Featherweight champion Max Holloway (21-4, 10 KOs, 2 SUBs) will defend his title against Alexander Volkanovski (20-1, 11 KOs, 3 SUBs) at UFC 245 on Saturday, December 14, 2019 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card airs live on pay-per-view starting 10pm ET.
Max Holloway might have bit off more than he could chew when he chased the lightweight strap, but there’s no question that he’s the best featherweight in the world right now. Coming off a dominant performance against Frankie Edgar this past July, “Blessed” will make his fourth title defense - and look to extend a 14-fight winning streak at 145 pounds - this Saturday in the UFC 245 co-main event against Alexander Volkanovski.
The Aussie title challenger is riding an impressive streak of his own - 17 straight wins, with seven coming inside the octagon. But it’s his last three victories that have really cemented his pace as the No. 1 contender in a stacked division. First, he beat Darren Elkins, one of the toughest dudes and best submission grapplers at featherweight. He followed up it up with a TKO win over Chad Mendes in 2018. Then, this past May, he beat former champion Jose Aldo, joining Conor McGregor and Holloway as the only men who have bested the Brazilian.
Now, Volkanovski has earned the title of “the most dangerous threat to Holloway’s reign”. Of course, that’s nothing that the Hawaiian hasn’t heard before - Brian Ortega was actually favored against him in their title match. Still, the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu show competitive odds, even though Holloway hasn’t been challenged at featherweight in a long time.
Let’s take a look at the online sportsbook and break down your best betting picks, including our prop bets. Live UFC betting is available if you’d like to make bets on real-time line updates.
UFC odds at BookMaker.eu
Alexander Volkanovski +135
Max Holloway -170
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: -205 / +165
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Holloway 6.78 / Volkanovski 6.11
Striking accuracy: Holloway 45% / Volkanovski 59%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Holloway 4.29 / Volkanovski 2.49
Striking defense: Holloway 63% / Volkanovski 62%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Holloway 0.26 / Volkanovski 2.78
Takedown accuracy: Holloway 83% / Volkanovski 38%
Takedown defense: Holloway 84% / Volkanovski 72%
Submission average: Holloway 0.42 / Volkanovski 0.52
Bet this UFC fight at the online sportsbook
UFC Odds Pick: Holloway to win at -170
Honestly, we feel anything over -200 is an excellent price on the champ. Volkanovski is dangerous - an excellent wrestler and an aggressive striker - but it’s tough to see where he can really gain an advantage here. His grappling could be a factor, but Max is notoriously difficult to takedown and is a demon on his back.
We think the biggest factor here is going to be the size difference: Holloway is a big 5’11” and Volkanovski is a stout 5’6”. Holloway is an expert at using his length to keep opponents at the end of punches, and Volkanovski is going to go through hell trying to get into boxing range. While the challenger might find success in some spots, he’s simply just going to spend too much time taking damage in areas where he can’t effectively return fire.
We recommend a sizeable bet in the online sportsbook at this price - Max’s dominance just can’t be denied in the featherweight division. It won’t come as easy as it did against Ortega or Edgar, but it should be a clear win.
UFC Odds Pick: Fight doesn’t go to decision at +165
This is a riskier pick, but one we like for small bet. Volkanovski is as tough as they come, but the pace that these two will set is insane. In a five-round fight, we think the chances are good that somebody gets exhausted or just takes too much damage to continue - Volkanovski has excellent stopping power and Holloway’s cardio is just out of this world. At this price, a small bet definitely makes some sense.
Bet on UFC odds at BookMaker.eu now!
