If you miss the Diaz brothers, you might want to catch Jason Knight in action this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 123. Though the 25-year old featherweight’s official nickname might be “The Kid”, the masses have anointed the Mississippi native with a much better moniker: “Hick Diaz”.
He talks a lot of crap inside the cage, fights with a scowl, boxes dudes up and grapples like a demon. Sounds a lot like Nate or Nick, right? The only difference is that he’s a country boy, hence the hick label.
Coming off a loss to Ricardo Lamas, Knight will attempt to rebound against Gabriel Benitez in Fresno. Let’s take a look at the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu and break down your betting options.
UFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Jason Knight -290
Gabriel Benitez +230
Over/under 2.5 rounds, over -140, under +120
Fight Preview
The UFC seems to know that Knight could be a potential star, but perhaps threw him to the sharks too soon. Ricardo Lamas, a longtime top-3 featherweight, only needed one round to blow out The Kid with a hellstorm of punches. Matchmaker Sean Shelby is really pumping the brakes by giving him Benitez.
While this is a get-right fight for Knight, Benitez is by no means a gimme. The 29-year old Mexican native is an AKA-trained product, and that fight team manufactures sound, polished fighters.
In Benitez, the San Jose-based camp has an athletic fighter with extremely dangerous kicks. He will use his legs to punish foes at a distance, before running them into his sledgehammer left hand. Overall, this is an accurate, powerful striker with good defense. And if the fight goes to the ground, Benitez does have 10 submissions in 19 career victories.
Knight is a boxer who fights like a brawler. He may look wild, but it doesn’t take long to realize that he has the timing and hand speed of a technician. The most exciting part of Knight’s game is his aggression, as he never stops marching forward and throwing leather. Against Lamas, that pressure worked against him. It wilted nearly everyone else he’s fought in the UFC.
UFC Betting Predictions
Knight has a weakness against wrestlers, but he won’t have to worry about that against Benitez, who has yet to land a single takedown inside the octagon. That means this fight plays out on the feet, which is Knight’s world. While Benitez’s kickboxing is no joke, he is ill-equipped to handle a fighter as relentless as Knight. The UFC betting picks here Knight to win, or if you’re feeling lucky Knight inside the distance.
UFC Odds Pick: Knight to win at -290
Bet on UFC odds at BookMaker.eu
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UFC Fight Night 123 takes place on Saturday, December 9, 2017 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. The main card airs live on FS1 starting 9 p.m. ET.
