There are two UFC Fight Night events taking place this coming weekend. I already have a post up for UFC Fight Night 48 that is taking place in China. That would be early in the morning on Saturday for those of us in North America. Then that night UFC Fight Night 49 takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
There are a couple big fights on this Oklahoma card including Benson Henderson fighting Rafael dos Anjos in the main event. After that Jordan Mein will try to break into the Welterweight rankings against Mike Pyle and Carmont will battle Thales Leites in a fight between two ranked Middleweight fighters.
Benson Henderson vs Rafael dos Anjos
I personally don’t like Benson Henderson or his fighting style where he has difficulty getting a finish, but you can’t argue his raw skill and ability to win. Henderson is currently the top contender at Lightweight and if he beats dos Anjos (ranked #5) he will have defeated 3 solid fighters since his loss to Pettis for the title. With Pettis not having fought since beating Henderson it’s likely that Henderson will need even another win after dos Anjos to get his title rematch. I do think Henderson wins this fight. Pettis just seems to be his kryptonite, but until someone else beats Henderson you have to expect him to beat anyone else in the division.
Take Benson Henderson to win -310 @ BetOnline.
Jordan Mein vs Mike Pyle
I was looking forward to the potential fight between Mein and Thatch, but after Thatch was injured a fight with Mike Pyle will also be interesting (Pyle was expected to face Demian Maia who also pulled out). Jordan Mein is a young 24 year old who has continued to improve through his first 3 fights in the Octagon. His long Octagon loss came via knockout to Matt Brown, who as we all know came very close to earning a title shot. Mike Pyle is another fighter who recently was knocked out by Matt Brown, but has won most of his other recent fights. He is 5-1 in his last 6 UFC Fights, which includes a win over Rick Story. His other most recent loss was against Rory MacDonald via TKO, which is nothing to be ashamed of either. Mike Pyle only loses to the top fighters at Welterweight in the UFC and I don’t think that Jordan Mein has earned that reputation just yet. For this reason I like Pyle as an underdog to win this fight.
Take Mike Pyle to win +180 @ 5Dimes.
Thales Leites vs Francis Carmont
Francis Carmont is on the way down in his career, while Leites is on the way up. Carmont is coming off of 2 losses (Dolloway #9 and Ronaldo Souza), but both fights were lost by decision. Leites on the otehr hand has won his last 6 fights, including 3 fights in the UFC. I like Leites as an underdog in this one to beat Carmont and jump up the Middleweight rankings.
Take Thales Leites +137
Benson Henderson • Jordan Mein • Mike Pyle • Rafael dos Anjos • ufc betting • UFC Fight Night