UFC 188 Expert Picks and Predictions – Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum

Betting on MMA is fun. One punch or a tight squeeze on a neck could end a fighter’s night in a matter of seconds — resulting in fast payouts and plenty of profit. But before we get ahead of ourselves and lay money on UFC 188, it’s time to take a look at what the experts are saying ahead of the jam-packed card. Headlined by a heavyweight title unification fight between Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum, UFC 188 promises plenty of action for sports and fight fans all around.

Get an in-depth look at the action ahead. Check out the predictions and preview for UFC 188 here.
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Expert Picks and Predictions for the Main Card of UFC 188: Velasquez vs. Werdum

Combat Press

Fight | Vince Carey | Sal DeRose
Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum | Velasquez | Velasquez
Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez | Melendez | Melendez
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nate Marquardt | Gastelum | Gastelum
Charles Rosa vs. Yair Rodriguez | Rosa | Rosa
Tecia Torres vs. Angela Hill | Torres | Torres

[sc:UFC240banner ]Sal DeRose of Combat Press believes that UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez should be able to defend his title at UFC 188 despite injury concerns. He notes that while interim champ Fabricio Werdum is a good fighter, Velasquez is simply a step ahead of the entire heavyweight roster. Velasquez’ excellent wrestling chops should help him avoid going to the ground against Werdum and dominate the striking.

DeRose’s colleague, Vicnce Carey, also agrees that Velasquez is the baddest man on the planet. Outside of a fluky stoppage from Werdum, Velasquez should be able to win a dominant decision or late stoppage.

The two also break down the rest of the main card, but single out the co-main event between Gilbert Melendez and Eddie Alvarez as the fight with the most potential to win the “Fight of the Night” award. Melendez and Alvarez should make for a good scrap, each possessing excellent boxing skills. But both agree that Melendez should have this one in the bag, while Alvarez makes things interesting.

The rest of the card seems clear-cut for the duo at Combat Press, pegging all the favorites to win their respective fights.

As of this writing, a $20 parlay of Velasquez, Melendez, Gastelum, Rosa and Torres should give a potential $71.42 profit. You can view all the UFC 188 odds and lines here.

Bleacher Report

Fight | Steven Rondina
Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum | Velasquez
Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez | Melendez
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nate Marquardt | Gastelum
Tecia Torres vs. Angela Hill | Torres
Bonus: Henry Cejudo vs. Chico Camus (Prelims) | Cejudo

Steven Rondina of Bleacher Report also pegged the favorites to win their respective fights in the main card of UFC 188. But he does give a bonus look at the featured preliminary fight of the evening in Henry Cejudo vs. Chico Camus. Cejudo is actually the biggest favorite on the whole card at -1,000. His excellent wrestling chops may explain why. He’s an Olympic gold medalist (2008) and two-time national champion in free-style wrestling.

But Cejudo isn’t just a wrestler. He’s made a seamless transition into mixed martial arts. He used a well-rounded approach of excellent kickboxing and incredible wrestling in his shellacking of former flyweight contender Chris Cariaso in his second fight in the UFC. If Cejudo can keep improving at the rate that he is, he has the makings of a champion. There’s no surer bet in UFC 188 than Cejudo.

Fight Network

Fight | Fighters Picking Velasquez | Fighters Picking Werdum

Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum

Luke Rockhold, Elias Theodorou, Mark Bocek, Duane Ludwig
Mark Hominick, Rashad Evans, Daniel Cormier, Myles Jury, Sam Stout, TJ Dillashaw

Wanderlei Silva

Fighters | Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez
Sam Stout | Melendez
Mark Hominick | Melendez
Rafael Cordeiro | Melendez

The folks over at Fight Network are geniuses. Who better call fights than the fighters themselves? Fight Network went around and collected the picks of some of the top fighters in the UFC. The overwhelming consensus is that Velasquez would defend his title against Werdum. The likes of former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, 2014 Coach of the Year Duane Ludwig and bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw are in unison in picking Velasquez to defend his title.

Werdum had just one supporter in Wanderlei Silva. But take Silva’s pick with a grain of salt; he never picks against his fellow Brazilian fighters. Silva does make a case though, calling Werdum’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world class. It only takes a split second for the interim champion to lock in a submission.

A select few made their picks for the co-main event of the evening. Sam Stout, Mark Hominick and renowned trainer Rafael Cordeiro all picked Melendez to walk away the victor against long-time rival Alvarez. They noted that Melendez is just too well-rounded to lose this fight. Meanwhile, Alvarez could gain some success with mostly just his boxing.

Don’t miss out on this amazing night of fights. Create a betting account now and get in on the hard-hitting action to go down at UFC 188.
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