Sergio Moraes is a solid favorite over Ben Saunders at UFC Fight Night 137 on Saturday night in São Paulo, Brazil. This event is one of five fights on UFC Fight Pass portion of the preliminary card. Moraes is 13-3-1 in his career, while Saunders is 22-9-2 in his career. There are a total of five fights on the main card on FS1, with the headliner a bout between Eryk Anders and Thiago Santos. There are also a total of nine fights on the preliminary card with four on FS2 and five on UFC Fight Pass. Let’s look at the bout between Moraes and Saunders and UFC picks.
UFC Fight Night 137 Betting at BookMaker.eu
Sergio Moraes (13-3-1, 7-2-1 UFC)
Moraes came into the UFC with a record of 6-1 and he has seven wins, two losses, and one draw in the UFC. He defeated Renée Forte by submission, Neil Magny by submission, Mickaël Lebout by unanimous decision, Omari Akhmedov by TKO, Zak Ottow by split decision, Davi Ramos by unanimous decision, and Tim Means by split decision; while losing to Cezar Ferreira by unanimous decision and Kamaru Usman by KO; and fighting to a draw against Luan Chagas. Moraes has been a pro since 2006 and has one win by TKO and seven by submission. He has six first round finishes.
Moraes said this to mmajunkie.com about his upcoming fight against Saunders, “It’s very important to be facing an opponent who moves forward and I also like to do that. It will be very interesting. I know he has good muay Thai and likes the ground game. We’ll see how it goes on fight day. I’m ready for a war. That’s what I train for.”
Ben Saunders (22-9-2, 9-6 UFC)
Saunders came into the UFC with a record of 4-0-2 and he has nine wins and six losses in the UFC. In his last four fights, he has two wins and two losses. He defeated Court McGee by unanimous decision and Jake Ellenberger by TKO; while losing to Peter Sobotta by TKO and Alan Jouban by KO. Saunders has been a pro since 2004 and has 10 wins by TKO /KO and seven by submission. He has 12 first round finishes.
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Moraes 2.81/ Saunders 3.37
Accuracy: Moraes 45% / Saunders 50%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Moraes 3.51/ Saunders 3.77
Defense: Moraes 62% / Saunders 51%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Moraes 0.99 / Saunders 0.24
Accuracy: Moraes 29% / Saunders 40%
Takedowns defended: Moraes 75% / Saunders 72%
Submission average: Moraes 0.4 / Saunders 1.1
UFC Picks
Moraes will be fighting in his home country which means he will have a nice edge in crowd support and he is simply the better fighter. The price is high, but I have to go with Moraes to win this fight.
UFC Fight Night 137 takes place on Saturday, September 22, 2018 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil. The main card has five fights on FS1, featuring Eryk Anders taking on Thiago Santos. There are nine fights on the preliminary card with four on FS2 and five on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card (FS1)
Light Heavyweight – Thiago Santos -165 vs. Eryk Anders
Welterweight - Alex Oliveira -415 vs. Carlo Pedersoli Jr.
Light Heavyweight - Sam Alvey -325 vs. Antônio Rogério Nogueira
Bantamweight - Renan Barão -135 vs. Andre Ewell
Women's Strawweight - Randa Markos -115 vs. Marina Rodriguez
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 2)
Lightweight - Charles Oliveira -351 vs. Christos Giagos
Lightweight - Francisco Trinaldo -260 vs. Evan Dunham
Light Heavyweight - Ryan Spann -175 vs. Luis Henrique
Heavyweight - Augusto Sakai -250 vs. Chase Sherman
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Welterweight - Sérgio Moraes -290 vs. Ben Saunders
Women's Flyweight - Gillian Robertson -145 vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
Middleweight - Hector Lombard -125 vs. Thales Leites
Welterweight - Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos -665 vs. Luigi Vendramini
Women's Strawweight - Livia Renata Souza -1138 vs. Alex Chambers
UFC Fight Night 137 Odds
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