UFC Fight Night 46
By Sportsbook.ag
Event: UFC Fight Night 46
Date: July 19, 2014
Venue: The O2
City: Dublin, Ireland
Featherweight Bout: Conor McGregor (14-2) vs. Diego Brandao (22-9)
Sportsbook.ag Line: McGregor -475, Brandao +350
Conor McGregor will look to continue his hot streak as he goes up against Diego Brandao at UFC Fight Night in Ireland on Saturday.
McGregor has been on a tear as of late, winning 10 consecutive fights, including his first two matchups in the UFC. In his last fight on August 17, 2013, he defeated Max Holloway by way of unanimous decision. McGregor has shown in the early part of his career that he has the ability to end a fight very quickly, as he has devastating knockout power. He is an explosive athlete, using that quickness to get his opponent off balance, before knocking his opponent out. On Saturday, McGregor will be going up against a fighter eager to bounce back from a loss in his last fight, as Brandao fell to Dustin Poirier at UFC 168 on December 28, 2013. In that match, he was knocked out in the first round, but Brandao has still prevailed in eight of his past 10 fights. This has the makings of being a terrific matchup as these two fighters both have the ability to win by knockout. However, in the end, the favored McGREGOR has improved significantly in a short period of time, and he will do enough to get the win.
"The Notorious" McGregor has 14 wins in his career, with 12 of them coming by way of knockout. He also has one win by both submission and decision, and has tallied an impressive 10 first-round finishes in his young career. Not only will he have his hometown crowd behind him, but McGregor will have a huge advantage in this fight when it comes to striking, landing 4.59 significant strikes per minute, compared to only 2.44 by Brandao. He is not as accurate when it comes to landing his strikes (45% for Brando, 39% for McGregor). However, the 26-year-old McGregor does a great job of putting the pressure on his opponents early, and then continuing to throw those strikes throughout the fight. If he is able to get going early, he will have a great chance to win this match. The 5-foot-9 McGregor stands two inches taller than his opponent. However, if there is one thing going for Brandao, it is that he also has elite knockout power for the featherweight class too.
Of his 22 career fights, "DB" Brandao has nine wins by way of knockout. He also has eight wins by decision, and five by way of submission. His ability to throw punches is huge in this match as McGregor is absolutely relentless on his opponents. While he does not have as many takedowns as McGregor (3.72, compared to 3.35 for Brandao), the Brazilian Brandao does a much better job of defending against the takedown (86% compared to 0% for McGregor). McGregor is rarely tested on his grappling because he turns the fights into brawls. However, if the 27-year-old Brandao can take the fight to the mat, he has a great chance of scoring the upset victory.
Ohter UFC Fight Night 46 Bouts
Odds provided by Sportsbook.ag:
Flyweight Matchup
Josh Sampo -225
Paddy Holohan +180
Lightweight Matchup
Cody Donovan -110
Nikita Krylov -120
Middleweight Matchup
Tor Troeng -180
Trevor Smith +147
Welterweight Matchup
Cathal Pendred -170
Mike King +140
Flyweight Matchup
Neil Seery -155
Phil Harris +125
Light Heavyweight Matchup
Ilir Latifi -235
Chris Dempsey +190
Lightweight Matchup
Norman Parke -340
Naoyuki Kotani +260
Flyweight Matchup
Ian McCall -180
Brad Pickett +147
Welterweight Matchup
Gunnar Nelson -550
Zak Cummings +400
Check out more UFC Fight Night 46 Betting Odds at Sportsbook.ag!