The headline fight among the four preliminary bouts at UFC 218 on Saturday night on FS1 has Charles Oliveira taking on Paul Felder. It is a matchup between two veteran fighters, as Oliveira is 22-7 in his career, including 10-7 in the UFC, while Felder is 14-3 overall, including 6-3 in the UFC. This fight will lead up to a five-fight main pay-per-view card, which features Max Holloway taking on Jose Aldo. Let’s take a look at Oliveira vs. Felder.
Bet on UFC at BookMaker.eu
Charles Oliveira (22-7, 10-7 UFC)
If it seems like you have seen Oliveira in action for a long time, you have. He made his UFC debut in 2010 and won his first two fights to improve to 14-0. It has been an up and down career for Oliveira in the UFC, as he has gone 8-7 since those first two wins. He had dropped three of four fights until he got a win against Will Brooks at UFC 210 in April.
Oliveira has nine knockout wins in his career and 15 submission wins. Eight of his last nine fights have ended in a finish.
Paul Felder (14-3, 6-3 UFC)
Felder won the first 10 fights in his career, including his first two in the UFC, as he defeated Jason Saggo and Danny Castillo. The first loss for Felder came in July of 2015, as he lost a unanimous decision to Edson Barboza. Felder lost later that year to Ross Pearson in a tough split decision. Felder went 2-1 in 2016, as he defeated Daron Cruickshank and Josh Burkman, while losing to Francisco Trinaldo. The two fights for Felder this year have been wins, as he knocked out Alessandro Ricci and Stevie Ray.
Felder has ten knockout wins in his career and one submission win. He has four first round finishes.
Felder was supposed to face Al Iaquinta instead of Oliveira at UFC 218, so it will be interesting to see how he deals with the new opponent. Felder said to MMAjunkie Radio that the matchup should be exciting. “It’s actually a fun fight because of his striking style and how he moves forward with that old school muay Thai style, the way he marches forward,” Felder said. “I think a lot of this fight could take place on the feet, which is something I’m excited about.”
Felder said that he is going for a quick finish. “I’m going to try and break him as soon as possible,” Felder said. “But I have to be intelligent, too. I don’t think it’s any surprise that he’s probably going to try to get me to the mat and use his jiu-jitsu. I’m here with a great team and a great jiu-jitsu coach, so I’m on the mat literally every day.”
UFC Picks
Oliveira is going to want to get Felder to the mat and get a submission, while Felder wants to keep the fight standing. If Felder is smart he will look to stick and move and avoid a takedown. I think that is the most likely scenario, so I will take Felder to get the win. I also like the rounds to go under, as Oliveira fights rarely go to a decision.
UFC 218: Holloway vs. Aldo 2 takes place on Saturday, December 2 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. There are five fights on the main card featuring Max Holloway vs. Jose Aldo and eight preliminary bouts, with four on FS1 and four on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Max Holloway -296 vs. Jose Aldo
Francis Ngannou -231 vs. Alistair Overeem
Henry Cejudo -250 vs. Sergio Pettis
Justin Gaethje -190 vs. Eddie Alvarez
Tecia Torres -200 vs. Michelle Waterson
Preliminary Card (FS1)
Charles Oliveira vs. Paul Felder
Alex Oliveira vs. Yancy Medeiros
David Teymur vs. Drakkar Klose
Felice Herrig vs. Cortney Casey
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Sabah Homasi
Jeremy Kimball vs. Dominick Reyes
Justin Willis vs. Allen Crowder
Amanda Cooper vs. Angela Magana
How to Bet
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker sportsbook! Real-time spreads, totals, props and money line are all available so start betting with BookMaker today.
