UFC Vegas 50: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev Best Bets (Archive)
This Saturday, March 12th, two Top 10 light heavyweights will face off and headline for UFC Vegas 50: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev. There are two bouts to highlight for this weekend: Kris Moutinho vs. Guido Cannetti and Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev. Read below for my UFC picks and predictions.
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Kris Moutinho vs. Guido Cannetti
UFC Bantamweight Bout – Preliminary Card
Kris Moutinho
Kris Moutinho is an American mixed martial artist with a professional record of 9 wins and 5 losses. Of his 9 wins, Moutinho secured 3 wins by T/KO, 1 by submission, and 5 by decision. His losses consist of 3 T/KO’s and 2 submissions.
At 5’7’’, Moutinho is a heavy boxer that applies constant pressure on his opponents. He’s not entirely an explosive fighter, but he stalks his opponents down and will slowly piece you apart. As seen in his UFC debut against Sean O’Malley, Kris Moutinho’s chin was able to survive the knockout power of Suga Sean. Now that’s very impressive.
Guido Cannetti
Guido “Ninja” Cannetti is an Argentinian mixed martial artist with a professional record of 8 wins and 6 losses. He has won by T/KO 3 times, another 3 times by submission, and twice by decision. His losses are 1 by T/KO, 4 by submission, and 1 by decision.
Cannetti is 5’6’’, and is currently 1-4 in his last 5 UFC bouts. Ninja’s main weapons are his southpaw kicks. His boxing, on the other hand, may need some more improvement coming into this bout.
Prediction
The UFC Odds for this fight are: Kris Moutinho -150 and Guido Cannetti +124.
After watching Kris Moutinho’s debut against O’Malley and watching some tape on Guido, it’s hard for me to fade Moutinho. The kid has true spirit and a chin that is able to hang with the punches.
Although his chin has been cracked a few times in the past, I still don’t think Cannetti will be the guy in the UFC to knockout Moutinho; I will honestly be very surprised if he does.
I envision Moutinho walking down Cannetti making it hard for him to throw his powerful kicks, and piecing together Cannetti with his striking.
Since the odds on Moutinho aren’t extremely juiced, and I’m drawn between Moutinho finishing this fight inside the distance or at the cards, I will just grab Moutinho straight up.
Pick: Kris Moutinho -150 via Heritage (Heritage Review)
Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev
UFC Light Heavyweight Bout - Main Event
Thiago Santos
Thiago “Marreta” Santos is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently ranked #5 in the UFC light heavyweight division. He currently holds a professional record of 22 wins and 9 losses.
Marreta’s wins consist of a grand 15 T/KO’s, 1 submission, and 6 decisions. His losses consist of 3 T/KO’s, 3 submissions, and 3 decisions.
Santos is very well-rounded with great power in his punches and kicks. 8 out of his last 10 wins have been by knockout.
Magomed Ankalaev
Magomed Ankalaev is a Russian mixed martial artist currently ranked #6 in the UFC light heavyweight division. He has an impressive current professional record of 15 wins and 1 loss.
Ankalaev has 8 wins by T/KO and 7 by decision, but has lost once by submission.
Ankalaev is an outstanding martial artist with a very sharp fighting IQ. With a background in combat sambo, the Russian has elite wrestling and powerful kickboxing skills.
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Prediction
The UFC Odds are: Thiago Santos +385 vs. Magomed Ankalaev -550.
Although Santos is an exceptional martial artist, there are still questions up in the air about his performance after suffering ligament damage to his right knee and tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL in his left knee. Ever since, he has been less explosive with his striking.
Since his output is less, it worries me that Ankalaev will be able to get inside the pocket easier to land his accurate strikes, or even bring the fight to the ground and work his magic there.
And because Ankalaev has a sharp fight IQ, he should be able to read Santos well in the first round and finish off the fight in the second or third rounds. With that said, for my UFC Pick, I will take Ankalaev to win inside the distance.
Pick: Magomed Ankalaev to win inside the distance -120 via BetOnline (BetOnline Review)
*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.