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

From a fan’s standpoint, UFC 231 is a wonderful event. In terms of betting opportunities, I am feeling lukewarm. Nevertheless, here are my hints of those fights I’m looking to play. Gilbert Burns vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier
Decorated jiu-jitsu winner and second degree black belt, Gilbert Burns, was operating on his striking in recent years. Training beneath famed Dutch kickboxer, Henri Hooft, Burns is currently comfortable wherever the battle occurs.
With his newfound striking skills, Burns scored emphatic knockout victories over Jason Saggo and Dan Moret. Regrettably, opting to bang Dan Hooker proved to be devastating and Burns was violently finished in his final struggle. I dropped money believing Burns would grapple — oh well!
Even though a solid striker, Burns takes risks defensively and heaps on his shots. Dan Hooker is the type of fighter that could capitalize on defensive lapses — but I’m not sure Olivier Aubin-Mercier is.
Coming out of a judo history, Aubin-Mercier is exceptionally strong in the clinch and hefty from leading position. While he’s much more skilled on the toes than he was, Aubin-Mercier still lacks the fluidity of somebody that is a pure striker. He’s light on his feet, in and out with his movement and slightly undependable — but is accurate when he flames.
While Aubin-Mercier is a jiu-jitsu brown belt, I doubt he would like to go to the mat with Burns. The muscle-bound human blanket, Michel Prazeres, refused to dive to the protector of Gilbert Burns — which speaks volumes.
In his last battle, Aubin-Mercier looked a step behind in the scrambles from Alexander Hernandez and I’d expect a master of body manipulation like Gilbert Burns to control on the mat too (although I wish there was more footage of Burns fighting his back to create a better assessment).
I think that the striking trades will be competitive, but I provide Burns a small edge. Stylistically, this looks tricky for Aubin-Mercier and I can’t predict his approach. Perhaps the Canadian will try and restrain his opponent against the weapon, but minus shooting takedowns?
I do believe Aubin-Mercier is the better athlete and has the cardio. However, I will take my chances of Gilbert Burns as a +120 underdog as I think he should be a slight favorite.
Elias Theodorou vs. Eryk Anders
At a middleweight showdown between two fighters with contrasting styles (and characters ), Eryk Anders takes on Elias Theodorou.
A fantastic athletic, Anders is explosive yet has great cardio. Struggling from the southpaw stance, Anders packs huge electricity in his left hand but in my opinion, goes head searching a bit too much. In his last bout, Thiago Santos was well prepared for the primary weapon of Anders — which restricted his offensive success.

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