UFC 295 live from Madison Square Garden!
Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic is out, Tom Aspinall vs Sergei Pavlovich is in, and the card hasn’t missed a beat.
Sure, the card may not get as many PPV buys, but the fights’ quality won’t change.
The prelim card kicks off at 6 p.m. ET, and the PPV starts at 10 p.m. ET.
Over the week, I sat down with UFC analyst and former champion Michael Bisping, who is intimately close friends with Aspinall.
For many reasons, during our discussion, he discussed the kind of shape that Aspinall is in.
Check out the whole interview and see for yourself why exactly he’s in a great place heading into this scary light heavyweight title fight.
Aspinall also sat down with The Post’s Scott Fontana about his big opportunity.
UFC 295 predictions
Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Procházka
Two kickboxing savants matchup in the UFC light heavyweight division when Jiri Procházka looks to retain gold against former middleweight champion Alex “Poatan” Pereira.
Pereia is a surprising favorite in this one after narrowly defeating Jan Blachowicz by a split decision, which no one could have been excited about leading into the decision.
Periera looked tired as Blachowicz landed several takedowns and nearly won the fight.
Procházka, while not the best grappler, did submit Pereira’s coach, Glover Teixeira, for the light heavyweight title.
It is undoubtedly concerning that Procházka leaves his chin way too high in the air when facing a power puncher like Pereira.
But Procházka simply has too much experience against light heavyweights, and his five-round experience is too much to ignore.
Procházka probably has the better gas tank here and should be expected to win. His moneyline is worth betting down at +110 on PointsBet/Fanatics, and my long shot prop of the weekend is Procházka by decision +750 (BetRivers).
Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich
Now that Francis Ngannou has moved on to boxing and the PFL, Sergei Pavlovich is the new scariest man in the UFC.
This fight is near even odds, with Aspinall coming in as an everso slight favorite at -115 with Pavlovich a -105 favorite.
He is ready and willing to start swinging his hammers into his opponent’s head and he absolutely slaughters fighters with brutal power.
He faces Tom Aspinall, a top prospect who Michael Bisping told The Post has the potential to dominate the heavyweight division for years to come.
Aspinall is a former boxer who moves like a middleweight and is extremely well-rounded in all facets of mixed martial arts.
Pavlovich has one-hitter-quitter power, where he is essentially an auto-knockout if he can clip his opponent.
Bisping official prediction is Aspinall by second-round submission, I was also on the same submission prop.
He is +400 to win by submission on BetRivers Sportsbook, a prop I am targeting.
If you’re looking for some more juice, Aspinall by second or third-round submission is +1300 on FanDuel Sportsbook, with the road map being that Aspinall clinches and tires Pavlovich before eventually submitting the Russian.
Get the lowdown on the Best USA Sports Betting Sites and Apps
Tabatha Ricci vs. Lupita Godinez
We all love women’s MMA in here, especially when a line is this far off.
It was not long ago that Lupita Godinez would only be favored against the lowest of the low in the women’s strawweight division. She once lost to Angela Hill before rattling off three-straight wins.
She does look improved on the feet, but I actually favor Ricci on the feet here.
Moreover, their takedowns, while Godinez is very solid there, aren’t a wash where Ricci should be expected to get smashed.
Ricci is the better athlete and appears to be in phenomenal shape coming into this bout.
Back Ricci by decision +220 on FanDuel Sportsbook, which is an excellent line compared to the rest of the market.
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