UFC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder Fight Card Odds and Picks

The UFC action continues this Saturday, after an exciting clash in the previous numbered event. An international fight night in Abu Dhabi seems like the best follow-up.

The main event of the night sees a former Champion of the Middleweight division against an up-and-coming talent that is looking to make his way up into contender status, as Robert Whittaker faces Reiner de Riddler in a clash we sure don’t want to miss out on.

Our co-main event also repeats the dose, but instead of the Middleweight division, we are looking at the Bantamweight division, as Petr Yan welcomes Marcus McGhee into the top clashes of the division.

The main fight card is loaded with talent, including Shara Magomedov, but it’s also one of the cards with the fewest USA representatives, as there are only 5 out of a total of 12 fights.

We are going to have a fun time with this card, as we have seven pretty nice prelim fights to get the whole night hyped up as we get closer and closer to the five great clashes that fill our main event.

At Gambyl Exchange, you can check all the UFC/MMA bets, the analysis of each fighter, and the final bet you can make in these fights.

UFC Fight Night:Whittaker vs. de Ridder Fight Card Odds and Info

UFC Fight Night: Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder

Why Bet on Robert Whittaker?

Whittaker is coming off a tough loss against Chimaev, and it was a gnarly loss. However, Robert Whittaker is still a fantastic and top-tier counter-wrestler, and that’s going to be one of two parts in this fight that we’re focusing on because, to us, it’s clear that RDR needs to wrestle and take the fight to the ground to win against Whittaker.

Now, when it comes to Whittaker’s striking, we have seen minimal changes to the way he strikes. We hope to see the standard striking of Whittaker; he needs to burst in, land a couple of strikes, then circle away to not engage with the Thai clinch of RDR.

It’s also a smart idea to blitz someone who has a longer reach than you because there’s no way Whittaker could land cleanly in the boxing range. Either way, the longer this fight goes on, the better it is for Whittaker.

Why Bet on Reinier de Ridder?

RDR is someone we’ve been very excited to see, but we don’t know if going from Nickal to Whittaker is a smartidea. RDR has a very high chance of winning in the first two rounds. It doesn’t take much to give Whittaker problems.

Now, RDR has two pathways to victory if this fight remains standing, either he can rely on his jabs and kicks to keep Whittaker at that range, shutting down any chance of Whittaker timing a flurry and landing his strikes, or we see RDR be the aggressor, eventually trap Whittaker against the cage and then use his Thai Clinch to land knees up the middle and rattle the chin of Whittaker.

Final Betting Analysis: Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder

We do not know how much cardio RDR has and whether he’ll look great in the final two rounds, but we can say that he is an absolute danger to everyone he faces, Whittaker included, in those first three rounds.

On the other hand, Whittaker tends to thrive in the later rounds as his cardio is incredible. We haven’t seen RDR fight in those later rounds, so we think this is a case of Whittaker surviving the storm early and shining in the last three rounds.

UFC Fight Night: Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee

Why Bet on Petr Yan?

Yan is coming off back-to-back wins against ex-Flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Yadong Song, and we gotta say, Yan looks impressive every time he fights.

Yan needs to be a quick starter here to balance the scales and slow down McGhee through his leg kicks and his body kicks. Otherwise, we don’t think Yan will have an easy first round at all.

This match might go down to activity and visuals. McGhee has shut down many of his opponents through seriously impressive pressure and high pace of activity.

However, the thing that Yan is likely to do well against McGhee is time the counters, especially as McGhee starts to gain momentum and become a bit reckless with the extended combinations.

We think Yan thrives in that environment of being pressured only to fire back with a strong sequence.

Why Bet on Marcus McGhee?

McGhee has been an impressive prospect to watch. He is explosive, dangerous on the feet, and very varied with his strikes, and that’s what any lover of striking wants to see.

We expect McGhee to present unique challenges for Yan here. We think McGhee is going to give Yan zero respect in the first round. He is going to march forward and launch every strike he has in his arsenal over the first five minutes.

We are curious whether McGhee will try to wrestle. He hasn’t attempted takedowns in the UFC yet, and he has only a couple of submission wins. We’re not saying that McGhee will turn into a Dagestani and wrestle against Yan. However, McGhee could make this a fence fight and pin Yan against the cage to land knees and whatnot to wear down the kickboxer.

Final Betting Analysis: Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee

The stance switches of Yan are likely to give McGhee some pause because Yan is such a sniper and so sound with everything he does that we expect McGhee to feel the counters and the singular strikes of Yan as the fight goes on.

Either way, Yan is likely the more technical striker. He built his career on zero wasted strikes and high accuracy. Even when pressured, he can still strike as effectively as if he’s the aggressor.

If McGhee is the one starting the action, visually, it looks like he’s outlanding Yan and can make Yan back up for the most part. We believe we could be in for an upset here purely from a judging standpoint. However, he has to fight at a stupendously high rate for that to happen, and we’re not willing to pick McGhee to win this one.

UFC Fight Night: Shara Magomedov vs. Marc-Andre Barriault

Why Bet on Shara Magomedov?

Magomedov is an anomaly in the UFC. His style, physical attributes, and cardio are very unique, and he’s at the top of his game. Now, his loss against MVP is just a slight mark on his record that is likely to be forgotten after this weekend because no one fights like MVP, and Magomedov struggled to play his game.

We expect a typical Shara Bullet fight here, in which it’s almost nothing but kicks all three parts of the body, and we expect spinning stuff too, because that’s always fun to see.

There is little else to say about Magomedov that needs to be said. He is very much an “as-advertised” fighter. Expect a game heavy on kicks, quickness, and flexibility in the pocket, utilizing knees to the middle and a solid Thai clinch.

Why Bet on Marc-Andre Barriault?

When it comes to Barriault, every single fight is exciting. He either wins through a hard-fought battle or falls on his sword. This fight is likely to result in the latter, but we do expect Barriault to give Shara some trouble on the feet while Barriault can still throw.

The massive concern for Barriault is that while he certainly has momentum behind him after that win against Bruno Silva. He is still someone with quite a fragile chin, and we think we’re going to see that fragility exposed even more by Shara, who is just such a mystical athlete at this point.

It would be silly not to mention that Barriault’s primary way to win this fight is to take it to the ground, but we don’t know how successful that will be, given that many have tried to control Shara on the ground and most have failed.

Final Betting Analysis: Shara Magomedov vs. Marc-Andre Barriault

Barriault’s likely going to start with some heavy strikes to crowd the kicks of Shara. If Barriault’s cautious, Shara’s just going to go for teeps and head kicks and occupy the power side of Barriault, effectively shutting down the main threat on the feet of Barriault.

Either way, there is likely to be a discrepancy in speed and agility between these two fighters, favoring the Bullet to win.

UFC Fight Night: Asu Almabayev vs. Jose Ochoa

Why Bet on Asu Almabayev?

Almabayev is the more complete wrestler in this clash of styles bout. Pressure and takedown attempts are what make him a relatively successful fighter, and it has been a mainstay in his style for a long time now.

The forward pressure comes into play because it not only allows him to strike aggressively, but it also aids him in getting those takedowns, as his opponent would be too busy raising their guard and not getting ready to stuff a takedown.

Why Bet on Jose Ochoa?

Ochoa is coming off a fantastic KO win over Cody Durden. The one thing we expect immediately from Ochoa is to kick, as he wants to occupy the wrestling of his opponent, and considering that Almabayev is practically nothing but a wrestler, we think that those powerful side kicks are going to be a prominent part of the opening round.

The remarkable aspect of Ochoa is his impressive offensive output; he consistently delivers strikes with powerful kicks, both straight and roundhouse, and his punching combinations are diverse and intense.

The problem with some of that is the output often opens himself up to counters, and if Almabayev meets that fire, he could land cleanly.

Final Betting Analysis: Asu Almabayev vs. Jose Ochoa

We are concerned about giving Ochoa more praise because anyone who throws as often as he does would generate similar success in the UFC. However, we believe he could be a dangerous threat to Almabayev.

We expect a straightforward game plan from Almabayev: rush forward and find the takedown.

Expect Almabayev to push that high wrestling pace early, but also expect Almabayev to be struck a whole lot because Ochoa is not going to make this easy for him.

We think Ochoa will get the victory here.

UFC Fight Night: Nikita Krylov vs. Bogdan Guskov

Why Bet on Nikita Krylov?

Krylov is coming off a horrible KO loss against Dominick Reyes, and that fight ended quickly.

The issue with Krylov is that he was never considered a great striker; his entire skill set comes from his wrestling and ground work. However, there have been moments when Krylov has demonstrated his effectiveness on the feet, as he possesses noticeable power in the Light Heavyweight division.

The concern here for Krylov is his lack of head movement when he fights someone who has fairly powerful striking, and we mean, it’s hard to be a heavier hitter than Guskov.

Why Bet on Bogdan Guskov?

Guskov is a dangerous threat in the first round, as we mentioned before, so we do expect a bit of a linear plan from Guskov, and that’s to let his hands go early and never allow Krylov to settle into a rhythm in which he can time his takedowns.

We expect Guskov to be the one to start the action and pressure Krylov up against the fence, as it’s hard to take someone down whilst you’re being backed up, especially against the cage.

Guskov has nothing but power in his hands; he’s not afraid to show it, but his massive vulnerability seems to be his wrestling and takedown defense, and that’s where we see Krylov exposing Guskov.

Final Betting Analysis: Nikita Krylov vs. Bogdan Guskov

We expect Krylov to feel that power early and perhaps scramble for a takedown, as that seems to be his comfort zone since Guskov’s takedown defence is between bad and awful.

Guskov rarely leaves the first round, he is primarily a first round fighter with some moments in the second round, and that raises some alarms considering that if he cannot get Krylov out of there in the first, then he’s just going to be swarmed with activity from Krylov in the second which could then lead to a submission.

UFC Fight Night: Bryce Mitchell vs. Said Nurmagomedov

Why Bet on Bryce Mitchell?

Mitchell presents some unique challenges for Nurmagomedov here, especially in the wrestling department.

Before we discuss Mitchell’s wrestling skills, we want to address an important concern: his weight cut. Mitchell has never fought at 135 pounds before, and he’s not exactly a small fighter. He has a bit of height and lean muscle, so we’re curious about how he will handle this weight cut and whether it will be sustainable for two or more fights.

Mitchell’s primary way to win is to wrestle, and Nurmagomedov knows that, and since every fight starts standing, we’ll likely see Mitchell have to drive forward in almost a reckless fashion to enter wrestling range, making it a problem when fighting someone like Nurmagomedov, who uses his kicks so frequently and at such high speeds. Mitchell may be a bit frozen at kicking range until he crashes in for a takedown.

Why Bet on Said Nurmagomedov?

Nurmagomedov is the striker in this clash of styles fight, and for as long as this fight remains standing, we expect Nurmagomedov to look as good as he ever does.

Unfortunately, he struggles with his takedown defense, and this is where we worry. We expect that Nurmagomedov would not be surprised by Mitchell’s game plan of wrestling, although that threat is very much present during this bout.

There are two ways that we could see Nurmagomedov negate the wrestling. One approach is to avoid relying solely on wrestling techniques and instead use a front headlock choke to secure victory. However, this strategy is risky because if the choke fails, he will end up on his back against a skilled wrestler.

The other way he could negate the takedown is by down blocking the level change. We believe that’s what Nurmagomedov is likely to do if he has any ounce of intelligence.

Final Betting Analysis: Bryce Mitchell vs. Said Nurmagomedov

If Mitchell does get a takedown, he needs to take extreme care avoiding that front choke because there is a massive vulnerability there, and Nurmagomedov is exceptional at setting those up.

We believe that Nurmagomedov will be able to block the takedowns and go full throttle in the striking department, but that doesn’t mean that Mitchell is not going to put a scare or two in him during the clash.

UFC Fight Night: Muslim Salikhov vs. Carlos Leal

Why Bet on Muslim Salikhov?

Salikhov is coming off two straight wins, with a fantastic spinning heel kick KO over Kenan Song, and is certainly getting up there in age.

Salikhov’s primary concern in this fight is being crowded and being unable to stick and move. A prerequisite for Salikhov achieving success this weekend is to remain at kickboxing distance.

The reason we believe he should stay at that range is his age. He would want to play it a bit safe, attacking the mobility and explosiveness of his opponents by shutting down the legs and body, to eventually find a spinning heel kick knockout, as that is one of his best attacks.

Why Bet on Carlos Leal?

Leal is two fights deep into his UFC career, and we have to say he has been impressive with how he has handled competition so far.

First, he looked fantastic against Rinat Fakhretdinov despite being a short-notice fighter, and then in his most recent fight, he KO’d Alex Morono.

When it comes to sheer physicality and power, we want to give the advantage to Leal, but he needs to put pressure at an astronomical pace, at least for the first half of the fight, to slow Salikhov down.

Final Betting Analysis: Muslim Salikhov vs. Carlos Leal

Leal is likely to win because his entire style relies on marching forward and backing up fighters against the cage. His striking defense is rather intelligent, as he has a modified guard and blocks strikes somewhat effectively.

The only concern for Leal is his inability to check leg kicks from Salikhov early, because Salikhov is dangerous with that kick. The problem with Salikhov is that he has become a lot more durable and a lot slower with his age, and Leal likely knows that he needs to turn this into a gritty grindfest for the first half of the fight to tire out the veteran.

UFC Fight Night: Da´Mon Blackshear vs. Davey Grant

Why Bet on Da´Mon Blackshear?

Blackshear is a fighter that shouldn’t be so high as a favorite, as Grant is a bit of a nightmare match-up for him.

Blackshear has been a solid fighter to watch in recent months. His submission game is great, and it could be a fairly decent counter to Grant’s grappling capabilities, especially since he has that length to make this a tricky grappling fight for Grant if this were to be a grapple-heavy bout.

The problem with Blackshear is that sometimes he gets overeager with his striking, and he enters the pocket in which he gets walloped by his opponents. And being in the pocket against a heavy-hitting fighter like Grant is a recipe for disaster.

Why Bet on Davey Grant?

Grant is as tempting an underdog as we can see on this card, and that’s because for most of his recent fights, he has won as an underdog.

What makes him so dangerous is mostly his tendency to walk through fire to land some massive attacks himself. He is not easy to put away unless you ground and pound him, and even that’s risky to do because his BJJ game is relatively solid. He proved that when he won by submission against Raphael Assuncao just a couple of years ago.

Final Betting Analysis: Da´Mon Blackshear vs. Davey Grant

We will never doubt Grant’s ability to either upset parlays or, in general, create an upset. We don’t know how effective Grant will be on the feet against a long and fairly good striker in Blackshear, but if he makes this fight gritty, we think he can pull it off.

The more Blackshear kicks, the better the fight goes for him because it’s his range that he strikes best at. Any moment that Grant crashes forward, though, is a moment that could seriously rattle the chin of Da Monster, but we believe that Blackshear is the most consistent player and should be able to get the win.

UFC Fight Night: Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci

Why Bet on Amanda Ribas?

Ribas is coming off a submission loss against Dern and, before that, a decision loss to Rose Namajunas, and it’s hard to pinpoint just where Ribas is in her career in terms of skill.

Ribas has consistently excelled at using hip tosses to bring the fight to the ground and effectively compete while on the ground. However, we believe her best approach to this fight is to keep it standing, keeping Ricci at arm’s length as the taller and longer fighter, she would have a striking advantage.

We believe Ribas needs to keep this fight standing to win because no matter how good her credentials are as a grappler, we cannot see Ribas doing well defensively against Ricci. At its core, BJJ is a battle of position over submission, and if Ribas gets taken down, well, that’s it for her.

Why Bet on Tabatha Ricci?

Ricci herself is coming off a shocking loss against Yan Xiaonan, in which we saw a fairly confusing performance by Ricci. We expected to see more takedowns and more action from her. However, all she did was walk into strikes by Xiaonan.

We think perhaps the moment got to her, or maybe she was surprised by the sudden output of Xiaonan, but overall, it wasn’t the greatest showing from the grappler.

We expect a different kind of fight from her, pressing the action to make up for her downfall in Macau, so we think we’re going to see a lot more aggression from Ricci, especially since she would want to close the distance and get within the pocket to transition for a takedown as she is the shorter length fighter and striking against Ribas is probably the last thing she wants.

Final Betting Analysis: Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci

We don’t think Ribas will effectively fight off her back against Ricci because Ricci’s wrestling and grappling are good, but it’s possible that during her camp, she has improved her ability to stand back up.

We expect to see steady forward pressure from Ricci, and the moment Ribas passes that black line indicating the outer edges of the cage, a sudden lunge for a takedown, using the fence to drag her down.

If that happens, it will be the way to victory for Ricci.

UFC Fight Night: Ibo Aslan vs. Billy Elekana

Why Bet on Ibo Aslan?

Aslan is a wrecking ball. He has huge knockout power and only about 6 or 7 minutes in the tank to use it.

There is no scenario in which Elekana won’t be hit hard during this fight because, whilst Elekana is quite mobile and good at keeping his distance, it will not take much for Aslan to corner Elekana and let his hands go.

Aslan is likely to be the one to press on the gas, given that he’s fighting in front of a somewhat home-town crowd, but we expect maybe a bit of a slowdown in output after the first half of the fight if he does press on the gas during the first round.

Why Bet on Billy Elekana?

Elekana is coming off a submission loss by Bogdan Guskov, and even during that fight, we couldn’t see what Elekana was good at. He managed to land some decent strikes and get that takedown, but outside of that, he doesn’t seem to have the tools to defeat such a juggernaut of Aslan.

We can see Elekana go for a takedown early, but if he cannot find it, he’s going to be dealing with some insane power coming his way.

Final Betting Analysis: Ibo Aslan vs. Billy Elekana

We don’t think that Elekana is particularly dangerous, especially compared to Aslan. However, we cannot say anything else with confidence because we have only seen him once, and in that one fight, he landed 20 significant strikes and got submitted by a non-grappler.

Everything in this clash points to Aslan taking the victory here.

UFC Fight Night: Mohammad Yahya vs. Steven Nguyen

Why Bet on Mohammad Yahya?

Yahya is on the verge of being removed from the UFC if he loses this fight against Nguyen. After reviewing several tapes of Yahya’s performances, it’s clear that he does not seem to belong in the UFC.

Yahya isn’t a bad MMA fighter. He is relatively well-rounded and has solid power in his hands, but so far, he has failed to showcase any of that in his two UFC fights.

Our concern for Yahya here is that he’s facing someone who is used to fighting at Featherweight, and since Yahya is once again moving down in weight to 145, the cut could make him more susceptible to heavy hits, and Steven Nguyen is known for landing heavy strikes.

Why Bet on Steven Nguyen?

Nguyen is coming off a tough debut loss against Jarno Errens, but that fight was impressive due to the output and high pace both fighters fought for 15 minutes.

For someone like Nguyen to make his debut in such an environment and fight shapes a fighter, and we feel his time away from the cage was to prepare himself for this level of competition.

Now, the opening strikes of Nguyen are typically teeps and leg kicks, they are range fingers to help set up his hands and if Yahya does nothing but let Nguyen’s kicks go freely, its possible that the teeps to the body will greatly impact Yahya’s ability to fight effectively in the second and third and thus we will see a huge disparity in striking numbers between the two fighters.

Final Betting Analysis: Mohammad Yahya vs. Steven Nguyen

The good thing about Nguyen is that he doesn’t give up space in the cage when he’s being attacked. He’s good at blocking attacks and staying within counter range to return fire effectively.

All that is going to be dangerous for Yahya to try and work around because you know that Yahya would need to assert himself into this fight to win, and being 0-2 in the UFC certainly makes a fighter a tiny bit more desperate.

UFC Fight Night: Martin Buday vs. Marcus Buchecha

Why Bet on Martin Buday?

Buday is a veteran of the UFC. At this rate, the Heavyweight division is extremely shallow, and he is quite experienced in the organisation. However, we think that his rather impeccable record may be at risk of having another L in this clash.

Buday has a “100%” takedown defense rate according to UFC Stats, and that could be seen as amazing, but he hasn’t faced the right style to show us that he can defend the takedowns necessary to win this fight.

Still, for as long as Buday keeps this fight standing, there is has a fair chance at winning this fight.

Why Bet on Marcus Buchecha?

Buchecha comes in as a debutant, but we’ve known him for quite some time, as we have a track record of his Jiu-Jitsu resume, and we have to say that his massive list of BJJ accolades is beautiful to read over.

From 2011 to 2019 he has grappled practically everyone worth grappling, people at the highest of levels in his weight class and he has somewhat dominated with a final BJJ record of 128-13-1, that’s fantastic and something that we look forward to seeing in practice, but we do have some reservations, as his striking has not been put up to the UFC level yet.

Final Betting Analysis: Martin Buday vs. Marcus Buchecha

Buchecha faces a well-rounded and well-versed fighter in Buday. So, keep that in mind during the fight, but we believe that the BJJ specialist in Buchecha is likely to find the finish, as he is also well-versed in wrestling his way to the ground.

Buday may be a better-rounded fighter, but we believe he will be outclassed during the clash.

Whittaker vs. de Ridder Betting Pick: Robert Whittaker

Yan vs. McGhee Betting Pick: Petr Yan

Magomedov vs. Barriault Betting Pick: Shara Magomedov

Almabayev vs. Ochoa Betting Pick: Jose Ochoa

Krylov vs. Guskov Betting Pick: Bogdan Guskov

Mitchell vs. Nurmagomedov Betting Pick: Said Nurmagomedov

Salikhov vs. Leal Betting Pick: Carlos Leal

Blackshear vs. Grant Betting Pick: Da’Mon Blackshear

Ribas vs. Ricci Betting Pick: Tabatha Ricci

Aslan vs. Elekana Betting Pick: Ibo Aslan

Yahya vs. Nguyen Betting Pick: Steven Nguyen

Buday vs. Buchecha Betting Pick: Marcus Buchecha