Undefeated welterweight Ben Askren (19-0, 6 KOs, 6 SUBs) will meet Jorge Masvidal (33-13, 14 KOs, 2 SUBs) at UFC 239 on Saturday, July 6, 2019 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card airs live on pay-per-view starting 10pm ET.
Ben Askren’s long-awaited UFC debut could not have been more controversial. His wild win over Robbie Lawler saw him nearly get decapitated by a slam and followup punches, and the bulldog choke that sealed the victory prompted a heated debate on whether Herb Dean stopped the fight too early.
Instead of an immediate rematch, Askren will move on and continue his quest to torment Dana White. This Saturday, the undefeated former OneFC and Bellator champ meets rival Jorge Masvidal. No surprise that both outspoken fighters have been trash talking each other at every opportunity - to the point we’ve got a genuine grudge match at hand.
Masvidal has dipped in an out of title contention, but snapped a two-fight slide (dropping decisions to Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson) with a sensational KO of Darren Till. The win was a huge reminder that Masvidal is a lethal vet in a loaded division, and he followed it up with a backstage brawl with Leon Edwards just in case we forgot that he’s from the mean streets of Miami.
Dana White’s worst nightmare could come true should Askren get past Masvidal and inch closer to a title shot. Our online sportsbooks are favoring that outcome as well, with the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu installing “Funky” as a clear favorite. Let’s break down the fight along with your betting options. Don’t forget that you can always hedge your bets between rounds with live UFC betting.
UFC Odds at Bookmaker.eu
Ben Askren -260
Jorge Masvidal +201
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: -145 / +105
Significant Striking Stats
Landed per minute: Masvidal 4.11 / Askren 0
Accuracy: Masvidal 4.15 / Askren 0
Absorbed per minute: Masvidal 4.18 / Askren 7.8
Defense: Masvidal 67% / Askren 10%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Masvidal 1.16 / Askren 4.5
Takedown accuracy: Masvidal 51% / Askren N/A
Takedown defense: Masvidal 77% / Askren N/A
Submission average: Masvidal 0.51 / Askren 4.5
Bet Askren vs. Masvidal at the online sportsbook
Askren’s FightMetric stats are all over the place, since it’s only pulling data from his crazy fight with Lawler where he took a crazy amount of damage before reversing course. It’s tough to really extrapolate how he’d do against elite UFC competition from just that. We do know that he was able to take down Robbie Lawler and survive an artillery shelling from a vaunted knockout artist.
Masvidal presents a whole different set of challenges. While a striker by trade, he is much more technical than Lawler, preferring to carve up his opponents with smooth hands rather than heavy bombs. Most importantly, he has stellar takedown and grappling defense, which will very much be tested by Askren. Masvidal wasn’t able to hold off another wrestler in Maia, but he did make sure to minimize the Brazilian’s effectiveness on the mat.
In the online sportsbooks, 5dimes has the most expensive price on Askren at -205, while the cheapest line is -189 at Bet365. As the ‘dog, Masvidal’s best odds are at SportBet, where you can get him at +171 - the other online sportsbooks have him around +160.
UFC Odds Pick: Masvidal to win at +201
At these odds, we just can’t pass up on Masvidal. Call it a gut call more than anything - it’s usually prudent to side with an elite wrestler against a striker. But Masvidal is one of the craftiest guys out there, and his coaches at American Top Team can plan for a one-dimensional guy like Askren.
Bet UFC odds at the online sportsbook now
