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JJ Aldrich vs Ariane Lipski 

JJ Aldrich ML (-350)

JJ Aldrich DEC (-110) 

The first female fight on this weekend’s prelims will feature flyweights JJ Aldrich and Ariane Lipski. Aldrich has won three of her last four with the only loss coming to now #2 ranked Erin Blanchfield. In the other corner, Lipski is 3-5 in her UFC career, losing three of her last four. Aldrich is a no brainer here as a big favorite, but I found us some value in Aldrich by Decision. In seven wins with the UFC, zero have come by finish. Her last TKO victory came in 2016. At -110 we can really boost our value on this pick putting a couple units on a decision. 

Davey Grant vs Raphael Assunção 

Davey Grant ML (-135)

Davey Grant KO (+250)

DAVEY GRANT. #UFCVegas21 pic.twitter.com/8zFBP6Yvp1

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) March 14, 2021

14-6 English brawler, Davey Grant, takes on the veteran Raphael Assunção this weekend at UFC Vegas 71. Assunção enters this bout at 40 years of age, having won just one of his last five fights and being finished in three of the four losses. Davey Grant on the other hand has won three of his last five and won all three by knockout. Grant is a heavy-handed unorthodox striker with the power to knock Assunção out cold if he lands clean on that faded chin. Assunção will be too slow and one dimensional in the striking to keep up with Grant, and Grant has the grappling to keep up with Assunção on the floor. Grant wins this fight wherever it goes, and I think it likely ends with flurry of hooks and uppercuts in a second or third round stoppage for Davey Grant. Hammer the moneyline sprinkle the KO. 

Alexandr Romanov vs Alexander Volkov

Alexander Volkov ML (+130)

Volkov to win in Rd 2 (+1000)

Volkov to win in Rd 3 (+1000) 

🟡VIDEO: Alexander Volkov with a walkoff KO against Alistair Overeem! 🥊#UFCVegas18 #MMATwitter #UFC pic.twitter.com/F5PBISg4JB

— MMAdissect (@mmadissect) February 7, 2021

This weekend’s Co-Main Event matchup between Alexandr Romanov and Alexander Volkov is a textbook striker vs grappler matchup. 8th ranked Alexander Volkov will look to keep the fight standing and use his reach to safely land strikes outside the 50/50. While 14th ranked Alexandr Romanov will be shooting from the opening bell, with no interest in kickboxing with Volkov. Volkov will be taken down and he will probably be taken down early. I will not even be surprised if he finishes the first round on his back. This bet is banking on Romanov emptying his incredibly suspect gas tank early and Volkov dominating in the late rounds. Romanov just showed in his last performance against Marcin Tybura that for about six minutes he can be the most explosive, dominant fighter on the roster, but if you make it past that six minutes, he has nothing left for you. Alexander Volkov is a veteran looking to make one last run at the Heavyweight title. He will survive the early storm from Romanov and get a late second or third round finish.

Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili

Petr Yan ML (-275) 

Petr Yan DEC (+120) 

Former Batamweight Champion Petr Yan and rising contender Merab Dvalishvili headline this weekend’s UFC Vegas 71 card. Dvalishvili is the main training partner of Aljamain Sterling, the man that took the belt off Petr Yan two years ago. Dvalishvili will look to implement a similar grapple-heavy gameplan as his teammate, however the difference this time is that he is not nearly as well rounded a fighter as Sterling. Aljamain was only able to secure so many takedowns in the second fight with Yan because he earned his respect on the feet. This time around Yan will know Merab’s only path to victory is with his grappling, and Merab simply won’t have enough to offer in the striking exchanges. Petr Yan may get taken down early in the fight, but the longer he shares the octagon with a man the more reads he finds to beat them. I expect a close fight, I do expect Merab to take one or even two early rounds; but with every minute of the fight Merab will get worse and Petr Yan will get better. By the championship rounds Yan will be stuffing all the takedowns and have Merab frozen on the feet, winning the fight with a 49-46 or 48-47 unanimous decision.

All odds via BetFred Sportsbook