South Korea will host its first UFC event this Saturday, and the Fight Pass card offers solid action from top to bottom. While there are little title implications throughout the card, there are still plenty of reasons to wake up early in the states and catch the event - starting with the fact that you could earn some money with a few well-placed bets. Let’s take a look at some odds and a few of the bigger storylines heading into UFC Fight Night 79.
Please note, the odds listed here may have changed, as BookMaker updates their lines on a daily basis.
UFC Fight Night 79 odds at BookMaker.eu
LOWER STAKES IN A HIGHER WEIGHT CLASS
Benson Henderson is the former lightweight champion, and Jorge Masvidal is a former top-10 fighter at 155. And both were originally scheduled to fight true welterweights this Saturday. But because of an injury to Henderson’s original opponent, Thiago Alves, Henderson and Masvidal are facing each other at 170.
This takes away the intrigue in watching smaller men test their chances in a bigger weight class. Many were interested to see whether these former 155ers could become real players at 170 pounds. If this fight were at lightweight, there would even be some title implications since Henderson is still a top-7 guy in that class. But as a welterweight tilt, it offers no satisfactory conclusions regarding their status in the division.
Odds at BookMaker.eu
Benson Henderson -260
Jorge Masvidal +215
Over/under 4.5 rounds, over -190, under +160
HYUN GYU LIM: BRAWL OR NOTHING
Welterweight Hyun Gyu Lim certainly passes the eye test as a fighter. He’s enormous, ridiculously strong and a good athlete. However, all he does is brawl. While it’s certainly fun to watch, you have to wonder how good he could be if he cleaned up his technique and fought intelligently. The fact that he nearly beat talents like Neil Magny and Tarec Saffiedine suggests that he could be special.
I’m intrigued to see whether he evolves in his fight against an unknown Dominique Steele. He’ll likely be fired up to fight on the first UFC card in his home country, so I’m expecting him to come out swinging. What would really surprise me is he exercised patience and let the game come to him.
THE LAST STAND OF YOSHIHIRO AKIYAMA
From Takanori Gomi to Kid Yamamoto, there have been a long line of Asian MMA stars failing to translate their success in the octagon. Count Korean-Japanese fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama as one of them. After going 14-1 in DREAM and K-1 and becoming one of the region’s biggest stars, Akiyama has floundered in the UFC, going 1-4. While three of those losses came against top-notch fighters, he looks completely shot at 40 years old.
Now, he’ll fight his lowest caliber UFC opponent yet, jiu-jitsu specialist Alberto Mina. A loss would probably end Akiyama’s career. In fact, even a close win would be a disappointment.
Odds at BookMaker.eu
Yoshihiro Akiyama -205
Alberto Mina +165
Over/under 1.5 rounds, over -175, under +135
HOW TO BET
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. UFC Fight Night 79 takes place this Saturday, November 28, 2015 at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, South Korea. The card will be televised on UFC Fight Pass starting 8 a.m ET.
