It’s do or die for Johny Hendricks. The former welterweight champ’s recent slide has been so disastrous that it’s fair to question whether it’s time for “Bigg Rigg” to hang up the gloves. A move to middleweight hasn’t seemed to help, as he was TKO’d in an upset loss to Tim Boetsch in his most recent fight. Now, Hendricks meets undefeated Brazilian Paulo “Borrachinha” in a UFC 217 main card matchup that could shut the door on his relevance for good.
Let’s take a look at the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu and break down your best betting options.
UFC odds at BookMaker.eu
Johny Hendricks +170
Paulo Henrique Costa -210
Over/under 1.5 rounds, over -105, under -115
Fight Preview
We should start off by noting that Hendricks has moved to Jackson-Wink to train full-time for this bout. That’s definitely something to consider, as the famed fight academy is easily one of the best in the world. You know that any Jackson-Wink fighter will come armed with a game plan specifically tailored to his or her strengths.
Having said that, they’re not miracle workers. B.J. Penn returned to the sport through Jackson-Wink, and he still looked shot. Once a fighter is done, they’re done. And Hendricks’ sometimes looks like he’s got a fork stuck in him.
Moving up to middleweight after failing multiple weight cuts to 170 was supposed to rejuvenate him - instead it’s been a mixed bag. He looked fine against Hector Lombard, but you could make the argument that Lombard is even more shot than Hendricks. Against Boetsch, Hendricks was competitive against a fringe top-15 guy before getting caught.
If Hendricks can get floored by Boetsch, he’s gonna have a really tough time against “Borrachinha”. The Brazilian middleweight is massive, musclebound and a kickboxing murderer. A perfect 10-0, the 26-year old headhunter has nine wins by KO/TKO, with the other coming by way of submission. All of his fights except one have ended in the first round.
UFC Betting Tips
This is a matchup where the fighters are on opposite career trajectories. Not only is this a “prove he still has it” bout for Hendricks, it’s a potential starmaking performance for Borrachinha. Even with Johny’s move to Jackson-Wink, he no longer has the physical ability to beat a powerful striker like the Brazilian.
UFC Odds Pick: Costa to win at -210
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UFC 217 takes place on Saturday, November 4, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The main card airs live on pay-per-view starting 9 p.m.
