🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[pawel7777]

Odds for tonight:

Loma Lookboonmee x2.80 Vs Alexia Thainara x1.45
Brando Pericic x1.45 Vs Elisha Ellison x2.80
Michelle Montague x1.45 Vs Luana Carolina x2.75
Colby Thicknesse x2.30 Vs Josias Musasa x1.62
Jamie Mullarkey x1.80 Vs Rolando Bedoya x2.05
Cameron Rowston x2.50 Vs Andre Petroski x1.54
Navajo Stirling x1.34 Vs Rodolfo Bellato x3.30
Tom Nolan x1.70 Vs Charlie Campbell x2.15
Jake Matthews x1.29 Vs Neil Magny x3.80
Jack Jenkins x1.30 Vs Ramon Taveras x3.50
Jim Crute x1.42 Vs Ivan Erslan x2.80
Carlos Ulberg x1.40 Vs Dominick Reyes x3.00

I think I'm going to place a small bet on Reyes. It's not a great value bet, but the odds are still somewhat attractive. The odds suggest he has a 33.3% chance of winning, I think it's closer to 40-45%.
Reyes is on a 3 KO streak and seems to be thirsty for blood after his comeback. Ulberg has a good run too, but it looks like he might be slowing down a bit; his last win against Blachowicz was not very convincing. With a momentum on his side, Dominic could cause a surprise and, with a bit of luck, put Ulberg to sleep.

[Pumared]

Odds for tonight:

Loma Lookboonmee x2.80 Vs Alexia Thainara x1.45
Brando Pericic x1.45 Vs Elisha Ellison x2.80
Michelle Montague x1.45 Vs Luana Carolina x2.75
Colby Thicknesse x2.30 Vs Josias Musasa x1.62
Jamie Mullarkey x1.80 Vs Rolando Bedoya x2.05
Cameron Rowston x2.50 Vs Andre Petroski x1.54
Navajo Stirling x1.34 Vs Rodolfo Bellato x3.30
Tom Nolan x1.70 Vs Charlie Campbell x2.15
Jake Matthews x1.29 Vs Neil Magny x3.80
Jack Jenkins x1.30 Vs Ramon Taveras x3.50
Jim Crute x1.42 Vs Ivan Erslan x2.80
Carlos Ulberg x1.40 Vs Dominick Reyes x3.00

I think I'm going to place a small bet on Reyes. It's not a great value bet, but the odds are still somewhat attractive. The odds suggest he has a 33.3% chance of winning, I think it's closer to 40-45%.
Reyes is on a 3 KO streak and seems to be thirsty for blood after his comeback. Ulberg has a good run too, but it looks like he might be slowing down a bit; his last win against Blachowicz was not very convincing. With a momentum on his side, Dominic could cause a surprise and, with a bit of luck, put Ulberg to sleep.

Is it just me, or are all the favorites good bets? They're relatively solid fighters. I think you can bet on some favorites and even make a multiple bet.

[Synchronice]

Have you seen how Ankalaev and Pereira promoting their fight? Such a lame trashtalk from Pereira (Pereira told that Ankalaev was hiding in locker room from him). Ankalaev is acting like schoolboy nerd. "You said that. No I did not say that" and bs like that.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fG8Ui1hfA4E
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sifUOYEpqnE
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HAZEPsDsOVU

Imagine if DC and Bones had trashtalk or conflict running like that ? Or Khabib vs Conor? These two are never going to set PPV record. Ankalaev is so lame at threatening people

I wonder whose idea was it to make such a cringy promotion. I saw the third video on Tiktok before you spoted and it was one of the cringiest thing to see. Pereira reads it like he is at school and reading a lesson for his teacher while Ankalaev stands like he doesn't give a shit to what he says and wants the lesson to finish as soon as possible.
By the way, not Ankalaev but Pereira is good in PPV. But nobody is going to set a record. Conor McGregor was really on another level.

Yup. Gamrot finally got what he had wanted for a very long time. He mentioned Oliveira as his dream opponent plenty of times in various interviews. It's a shame he doesn't have time for a full camp, but that's still better than fighting some unranked guys.

This fight came as a surprise to me. I didn't think that Olivera would fight so soon. He fought Topuria not so far ago and he got even knocked out.

I had a sad news. Reyes lost against Ulberg. Ulberg knocked him out. I'm glad I didn't place a bet on him, although, I thought that he was going to win. Seems, the loss against Jon Jones affected him a lot and he still can't overcome it.

[tokeweed]

Odds for tonight:

Loma Lookboonmee x2.80 Vs Alexia Thainara x1.45
Brando Pericic x1.45 Vs Elisha Ellison x2.80
Michelle Montague x1.45 Vs Luana Carolina x2.75
Colby Thicknesse x2.30 Vs Josias Musasa x1.62
Jamie Mullarkey x1.80 Vs Rolando Bedoya x2.05
Cameron Rowston x2.50 Vs Andre Petroski x1.54
Navajo Stirling x1.34 Vs Rodolfo Bellato x3.30
Tom Nolan x1.70 Vs Charlie Campbell x2.15
Jake Matthews x1.29 Vs Neil Magny x3.80
Jack Jenkins x1.30 Vs Ramon Taveras x3.50
Jim Crute x1.42 Vs Ivan Erslan x2.80
Carlos Ulberg x1.40 Vs Dominick Reyes x3.00

I think I'm going to place a small bet on Reyes. It's not a great value bet, but the odds are still somewhat attractive. The odds suggest he has a 33.3% chance of winning, I think it's closer to 40-45%.
Reyes is on a 3 KO streak and seems to be thirsty for blood after his comeback. Ulberg has a good run too, but it looks like he might be slowing down a bit; his last win against Blachowicz was not very convincing. With a momentum on his side, Dominic could cause a surprise and, with a bit of luck, put Ulberg to sleep.

So we did some bets and lost some bets and maybe we'll do it all over again next week at the next event... 

Anyway, I didn't watch the event and I haven't seen the replay yet.  How did Reyes look before the KO tho?  Was he making it competitive or was he getting his ass kicked?

Here are the results.

Carlos Ulberg def. Dominick Reyes via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:27
Jimmy Crute def. Ivan Erslan via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:19
Jack Jenkins def. Ramon Taveras via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Neil Magny def. Jake Matthews via submission (D'arce choke) – Round 3, 3:08
Tom Nolan def. Charlie Campbell via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:08
Navajo Stirling def. Rodolfo Bellato via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Cam Rowston def. Andre Petroski via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:41
Jamie Mullarkey def. Rolando Bedoya via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Colby Thicknesse def. Josias Musasa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Michelle Montague def. Luana Carolina via unanimous decision (29-26, 30-25, 30-26)
Brando Pericic def. Elisha Ellison via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:55
Alexia Thainara def. Loma Lookboonmee via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

UFC Perth:  Post Fight Press Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyj6Ob8XvMc

[TopTort777]

Hey tokeweed, why have you stopped posting info about guys who were selected or came from Uncle Dana White Contenders Series ? Lazy bones? Two guys from series were fighting today, Campbell vs Nolan. They had a nice fight. Both were forcing and pushing, tried to finish opponent as quick as possible. Nolan was a bit more lucky, but both gained good damage during fight. They were like 2 guys who have a lot to show, but dont know how to show it due to lack of experience, so they go in striking exchange and forget about defense. Anyway, I suggest to watch that fight

[pawel7777]

(...)
I had a sad news. Reyes lost against Ulberg. Ulberg knocked him out. I'm glad I didn't place a bet on him, although, I thought that he was going to win. Seems, the loss against Jon Jones affected him a lot and he still can't overcome it.

Yeah, it was a pretty bad loss. Reyes didn't look very sharp and couldn't defend simple one-two combos, it's like he didn't feel the distance at all. It might have been the easiest win in Ulberg's career. I don't want to be too harsh to Reyes though. It's always easy to criticise fighters sitting in a comfy chair in front of the screen. I just really wanted to see him bounce back to the top.
I don't think Reyes' decline started after Jon Jones' loss. If anything, that was his highest point in the career and, despite the official result, it was a big win for him. I think the TKO loss to Blachowicz marked the start of his decline, plus, he had some serious health problems too. He made a successful come back with 3 KO wins in a row, but Ulberg was just 2 levels above.

[Balmain]

Have you seen how Ankalaev and Pereira promoting their fight? Such a lame trashtalk from Pereira (Pereira told that Ankalaev was hiding in locker room from him). Ankalaev is acting like schoolboy nerd. "You said that. No I did not say that" and bs like that.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fG8Ui1hfA4E
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sifUOYEpqnE
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HAZEPsDsOVU

Imagine if DC and Bones had trashtalk or conflict running like that ? Or Khabib vs Conor? These two are never going to set PPV record. Ankalaev is so lame at threatening people

Both Ankalaev and Perreria are incredibly incompetent at trashtalking. They're trying to trashtalk, and their fights don't seem very interesting. Where's the old trashtalk? It's a shame that conversations like those between McGregor and Khabib won't happen again. Ankalaev will easily win their rematch, so this fight isn't really that interesting. What can Perreria, who doesn't know wrestling, possibly do against Ankalaev? Their trashtalk is lame, and the fact that they don't speak English and have to translate on their phones makes it even worse.

[TopTort777]

UFC 320



Date: October 5

Early preliminary card: Sun, Oct 5 / 1:00 AM GMT+3
Preliminary Card: Sun, Oct 5 / 3:00 AM GMT+3
Main Card: Sun, Oct 5 / 5:00 AM GMT+3

Venue: T-Mobile Arena

Main card (ESPN)
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira
Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen
Light Heavyweight: Jiří Procházka vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.            
Featherweight: Josh Emmett vs. Youssef Zalal            
Middleweight: Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Joe Pyfer

Preliminary card (ESPN)
Middleweight: Ateba Abega Gautier vs. Osman Diaz            
Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. André Muniz            
Bantamweight: Chris Gutiérrez vs. Farid Basharat            
Featherweight: Daniel Santos vs. Yoo Joo-sang

Early preliminary card
Women's Bantamweight: Macy Chiasson vs. Yana Santos            
Bantamweight: Patchy Mix vs. Jakub Wikłacz            
Welterweight: Punahele Soriano vs. Nikolay Veretennikov            
Welterweight: Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Austin Vanderford            
Women's Flyweight: Veronica Hardy vs. Brogan Walker

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_320

[tokeweed]

Hey tokeweed, why have you stopped posting info about guys who were selected or came from Uncle Dana White Contenders Series ? Lazy bones? Two guys from series were fighting today, Campbell vs Nolan. They had a nice fight. Both were forcing and pushing, tried to finish opponent as quick as possible. Nolan was a bit more lucky, but both gained good damage during fight. They were like 2 guys who have a lot to show, but dont know how to show it due to lack of experience, so they go in striking exchange and forget about defense. Anyway, I suggest to watch that fight

Just got a little busy irl and kinda got tired when the weekend came.  And I really didn't care about the event that much.  This next one tho is kinda decent.  Will def make time to watch this from start to finish. 

UFC 320



Date: October 5

Early preliminary card: Sun, Oct 5 / 1:00 AM GMT+3
Preliminary Card: Sun, Oct 5 / 3:00 AM GMT+3
Main Card: Sun, Oct 5 / 5:00 AM GMT+3

Venue: T-Mobile Arena

Main card (ESPN)
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira
Bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen
Light Heavyweight: Jiří Procházka vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.            
Featherweight: Josh Emmett vs. Youssef Zalal            
Middleweight: Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Joe Pyfer

Preliminary card (ESPN)
Middleweight: Ateba Abega Gautier vs. Osman Diaz            
Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. André Muniz            
Bantamweight: Chris Gutiérrez vs. Farid Basharat            
Featherweight: Daniel Santos vs. Yoo Joo-sang

Early preliminary card
Women's Bantamweight: Macy Chiasson vs. Yana Santos            
Bantamweight: Patchy Mix vs. Jakub Wikłacz            
Welterweight: Punahele Soriano vs. Nikolay Veretennikov            
Welterweight: Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Austin Vanderford            
Women's Flyweight: Veronica Hardy vs. Brogan Walker

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_320

So who you guys got?  Who are your favorite bets?  I think Muniz is an underdog in that spot.  Kinda wanna fade Shahbazyan if so.    And there's Prochazka too.  He could lose against Rountree since Prochazka exposes his chin in the air so much.

Anyway here's the countdown vid.

UFC 320:  Countdown - Full Episode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G77b3GmlMCI

[TopTort777]

Pereira vs Ankalaev can be worth placing a bet on "early stoppage by Ankalaev"; most probably ground and pound TKO. Here is why. Pereira is 38. They fought last time 6 months ago. At such an age and for such period, you dont learn anything new. You can make your skills even better, but wont be able to learn a new trick. So we would see same Pereira as he was in March. I remember how before that fight Ankalev complained that he dont want to fight during Ramadan. There is a theory, why he did not use any wrestling in previous fight, because his plan was to save stamina after not having a proper camp (less water, less food during camp/Ramadan, did not train enough). But, even in such shape, Ankalaev managed to connect punches, and land 1-2 combo. So this time, we might get same Pereira, but different Big Ankl who went though perfect camp, who would take Pereira down and TKO.

[Synchronice]

Both Ankalaev and Perreria are incredibly incompetent at trashtalking. They're trying to trashtalk, and their fights don't seem very interesting.

I don't think that they are trying to trash talk, marketing team of the UFC forces them to do some stupid shit because none of them are trash talkers, nor do they care about it. By the way, I wouldn't say that their fight isn't interesting. Maybe Ankalaev's fight aren't interesting but c'mon, you can't say that on Pereira, just watch his highlights, he is amazing.

Where's the old trashtalk? It's a shame that conversations like those between McGregor and Khabib won't happen again.

Khabib's talk was nothing but Conor McGregor's trash talk was another level. He was really gifted. It's not really east to talk the way he was talking. I bet even a good actor can't do what he was doing. To my mind, it was his natural personality, he was basically a bad guy trying to be good when he wasn't trash talking

Pereira vs Ankalaev can be worth placing a bet on "early stoppage by Ankalaev"; most probably ground and pound TKO. Here is why. Pereira is 38. They fought last time 6 months ago. At such an age and for such period, you dont learn anything new. You can make your skills even better, but wont be able to learn a new trick. So we would see same Pereira as he was in March. I remember how before that fight Ankalev complained that he dont want to fight during Ramadan. There is a theory, why he did not use any wrestling in previous fight, because his plan was to save stamina after not having a proper camp (less water, less food during camp/Ramadan, did not train enough). But, even in such shape, Ankalaev managed to connect punches, and land 1-2 combo. So this time, we might get same Pereira, but different Big Ankl who went though perfect camp, who would take Pereira down and TKO.

He beat Pereira because Pereira didn't prepare for that fight. I mean, clearly, the guy wasn't training and was travelling from country to country, so it's easy to beat such a guy. Is Pereira training for this fight? I don't know, I have no idea but I feel like he doesn't care about fighting anymore. If he cares, then I'm happy because I would love to see him for a few more years into this business but I don't know. I hope he has been training seriously for this fight. Keep in mind that Ankalaev tried to take him down but didn't manage to.
By the way, less water and less food is part of every UFC weight cut, that's not exclusive to Ramadan. Did he not train enough too? I have no idea about this.

I'm afraid that Pereira will lose it but deep in my heart I look for happy end and I hope he wins but my brain tells me otherwise. If he wins, I don't want to be like I didn't have faith into him too

[Balmain]

Both Ankalaev and Perreria are incredibly incompetent at trashtalking. They're trying to trashtalk, and their fights don't seem very interesting.

I don't think that they are trying to trash talk, marketing team of the UFC forces them to do some stupid shit because none of them are trash talkers, nor do they care about it. By the way, I wouldn't say that their fight isn't interesting. Maybe Ankalaev's fight aren't interesting but c'mon, you can't say that on Pereira, just watch his highlights, he is amazing.

Where's the old trashtalk? It's a shame that conversations like those between McGregor and Khabib won't happen again.

Khabib's talk was nothing but Conor McGregor's trash talk was another level. He was really gifted. It's not really east to talk the way he was talking. I bet even a good actor can't do what he was doing. To my mind, it was his natural personality, he was basically a bad guy trying to be good when he wasn't trash talking

I agree that Khabib didn't do anything, and McGregor alone was enough to be the villain. When I think about Khabib, he was the right person to face McGregor. His occasional irritability, his sometimes indifference, and his attempts to remain humble were also amusing. McGregor is incredibly talented, and certain things come naturally to him in every aspect. Some UFC fighters put on a show, try to be the bad guy, and engage in dirty talk, but it's obvious they're just acting. McGregor naturally succeeded with his sincere instincts.

[Pumared]

Pereira vs Ankalaev can be worth placing a bet on "early stoppage by Ankalaev"; most probably ground and pound TKO. Here is why. Pereira is 38. They fought last time 6 months ago. At such an age and for such period, you dont learn anything new. You can make your skills even better, but wont be able to learn a new trick. So we would see same Pereira as he was in March. I remember how before that fight Ankalev complained that he dont want to fight during Ramadan. There is a theory, why he did not use any wrestling in previous fight, because his plan was to save stamina after not having a proper camp (less water, less food during camp/Ramadan, did not train enough). But, even in such shape, Ankalaev managed to connect punches, and land 1-2 combo. So this time, we might get same Pereira, but different Big Ankl who went though perfect camp, who would take Pereira down and TKO.

It's a good theory, but you need to consider what Pereira said about his condition, which was clear in the fight. He couldn't play his game, and according to him, he wasn't feeling well due to fighting too many times in a row. So, I think it will be a similar fight to the last one, but I see Pereira being more willing, and Ankalaev using the same strategy of holding the fight and throwing a few punches.

[TopTort777]

Pereira vs Ankalaev can be worth placing a bet on "early stoppage by Ankalaev"; most probably ground and pound TKO. Here is why. Pereira is 38. They fought last time 6 months ago. At such an age and for such period, you dont learn anything new. You can make your skills even better, but wont be able to learn a new trick. So we would see same Pereira as he was in March. I remember how before that fight Ankalev complained that he dont want to fight during Ramadan. There is a theory, why he did not use any wrestling in previous fight, because his plan was to save stamina after not having a proper camp (less water, less food during camp/Ramadan, did not train enough). But, even in such shape, Ankalaev managed to connect punches, and land 1-2 combo. So this time, we might get same Pereira, but different Big Ankl who went though perfect camp, who would take Pereira down and TKO.

It's a good theory, but you need to consider what Pereira said about his condition, which was clear in the fight. He couldn't play his game, and according to him, he wasn't feeling well due to fighting too many times in a row. So, I think it will be a similar fight to the last one, but I see Pereira being more willing, and Ankalaev using the same strategy of holding the fight and throwing a few punches.

I think he had high temperature during their first fight. But, that is his problem, that might be consequences from cutting weight, body react with high temperature. We are returning again to, if you have a title fight, why you weigh 13-15kg more two weeks before the fight? Ankalaev (it is believed) wasnt in prime form also. Fasting made him weak or train less intensive. We are returning also again to what I have said time ago - when Pereira was "hungry", his performance was much better. Now, when he has money, he is slowly turning into Conor, when entertainment and enjoying life > training and performance.

[OgNasty]

I just watched an interview where Conor McGregor said he isn’t negotiating with the UFC for his upcoming fight (allegedly) at the White House next July. He says he is negotiating with the United States government. While I don’t think that is true, it is a funny talking point for his political run in Ireland.

[tokeweed]

Pereira vs Ankalaev can be worth placing a bet on "early stoppage by Ankalaev"; most probably ground and pound TKO. Here is why. Pereira is 38. They fought last time 6 months ago. At such an age and for such period, you dont learn anything new. You can make your skills even better, but wont be able to learn a new trick. So we would see same Pereira as he was in March. I remember how before that fight Ankalev complained that he dont want to fight during Ramadan. There is a theory, why he did not use any wrestling in previous fight, because his plan was to save stamina after not having a proper camp (less water, less food during camp/Ramadan, did not train enough). But, even in such shape, Ankalaev managed to connect punches, and land 1-2 combo. So this time, we might get same Pereira, but different Big Ankl who went though perfect camp, who would take Pereira down and TKO.

Wasn't the theory was that Ankalaev didn't actually take part in Ramadan?  

Anyway, yeah...  He'll prolly go for a more wrestling heavy game plan in this spot as Pereira is now preparing his game plan based on the first match up.  Oops.  


I'm kinda liking the SUB prop for Ankalaev.  It's at 9.80 rn.  I know he's not much of a grappler in the cage but weirder things have happened in there in the past.  That line could be value.

[Pumared]

Pereira vs Ankalaev can be worth placing a bet on "early stoppage by Ankalaev"; most probably ground and pound TKO. Here is why. Pereira is 38. They fought last time 6 months ago. At such an age and for such period, you dont learn anything new. You can make your skills even better, but wont be able to learn a new trick. So we would see same Pereira as he was in March. I remember how before that fight Ankalev complained that he dont want to fight during Ramadan. There is a theory, why he did not use any wrestling in previous fight, because his plan was to save stamina after not having a proper camp (less water, less food during camp/Ramadan, did not train enough). But, even in such shape, Ankalaev managed to connect punches, and land 1-2 combo. So this time, we might get same Pereira, but different Big Ankl who went though perfect camp, who would take Pereira down and TKO.

Wasn't the theory was that Ankalaev didn't actually take part in Ramadan?  

Anyway, yeah...  He'll prolly go for a more wrestling heavy game plan in this spot as Pereira is now preparing his game plan based on the first match up.  Oops.  


I'm kinda liking the SUB prop for Ankalaev.  It's at 9.80 rn.  I know he's not much of a grappler in the cage but weirder things have happened in there in the past.  That line could be value.

During Pereira's training, he made it clear he was going to show it. And we can see he's been practicing takedowns. So he must be as prepared as he was in the previous fight. I want to see how far each justified move from both fighters goes now that everything should be normal. But with each passing day, it seems Pereira is becoming more popular online, and that's usually not a good sign for me. Those who train don't post.

[TopTort777]

Despite Pereira vs Ankalaev, we have other champions fight planned. Dvalishvili vs Sandhagen. So little talk about this fight in media, that it smells like its clear already who is going to win. Not disrespecting Cory, but I dont know where he might be better than Merab. Wrestling - no. BJJ - also no. Striking - maaaaybe, but Merab chin cancels it. Stamina - triple no tokeweed, load your bet on Merab by UD

[Pumared]

Despite Pereira vs Ankalaev, we have other champions fight planned. Dvalishvili vs Sandhagen. So little talk about this fight in media, that it smells like its clear already who is going to win. Not disrespecting Cory, but I dont know where he might be better than Merab. Wrestling - no. BJJ - also no. Striking - maaaaybe, but Merab chin cancels it. Stamina - triple no tokeweed, load your bet on Merab by UD

It's not being discussed precisely because of what you presented. Merab is far superior physically and psychologically. These days I even saw that the last time he was champion he didn't rest and the next day he was already running around the streets and training.

[pawel7777]

Despite Pereira vs Ankalaev, we have other champions fight planned. Dvalishvili vs Sandhagen. So little talk about this fight in media, that it smells like its clear already who is going to win. Not disrespecting Cory, but I dont know where he might be better than Merab. Wrestling - no. BJJ - also no. Striking - maaaaybe, but Merab chin cancels it. Stamina - triple no tokeweed, load your bet on Merab by UD

That's probably why there's so little talk about that fight, people see it as a mismatch and hardly anyone gives Sandhagen any chance in this fight.
In a recent interview Cory said he feels confident, he said that Merab's strategy is to outwrestle his opponents and get them tired and that such thing had never happened to him and he assured he's not going to end up like O'Malley or Umar. But that's the usual pre-fight talk. All of Merab's previous opponents said similar things and got beaten anyway.
I too don't see what strategy Cory could apply to get the win, other than keeping the distance and hoping for a lucky KO.
Odds for Merab are x1.25, for Cory: x3.80, which makes him the 2nd biggest underdog in the card after Brogan Walker (opening fight of the early prelims).