fights since the start of 2018, and he has been finished twice in the last two years. In December, Chan Sung Jung finished him, and this could be a sign of problems to come for him, especially now that he is in a lighter weight class. As a lightweight, he had speed and quickness on his side. As a bantamweight, he might come into the Octagon as a slower fighter than Munhoz.
Munhoz has not fought since June 2019, when he lost via decision to Sterling. He is the younger fighter on Saturday (at 33 years old), and he has had a long layoff to get refreshed (of course, the other side of that coin is that he might also have some rust to work off). Munhoz likes to get out to a quick start and deliver a finish, and it will be interesting to see if Edgar can elude him long enough to get to the cards. Either way, it’s hard to see Edgar winning, either via points or the finish, because Munhoz has an edge in striking power and may have the edge in quickness.
Final Prediction:
Munhoz wins via decision | Bet on the Match Now!
Ovince Saint Preux and Alonzo Menifield slid into the co-headliner spot as a late addition for the main card. Saint Preux did not enjoy his experience in the heavyweight ranks, taking a beating from Ben Rothwell, and so he has returned to the weight class where he has spent the majority of his career, at light heavyweight. Menifield lost his pro debut to Devin Clark, and he is getting an opportunity here, as a last-minute substitution for Shamil Gamzatov. Saint Preux, at the age of 37, may be on his way down, and he has lost three out of four fights overall. However, if he can find holes in Menifield’s defense, Menifield may wish that he had not gotten this last-second opportunity to fight near the top of the card.
UFC on ESPN 15 | UFC odds
UFC Betting Odds on Xbet.ag
