UFC 231 – Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega – Betting Predictions

From a fan’s perspective, UFC 231 is a fantastic occasion. Concerning betting opportunities, I’m feeling lukewarm. But here are my hints of those fights I’m looking to play. Gilbert Burns vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier
Decorated jiu-jitsu champion and second degree black belt, Gilbert Burns, was operating on his striking in recent decades. Training under famed Dutch kickboxer, Henri Hooft, Burns is currently comfortable wherever the battle occurs.
Together with his newfound striking skills, Burns scored strong knockout victories over Jason Saggo and Dan Moret. Regrettably, preferring to bang with Dan Hooker was disastrous and Burns was violently finished in his last fight. I dropped money thinking Burns would grapple — oh well!
Even though a good striker, Burns takes risks defensively and heaps on his own shots. Dan Hooker is the kind of fighter that could capitalize on defensive lapses — but I am unsure Olivier Aubin-Mercier is.
Coming out of a judo history, Aubin-Mercier is immensely strong in the clinch and heavy from top position. While he’s much more skilled on the feet than he was, Aubin-Mercier still lacks the fluidity of somebody that’s a pure striker. He is light on his feet, out and in with his motion and somewhat tentative — but is accurate when he fires.
While Aubin-Mercier is a jiu-jitsu brown belt, so I doubt he wants to go to the mat with Burns. Even the muscle-bound human blanket, Michel Prazeres, refused to dive into the protector of Gilbert Burns — which speaks volumes.
In his last fight, Aubin-Mercier looked a step behind in the scrambles against Alexander Hernandez and I would anticipate a master of body manipulation such as Gilbert Burns to dominate the mat too (although I wish there was more footage of Burns fighting his back to create a much better assessment).
I think the striking trades will be aggressive, but I provide Burns a small edge. Stylistically, this seems catchy for Aubin-Mercier and I can not predict his strategy. Maybe the Canadian will try and restrain his competitor against the fence, but without shooting takedowns?
I do believe Aubin-Mercier is the better athlete and certainly has the cardio. However, I will take my chances with Gilbert Burns as a +120 underdog as I believe he should be a small favorite.
Elias Theodorou vs. Eryk Anders
At a middleweight showdown between two fighters with contrasting designs (and characters ), Eryk Anders takes on Elias Theodorou.
A great athletic, Anders is volatile yet has good cardio. Struggling out of the southpaw stance, Anders packs huge power in his left hand but in my opinion, goes head searching a little too much. In his final bout, Thiago Santos was well prepared for the key weapon of Anders — which limited his offensive success.

Read more: ufc200-fight.com