After months of tormenting each other on reality TV, strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and No. 1 contender Claudia Gadelha will finally meet inside the octagon. The pair is set to headline this Friday’s The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale -- the second card of a three-night bonanza of MMA. And unlike the preceding UFC Fight Night 90 and Saturday’s UFC 200, this card is free on FS1.
We’ve got a lot of betting options to go over, so let’s get right to it.
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Please note, the UFC odds at BookMaker are updated daily. The lines listed here may have changed since this article was posted.
MAIN EVENT
Women’s Strawweight Championship
Claudia Gadelha +165
Joanna Jedrzejczyk -200
Over/under 4.5 rounds, over -260, under +220
PREDICTION: Jedrzejczyk UD Gadelha
In all honesty, this fight feels like a toss-up. While I do believe that J-Check will win, Gadelha at +165 is a very good value. So what I’m saying here is that if my life depended on it, I’d go with Joanna. But if I’m just about making money, then Gadelha’s line is too good to pass up. The Brazilian has the perfect style to neutralize Jedrzejczyk’s Muay Thai, and many feel like Gadelha beat her in their first encounter.
CO-MAIN EVENT
Lightweights
Ross Pearson
Will Brooks
Over/under rounds, over , under
PREDICTION: Brooks UD Pearson
Will Brooks is in the intriguing position of making the jump to the UFC as the last lightweight champion in Bellator, MMA’s No. 2 promotion. While it remains to be seen whether he can be a contender in the shark-infested UFC lightweight division, he should be able to beat mid-tier fighters like pearson. Pearson has been alternating wins and losses since mid-2014, and whattaya know, he’s due for another loss.
Featherweights
Doo Ho Choi
Thiago Tavares
Over/under rounds, over , under
PREDICTION: Choi TKO Tavares, Round 2
“Superboy” Doo Ho Choi has the potential to become the face of Asian MMA. We simply do not see many fighters with the kind of knockout power that he possesses. The 25-year old is on a 10 fight win streak, nine of which have come by knockout. Tavares is a tough dude, but if he can’t tie Choi up quickly, he’s going to be eating a lot of punches.
Lightweights
Joaquim Silva
Andrew Holbrook
Over/under rounds, over , under
PREDICTION: Pick ‘Em
Unbeaten lightweights Andrew Holbrook and Joaquim Silva are both coming off close split decision wins in their UFC debuts. They’ll look to keep their flawless records intact in an intriguing prospect match. We really don’t know enough about either fighter to make a confident pick, but it’s hard not to like Holbrook’s elite submission skills -- 9 of his 11 victories have come by way of tap.
Featherweights
Gray Maynard
Fernando Bruno
Over/under rounds, over , under
PREDICTION: Bruno UD Maynard
Maynard will attempt to revive a struggling career with a move to 145 pounds. I’m not sure how much it’ll help, as he’s lost four in a row -- and he was knocked out in three of them. Ever since his trilogy with Frankie Edgar, Maynard simply has not looked the same. Picking Bruno to win is much more about Maynard’s decline than it is Bruno’s talent.
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HOW TO BET
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker sportsbook! You can even wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Money lines, totals, props and money line are all available now. The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale takes place Friday, July 8 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card will air on FOX Sports 1 starting 10 p.m. ET.
