Top UFC Pick: Over 2 ½ Rounds (-165) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
In their return to the UFC Apex in Nevada, top-15-ranked middleweight competitors will exchange leather in the evening’s main event, and we’re covering all your betting needs.
Read on for our complete betting guide with an early preview of the UFC Vegas 85 main event clash between Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov.
We have included updated UFC odds and our expert UFC first-look betting picks and analysis for you to play at top-rated online sportsbooks.
UFC Vegas 85 Information
- When: Saturday, February 03, 2024 – 09:15 PM ET
- Where: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
- Scheduled Bouts: 13
- Main Event: Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov
- Moneyline Probability: Dolidze – 41.5% (+141) Imavov – 61.5% (-160)
UFC Vegas 85 Main Event
Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov
Roman “The Caucasian” Dolidze
He doesn’t particularly shine in one area of mixed martial arts, and he’s often criticized for a lack of technical ability inside the octagon. Still, since he joined the UFC in 2020, Roman Dolidze has been an almost unstoppable force in the middleweight division.
Winning 80% of his UFC bouts to date, Dolidze is strong, powerful, and determined to win, and those three attributes have been more than enough to push his ranking into the top ten (#8) of the middleweight rankings.
Dolidze Best Moneyline Odds: (+141) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Nassourdine “Russian Sniper” Imavov
Nassourdine Imavov is a Russian-born competitor fighting out of France who hasn’t earned the nickname “Russian Sniper” by chance. If you stand and exchange at the kickboxing range with this man, it will be a long night.
Having fought five times since February 2021, our former 185lb champion, Sean Strickland, has been the lone fighter to overcome Imavov’s in-octagon abilities. Aged just 27, MMA enthusiasts should be intrigued to see how his evolution pans out.
Imavov Best Moneyline Odds: (-160) at Everygame (visit our Everygame Review)
UFC Vegas 85: Tale of the Tape
UFC Vegas 85 Skillset Analysis: Styles Make Fights
As previously mentioned, Dolidze isn’t elite in any one area of the game; however, if we’re to focus on his best assets, offensive wrestling springs to mind.
He’ll switch stance and land blast double-leg takedowns effortlessly. With brute strength, this approach is often successful.
Unfortunately, his fight intelligence hasn’t been desirable.
We’ve watched him make several questionable decisions in combat. With that said, somehow, someway, he finds a path to victory behind an awkward and unpredictable style.
Imavov is a beauty to watch when he’s kickboxing at range. Excellent timing, precise strikes, and notable attacks such as the push kick. His cardio remains in question as he’ll sometimes fade in later rounds, but overall, he’s displayed a well-versed skillset that was even able to land a takedown on Chris Curtis last time out.
Due to his preferred fighting style, it’s easy to neglect Imavov’s wrestling, and this could be crucial heading into the weekend’s main event because it’s difficult to envision a path to victory for Dolidze, which doesn’t involve a heavy grappling-based blueprint.
Over 2 ½ Rounds: The UFC Vegas 85 Best Bet Formula
The odds have placed Imavov as a slight betting favorite at -160. While it’s the correct line positioning, fading Dolidze has been a curse for bettors.
Instead, I believe that the over 2 ½ Rounds could result in a solid investment based on the durability and robust defenses both Imavov and Dolidze have displayed during their professional MMA careers.
In a combined 31 pro-MMA contests, there has been just one stoppage loss between these two men, and it was Imavov who lost via submission way back in 2016 during his pro debut.
We rarely see these two in danger or on wobbly legs, and if we can credit one aspect of their respective fight games, it has to be the toughness and avoidance of KO/TKO and submission losses, even at the elite level of the UFC.
UFC Pick: Over 2 ½ Rounds (-165) [1.65u to win 1u] at Bovada
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
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