Road to UFC Season 2 Betting Analysis: Episodes 1-4

Road to UFC Season 2, UFC’s event series where top Asian MMA prospects battle in a tournament for UFC contracts, starts this weekend. Episodes 1 and 2 takes place on Saturday. Then episodes 3 and 4 happen on Sunday.

Check out analysis for all four episodes. Note that we’re only adding UFC betting lines, analysis, and free picks for tournament bouts.

Road to UFC Season 2 Betting Analysis for the Bouts in Episodes 1-4

ROAD TO UFC Tournament featuring four men’s divisions: flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight
When: Saturday, May 27 – Sunday, May 28
Where: UFC Performance Institute, Shanghai, China
TV / Streaming: UFC Fight Pass

UFC Season 2 Episode 1 | Saturday, May 27

Keisuke Sasu -450 vs. San Won Kim +350
Mark Climaco -405 vs. Jung Hyun Lee +305
Zha Yi -850 vs. Wuziazibieke Jiahefu +600
Rei Tsuruya -370 vs. Ronal Siahaan +295

Betting Analysis:
Sasu should have no trouble winning his fight. The -450 choice has taken 9-of-10. San Won Kim lost his last fight and has a 9-5 overall record. The odds imply Keisuke wins and he will.

Mark Climaco comes over from LFA. This should be a step down for him, which is why he’s the choice. Another reason to like Climaco is because his combined opponents have a record of 25-2 while Jung Hun Lee’s combined opponents have a record of 24-38-2.

Zha Yi was in season one and came up short. Jiahefu has 11 losses on the Chinese circuit, can’t strike, and lacks fundamentals. Yi wins.

Siahaan is undefeated at 6-0 and has a decent stand up game, but he won’t get to use it. Tsuruya is going to take this to the mat as soon as the referee gives the start. Once on the mat, Rei will force a tap out.

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MyBookie Betting Lines for the Bout

UFC Season 2 Episode 2 | Saturday, May 27

Li Kai Wen -205 vs. Kai Lu +165
Seung Guk Choi -400 vs. Sumit Kumar +300
Kouya Kanda -146 vs. Yibugele Yibugele +116
Niushiyue Ji -160 vs. Billy Pasulatan +130

Betting Analysis:
Kai Wen had won 4 straight before losing to a much better fighter than Kai Lu in Fabricio Andrade in his last. Lu got knocked out in under a minute in his last bout. So Wen is the play.

Kumar hasn’t beaten a fighter with a winning record. Guk Choi lost in the Road to UFC Season 1 finale. No doubt, the chalk should take this.

Kanda versus Yibugele should be a terrific fight. But although Yibugele is a good fighter, he’s also 33. Kanda is 27 and has just 4 losses on the record. So the favorite projects as the winner.

Pasulatan is a good fighter. However, he’s moving up to 125 from strawweight. That alone will make it difficult for Pasulatan to get the win. Ji is the stronger overall fighter and should wear down Pasulatan, eventually, knocking him out.

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MyBookie Betting Lines for the Bout

UFC Season 2 Episode 3 | Sunday, May 28

Zhu Rong -500 vs. Sung Chan Hong +375
Shuya Kamikubo -350 vs. Baergeng Jieleyisi +275
Kazuma Maruyama -125 vs. Kim Sang Uk -105
Long Xiao -115 vs. Shohei Nose -115

Betting Analysis:
Rong is 10-years younger. Also, he’s fought at UFC before. So he knows how to throw down against better competition. Hong will fight hard. It won’t be close to enough to upset Rong.

Kamikubo has fought tougher competition and has proven cardio. Jieleyisi is a grappler and wrestler. But the favorite has terrific wrestling skills. So Shuya is the pick.

Maruyama doesn’t have great takedown preventing skills. Sang Uk is good at taking down opponents. So that’s where Uk wins the bout, with takedowns.

Xiao versus Nose projects as one of the most competitive fights during the tournament and it should be. Xiao lost a Contender Series bout against Cristian Quinonez in 2021. Nose appears to have more in the arsenal.

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MyBookie Betting Lines for the Bout

UFC Season 2 Episode 4 | Sunday, May 28

Won Bin Ki -225 vs. Bahatebole Batebolati +185
Chang Ho Lee -240 vs. Rana Rudra Pratap Singh +190
Windri Patilima -155 vs. Shin Haraguchi +125
Zhawupasi Daermisi -225 vs. Eperaim Ginting +185

Betting Analysis:
Bin Ki fought on the Road to UFC Season 1. He suffered a loss but he also scored a knockout win. Batebolati last fought at LFA. So the dog has experience at a promotion. Give Batebolati a shot.

Chang Ho Lee and Rana Rudra Pratap Singh have similar records. The odds suggest Lee gets the nod. It’s difficult to know which way this will go. But since Singh offers the better number, and there’s no way to know if Ho Lee is that much better, we’ll side with Singh.

Both Patilima and Haraguchi are 8-0. Patilima has 4 wins via submission and 3 via knockout. So although Haraguchi offers odds that suggest he will be competitive, the chalk’s versatility should get him the win.

Daermisi has excellent wrestling and grappling skills. The 6-0 fighter should take down Ginting shortly after the first bell. Then, it will be a matter of time before Daermisi forces a tap out.

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MyBookie Betting Lines for the Bout

How ROAD TO UFC Works:

Four divisions: flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight
8-man brackets for each division
Round 1 | Quarterfinals
- Four fights in each bracket plus one non-tournament fight : five total fights per fight card
  Winners move on to semifinals
Round 2 | Semifinals
- Two fights in each bracket
  Winners move on to finals
Round 3 | Finals
- One fight in each bracket taking place on the preliminary card of a UFC Fight Night later this year.
  Winners will earn a UFC contract