As usual with UFC betting events, Aldo vs. Holloway will be jam packed with midcard matches to hold the attention of fans who like to bet on UFC.
Raphael Assunção vs. Marlon Moraes
Weight class: Bantam
Sportsbook odds:
Marlon Moraes 2½ (-200) -175
Raphael Assuncao 2½ (+170) +155
Moraes is set to make his UFC debut on Saturday after going undefeated in Xtreme Fighting Championships and World Series of Fighting (13-0).
he has not jobbed out since tapping out to Deividas Taurosevičius at Ring of Combat 38 on November 18, 2011 in Atlantic City. Moraes had the most straight title defenses and most wins in championship matches before vacating the WSOF Bantamweight Championship.
Assuncao had a seven-fight winning streak snapped by TJ Dillashaw at UFC 200 on July 9, 2016 in Las Vegas, but bounced back with a split decision win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC on Fox 23 on January 28, 2017 in Denver. The winner of this bout could move closer to the bantamweight championship picture.
Antônio Carlos Júnior vs. Eric Spicely UFC betting preview
Weight class: Middleweight
Odds for fans who bet on UFC:
Eric Spicely 2½ (-125) +175
Antonio Carlos Junior 2½ (+105) -210
Spicely has strung together two wins in a row after suffering the first loss of his career at the hands of Sam Alvey at UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker on July 13, 2016 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Spicely is 5-1 since returning to middleweight.
Cara de Sapato has done likewise, beating Leonardo Augusto Guimarães and Marvin Vettori after dropping one to Dan Kelly at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir on March 20, 2016 in Brisbane, Australia. Shoeface’s track record has been spotty, amassing a 7–2 (1) record in three different weight classes, but The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil winner is optimistic he can beat Spicely and move on to bigger and better opponents such as Chris Weidman. Not that Junior is looking past his current opponent. “He’s a tough guy, for sure, but I believe I have many ways in which to beat him,” Junior told MMAjunkie.
Johnny Eduardo vs. Matthew Lopez UFC betting preview
Weight class: Bantam
Odds for fans who bet on UFC:
Matthew Lopez 2½ (-125) -225
Johnny Eduardo 2½ (+105) +185
Lopez squatted after being evicted, lived on Taco Bell Burritos, and worked at a copper mine in Arizona before moving to California and starting to train in mixed martial arts full time and signing with UFC. Lopez is 1-1 and may be at make-or-break point in his career, since the promotion usually releases new fighters if they get off to a 1-2 start. “I have pressure on me, but it’s a good pressure,” Lopez told ESPN. “Like, if I don’t feel like running one day, it gets my ass up. I do believe, 100 percent, that I am one of the best in the world, and I’m starting to come into my own.”
Eduardo is 3-2 is his last fight bouts, most recently defeating Manvel Gamburyan at UFC Fight Night 100 in November 2016.