UFC 202 Main Card Expert Betting Picks

Posted by Joe Solari on Friday,August 19, 2016 9:56, EDT in

In the grand scheme of things, Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor 2 will change the landscape of UFC forever. Either Diaz will go 2-0 over McGregor and go down in history as the man to beat the great “Mystic Mac,” or McGregor will even the scores at 1-1 and set a possible chance for one of the most-anticipated trilogies in the UFC. We will be delving into detail about all that at the end of the weekend. But first things first, let’s get the fireworks started with the following MMA odds preview for the Diaz vs. McGregor bout, along MMA betting picks for all the other UFC 202 Main Card fights.

Taking a Closer Look at the UFC 202 Main Card Expert Betting Picks

Nate Diaz (20-10) vs. Conor McGregor (19-3) Welterweight Bout

Throw away the statistics because they probably won’t matter that much here. This one is a straightforward as this; McGregor is superior on the feet with sterling KO/TKO skills, Diaz is on top when it comes to delivering big ground games and submissions. And knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses, McGregor will avoid taking the fight to the ground just in the same way Diaz will avoid keeping things in the air, hence setting up a long cat-and- mouse game. So what will prove to be the difference? If you ask me, I believe the key difference here will be motivation, and that’s something McGregor has in abundance compared to Diaz, as is attested to by the money he’s spent for preparations and the fact that his UFC career could easily go down the drains if he loses this fight. And because of the latter reason, McGregor will give anything and everything to win this fight, making him the smart choice for the victory this weekend.

My Expert Pick: McGregor

Anthony Johnson (21-5) vs. Glover Teixiera (25-4) Light Heavyweight Bout

Johnson and Teixiera looked rather calm and composed in their press conference, unlike the bottle-throwing and abuse-hurling duo of McGregor and Diaz. But when the two lightweight contenders meet this weekend, don’t expect that sort of calmness. The stakes of meeting light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier are too high for either of the fighters to play soft. The fact that both fighters are coming into this bout with respective winning streaks—Teixiera at 3 and Johnson at 2—means that the win won’t come easy for either of the two martial artists. That said, Anthony Johnson considerably looks better of the two fighters in terms of quality wins and a more all-rounded game. Combine that with his superior speed and quick reflex as the younger of the two fighters, the victory should be his come the end of this clash.

My Expert Pick: Johnson

Rick Story (19-8, 12-6) vs. Donald Cerrone (30-7, 17-4) Welterweight Bout

It’s hard to talk about Story and Cerrone without mentioning that both guys have good defensive styles. And on paper, Cerrone definitely has the edge in this fight, mainly because of his good cardio and the ability to switch seamlessly from defense to attack and vice versa. I would therefore not be surprised if the Cowboy gets the job done this weekend. My worry, however, is that Story is bigger and more athletic, so it won’t be easy for Cerrone to strike him effeciently. In addition, Story boasts of great sheer power plus the needed skill sets to out-grapple Cerrone. It’s all dicey, I know, but if I am to chose from the two of the, I’ll have to go with Story, banking on him to use his size to a winning advantage over Donald Cerrone.

My Expert Pick: Story

Hyun Gyu Lim (13-5- 1) vs. Mike Perry (6-0)

As is depicted by his record, Lim is the more experienced fighter of the two and his UFC experience will come in very handy in this fight. The problem, though, is that the 31-year- old South Korean is coming off a loss in his last fight and there are questions surrounding his health after he pulled out of the initially-scheduled fight against Sultan Aliev due to injury concerns. Against the energetic Perry, a 22-year- old from America who is making his UFC debut, an upset could be in the offing. Perry, whose six career victories have come via KO or TKO, is a tactful fighter and if he can keep this fight in the air, Lim’s experience will probably amount to nothing when all is said and done.

My Expert Pick: Perry

Tim Means (25-7- 1, 7-4) vs. Sabah Homasi (11-5, 0-0) Welterweight Bout

Homasi’s last win over Jorge Patino in a Titan FC 40 bout was about as good as any, but it was far from the kind of stuff that would trouble Means in this All-American fisticuffs. Besides owning an experience-advantage in the Octagon over UFC debutant Homasi, Means has been preparing for this fight since his knockout victory over John Howard in December 2015 (amidst serving a six-month suspension). When going against Homasi whose last bout came on 5th of this month, Means should have the edge from the extra rest and preparation, earning him a resounding win, most likely via an early submission.

My Expert Pick: Means