UFC Fight Night 158 Odds & Betting Preview

UFC Fight Night 158 Odds & Betting Preview

Written by on September 13, 2019

Mixed martial arts heads to Canada this weekend, as Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, prepares to host UFC Fight Night 158 on Saturday. The main event is a lightweight fight between Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, a former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger, and Justin Gaethje, a former WSOF Lightweight Champion. The co-main event is a light heavyweight tilt between Glover Teixeira and Nikita Krylov. We have the full fight card as well as UFC betting suggestions for some of the key matchups.

UFC Fight Night 158 Odds & Betting Preview

  • When: Saturday, 8 PM ET (main card)
  • Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver
  • Live Stream: ESPN+

Main Card (ESPN+)

  • Donald Cerrone vs Justin Gaethje (Lightweight)
  • Glover Teixeira vs Nikita Krylov (Light Heavyweight)
  • Todd Duffee vs Jeff Hughes (Heavyweight)
  • Michel Pereira vs Tristan Connelly (Welterweight)
  • Uriah Hall vs Antonio Carlos Junior (Middleweight)
  • Misha Cirkunov vs Jimmy Crute (Light Heavyweight)

Preliminary Card (ESPN+)

  • Marcin Tybura vs Augusto Sakai (Heavyweight)
  • Cole Smith vs Miles Johns (Bantamweight)
  • Brad Katona vs Hunter Azure (Bantamweight)
  • Chas Skelly vs Jordan Griffin (Featherweight)
  • Louis Smolka vs Ryan McDonald (Bantamweight)
  • Kyle Prepolec vs Austin Hubbard (Lightweight)

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (36-12) vs Justin Gaethje (20-2)

This one features one of the more versatile fighters in UFC history in Cerrone, who earned a lightweight title shot in 2015 but then found himself on the wrong end of a stoppage loss, just over a minute into his fight against Rafael dos Anjos. He moved up to welterweight the next year and won four fights in 2016 but then went 2-4 in his next six fights. Even so, he made some improvements to his game that have helped him. He is in the second level of lightweight contenders, and he comes into this fight having lost to Tony Ferguson in his last fight. Cerrone and Gaethje both bring an extreme level of violence to the sport. Gaethje’s background is more along the lines of wrestling than striking, but he only uses those skills to keep his opponent close and on his feet so that he can deliver pressure, instead of having to chase his opponent. His defense is simple: he just elevates his forearms to weather the storm so that he can quickly transition back to striking. Transitioning from the World Series of Fighting to UFC has been somewhat challenging, as Gaethje was finished by both Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier, but since then he has beaten James Vick and Edson Barboza — in a total of four minutes. Given the pressure that Gaethje brings, I see him seizing control of this bout. Final Prediction: Gaethje wins via knockout

Glover Teixeira (29-7) vs Nikita Krylov (25-6)

The fight offers bettors a bout that seems almost even from a handicapping perspective. Teixeira is no longer a light heavyweight contender, but he remains one of the top UFC fighters in this division. When he started in UFC, he was a little older than most because of issues getting a visa, but as soon as he got here, he started running off enough victories to earn a bout with Jon Jones — who beat him, like he tends to beat all comers. Since then, though, UFC has used him as a sort of test for other fighters who want to enter the lightweight elite. He has won two straight, beating Karl Roberson and Ion Cutelaba. He has earned a reputation for toughness, so he will give Krylov a test. A lot of Krylov’s wins came in Ukraine before he entered the MMA mainstream. His UFC debut was against Soa Palelei, and both fighters ran out of steam quickly, and the fight descended into awfully slow wrestling. He knocked out Walt Harris in his next outing, though, and then he moved down to light heavyweight, where he won five straight before losing to Mishua Cirkunov in 2016. He beat Ovince St. Preux in April, and now he faces Teixeira for a chance to get into the top tier of the UFC lightweight division. He is more athletic than Teixeira, but his technique is vastly inferior. He can keep the pressure going, but his defense has sizable holes in it. Final Prediction: Teixeira wins via submission