One of Asian MMA’s biggest stars will help lead the UFC’s first venture into South Korea. Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama, an ethnic Korean residing in Japan, is set to face unheralded Alberto Mina on the main card of UFC Fight Night 79 this Saturday. While Akiyama’s success in Dream and K-1 hasn’t translated in the octagon, oddsmakers are liking his chances of winning in a virtual home matchup.
UFC Fight Night 79 odds at BookMaker.eu
Yoshihiro Akiyama -205
Alberto Mina +165
Over/under 1.5 rounds, over -175, under +135
Please note, the odds listed here may have changed, as BookMaker updates their lines on a daily basis.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The money lines on each fighter hasn’t budged since opening a few weeks ago. This can imply two things: 1- gamblers are taking a wait-and-see approach or 2- action has been evenly distributed between the two fighters. I’m inclined that to think that option 1 is the more feasible reason for the stagnant lines simply because Akiyama has severely underperformed inside the UFC thus far.
HOMECOMING KING
As far as name recognition, Akiyama will likely be the most popular fighter on the card. He was long considered one of the best fighters in Asia, beating names like Melvin Manhoef and Denis Kang while racking up a 14-1 record in K-1 and Dream. However, his UFC career has been total failure.
Since winning a controversial split decision over Alan Belcher in his UFC debut, Akiyama went 1-4 in the promotion. Granted, three of those losses came at the hands of Michael Bisping, Vitor Belfort and Jake Shields - which is nothing to be ashamed about. Still, it proved that at 40, Akiyama isn’t even close to being a contender at welterweight.
Most recently, he bounced back with a unanimous decision win over Amir Sadollah at in September 2014 - but he’s been inactive for over a year. This is the perfect event for Akiyama to resurface, as his name is still probably a draw in the Asian scene. Just don’t expect a career resurgence.
Akiyama’s opponent, Alberto Mina, is an undefeated jiu-jitsu teacher based in Hong Kong. And that’s really all we know about him. Normally, the fact that he’s 11-0 would raise some eyebrows, but most of those wins came in tiny regional promotions. He did score a TKO in his UFC debut in August 2014, but we haven’t seen him since. Who knows what he’s been up to since then?
THE SMART PLAYS
Honestly, I’d be really tempted to take a shot with Mina. Akiyama honestly has looked done for the past few years now. While he’s still durable, he’s slow, sloppy and his gas tank is shot. If Mina had been staying active and facing mid-level opponents, I’d jump at his money line for the UFC Fight Night 79.
But Akiyama still has the experience to gut out victories, and that’s likely what will get him by here. While the UFC isn’t exactly gift-wrapping a win for Akiyama, they’re still giving him a fringe-roster opponent that hasn’t fought in over a year. The pick is Akiyama to win by TKO in the third.
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.
