UFC 208 Best Bets
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to New York for the second time Saturday night when the promotion will host an 11-fight card at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The headliner for UFC 208 will pit Holly Holm vs. Germaine de Randamie for the inaugural women’s featherweight championship.
As of late Friday, most betting shops had De Randamie installed as a -130 favorite. The total was 4.5 rounds (‘over’ -125, ‘under +105).
In the co-main event, former middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva will take on eighth-ranked Derek Brunson in an 185-pound scrap. Most spots had Brunson listed as a -145 ‘chalk’ late Friday, while the total was 1.5 rounds (‘over’ -135, ‘under’ +115).
In another middleweight bout on the main card, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza will take on Tim Boetsch as an enormous -550 favorite. ‘The Barbarian’ is a +400 underdog. The total was 1.5 rounds (‘under’ -140, ‘over’ +120).
The other main-card fights are Glover Teixeira (-215) vs. Jared Cannonier (+175) and Dustin ‘Diamond’ Poirier (-445) vs. Jim Miller (+350).
Best Bets
1) Jim Miller +350 for one unit vs. Dustin Poirier – Miller is 17-7 in 24 UFC fights with five of those defeats coming against former champs or opponents who fought for the belt. He has won three consecutive bouts. I’m a big Poirier fan and I’d pick him if this was a pick ‘em, but he’s way overpriced here, especially considering the quick return after a knockout loss to Michael Johnson in September.
2) Anderson Silva +130 for one unit vs. Derek Brunson – Silva hasn’t tasted an official victory since beating Stephan Bonnar on Oct. 13 of 2012 at UFC 153. However, I thought he looked good in his last two fights. Obviously, he wasn’t going to be able to stop the takedowns of former Strikeforce heavyweight champ and current light-heavyweight kingpin Daniel Cormier on two days notice at UFC 200.
Nevertheless, Silva looked outstanding when the fighters did trade strikes standing for small portions of each round. As for the loss to Michael Bisping on his home turf in London, Silva was coming off the one-year suspension and I felt that decision could’ve gone either way. This is a step up in competition for Brunson and a step down for Silva.
3) Souza-Boetsch UNDER 1.5 rounds (-140) for two units -- Boetsch can end any fight with one punch, while Jacare has powerful wrestling and great submission skills. Jacare has won six of his last nine fights via first-round finishes.