UFC Fight Night 142: Dos Santos vs Tuivasa
- When: Saturday, Dec. 1 at 10:00 pm ET
- Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Australia
#8 Wilson Reis +115 vs # 10 Ben Nguyen -135
Both of these brawlers lost their last fight. The real difference is that Nguyen’s won 53% of his fights via KO/TKO while Reis often wins his battles via submission. Reis doesn’t land a lot of significant strikes, but the Brazilian grappler does take his opponents down close to 5 times per match. Nguyen should have a tough time dealing with Reis’ grappling skills. Reis is the pick. UFC Fight Night 142 Pick: Wilson ReisYushin Okami +270 vs Alexey Kunchenko -340
At 19-0, Russian Alexey Kunchencko has shown he can do whatever he wants in the Octagon. Yushin Okami’s got only a small chance of catching Kunchenko in a bad position. That’s doubtful to happen because Kunchenko can either battle Okami on the mat or decide to pile up points in the stand up. Alexey should easily win. UFC Fight Night 142 Pick: Alexey KunchenkoPaul Craig +190 vs Jim Crute -235
8-0 Australian fighter Craig faces a tough test versus 9-2 Jim Crute. Crute’s got excellent grappling skills. But, this is Craig’s first fight at UFC. He’s an unknown commodity. Sometimes, unknown commodities show up and surprise their more highly respected opponents. It makes sense to give Craig a shot. At the odds, he’s worth a look to take down Jim Crute on Saturday night in his home country. UFC Fight Night 142 Pick: Paul CraigTony Martin +115 vs Jake Matthews -135
This should be an awesome welterweight battle. Martin’s 13-4 while Matthews is 13-3. Martin battles out of the U.S. while Matthews is at home in Australia for the bout. Matthews lands around one more significant strike per minute. He also takes down his opponents 2.51 times per bout while Martin doesn’t provide many takedowns. The fight should be competitive, but in the end the hometown chalk takes it. UFC Fight Night 142 Pick: Jake Matthews#13 Mauricio Rua +350 vs #14 Tyson Pedro -450
At one point, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was one of the best MMA fighters in the world. Shogun’s a massive dog to Tyson Pedro on Saturday even though he’s ranked higher than his opponent. Pedro has a 3” reach advantage with both his arms and legs. He’s also got excellent submission skills and better takedown defense. Pedro’s 7-2 record implies upside. It’s impossible to go against the favorite. UFC Fight Night 142 Pick Tyson Pedro#15 Justin Willis -115 vs #10 Mark Hunt +105
The always popular Mark Hunt shows up at UFC Fight Night 142 a slight dog against Justin Willis. Both are heavy handed, but Willis has some grappling skills, which is why he’s the slight chalk. Hunt only must catch Willis with one good shot, though, to get the KO. The dog’s worth backing because this fight could end in a hurry and Hunt’s got as much of a chance at a huge blow as Willis has. UFC Fight Night 142 Pick: Mark Hunt#11 Tai Tuivasa +130 vs #7 Junior Dos Santos -150
The main event implies a competitive match. Just look at the odds where neither Junior Dos Santos nor Tai Tuivasa appear to have the edge. Tuivasa is 8-0, but he’s giving up inches in reach for both his arms and legs and he’s giving up a couple of inches in height. Tuivasa does land the more significant strikes. Plus, he’s the much bigger man, clocking in at 264 pounds to Junior’s 238. Tai also has the advantage that he’s fighting in front of his Australian countrymen. He gets the nod. UFC Fight Night 142 Pick: Tai Tuivasa