UFC 199 Undercard Betting Odds Preview

UFC 199 Undercard Betting Odds Preview

Written by on May 31, 2016

The UFC 199 card at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday is headlined by a middleweight title fight between champion Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping, but most believe that will be a mismatch and that Rockhold will beat Bisping easily for a second time. That said, there are some good undercard fights, led by bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz against Urijah Faber. Cruz is a -650 favorite on betting lines with Faber at +475. The over/under for rounds is 4.5, with the over a -225 favorite in sports betting odds. It’s the third meeting between the two.

Taking a Look at the UFC 199 Undercard Betting Odds Preview

Cruz, a 30-year-old American, improved to 21-1 with a split decision win over T.J. Dillashaw at UFC Fight Night 81 in January. In just his second appearance in four years due to injuries, Cruz reclaimed the UFC’s 135-pound championship. The victory reunited Cruz with a belt he was stripped of in early 2014 due to injuries. None of the three judges gave the same scores — two gave the bout to Cruz by scores of 49-46 and 48-47, and the third had it for Dillashaw at 48-47. According to Fightmetric, the two fighters landed a virtually identical number of punches. Dillashaw had a slight edge, 144 to 136, but Cruz was credited with three takedowns. Dillashaw is ticked off he’s not getting another shot before Faber does.

Faber (33-8), a 37-year-old American, beat Frankie Seanz by unanimous decision in December at UFC 194. The tough battle went to the judges’ scorecards with Faber taking the decision by scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27. The win got Faber back on the winning track following a loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC Fight Night 66 while Saenz had his seven-fight winning streak snapped with the loss.

Faber and Cruz have split two meetings. They last fought at UFC 132 in July 2011 and Cruz won by unanimous decision. They also fought in the old WEC organization in March 2007 and Faber won by first-round submission.

Another good-looking fight is a matchup between featherweight contenders Max Holloway and Ricardo Lamas, with Holloway a slight favorite on betting lines. The 24-year-old Holloway (15-3) has won eight straight fights since a unanimous decision loss to Conor McGregor in August 2013. Holloway is noted for his active schedule, having fought four times apiece in 2012, 2014, and 2015. Last year, his biggest win to date was a submission of Cub Swanson at UFC on FOX 15.

A former featherweight title challenger, Lamas (15-4) enters the matchup having won three of his last four in the Octagon. Most recently, “The Bully” took a three-round verdict over Diego Sanchez at UFC Fight Night in Monterrey, Mexico in November. The 33-year-old Lamas challenged for Jose Aldo’s belt in early 2014, losing by unanimous decision.

Finally, Dan Henderson takes on Hector Lombard in a middleweight bout. Henderson (31-14), the former two-weight class PRIDE champion, has lost three of his last four fights, most recently a KO loss to Vitor Belfort in Brazil. Lombard (34-5-1), a former Bellator middleweight champ, makes his return to the division. He comes off a loss to Neil Magny in March.

Expert Betting Prediction

I like Cruz on betting lines along with Holloway and Lombard.