Betting: UFC 285 Preview
Minty Bets and Kevin Iole discuss the Heavyweight Title Bout and the Women's Flyweight Title Bout for the UFC 285 PPV in Las Vegas this Sat. March 4.
Video Transcript
MINTY BETS: UFC 285 takes place this Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. Our very own Kevin Iole is here to join me and give out his favorite picks for the two title bouts on the main card.
First up, we've got the heavyweight title bout with Jon Jones as the favorite at minus 165 versus Cyril Gane at plus 135. Kevin, I mean, Jon Jones hasn't fought in nearly three years, and now he's moving up in weight for the belt? How are you seeing this one play out? Am I crazy for wanting to bet on Jon Jones?
KEVIN IOLE: I don't think you're crazy at all. You think about this, it's going to be three years and a month, basically, when he steps into the octagon. And the thing is if we just look at Cyril Gane's fight against Francis Ngannou, what does that tell us? Cyril Gane struggles against wrestlers. What is Jon Jones? He probably has the best MMA wrestling.
He's up there with GSP and Khabib, I would think. I can't think of anybody else, MMA wrestling, that would have been more dominant in this sport, at least recently. So I think it's a big ask of Cyril Gane to be able to keep this fight for five rounds on the feet where he can maybe take advantage of Jon Jones. So I really like Jones to win this fight.
The one outlier here is the time off. How does it affect him? But I think Jones was very smart. He built his body in such a way that he could put on the extra weight naturally, and he's comfortable with it. It's not like he just basically went-- he fought 205 last fight, then just came back, six months later, and didn't cut weight.
I mean, he did this strategically, I think he's a smart guy. I think Jon Jones fighting to prove he's the greatest fighter of all time. He has a lot of motivation. I like Jones to win a decision here.
MINTY BETS: In the co-main event, we've got the women's flyweight title bout between Valentina Shevchenko at minus 650 versus Alexa Grasso at plus 450. Now I don't think I want to bet against Valentina here. What do you think, Kevin?
KEVIN IOLE: I don't think so either, especially since Valentina's last fight against Taila Santos-- some people thought Santos deserved to win that fight. And Valentina is a very proud fighter, and she's got big goals, and I think she's going to come back and try to make a statement in this fight.
And she's just got too good of an overall game for Alexa Grasso, who has really developed and gotten better in her stint in the UFC. But I just don't see her being able to hang in there with somebody like Shevchenko. Shevchenko is usually a decision fighter, but I think this is going to be one you're going to see her get a finish in this fight. I really do believe that.
I think Valentina has got a point to prove. Some of the people-- the old Roy Jones song, "Y'all Must Have Forgot," I think that she has that tune playing in her head. And I think she's going to go out and try to prove a point. I like Valentina Shevchenko to finish this fight.
MINTY BETS: Thank you so much, Kevin.
KEVIN IOLE: Thanks, Minty.
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