UFC Fight Night betting tips: Yan to finish Figuerido late; Ulberg to own Oezdemir

The UFC heads to China for their next Fight Night event and it will be headlined by a pair of former champions when former two-time bantamweight champion Petr Yan takes on former two-time flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.

Also on the card is a light-heavyweight bout that will most likely end in a finish when surging contender Carlos Ulberg meets Volkan Oezdemir, who has been a regular in the light-heavyweight rankings for seven years.

Sports News Blitz writer Niall Togher takes a look at the fights and gives some suggested bets for the bouts.

Petr Yan vs Deiveson Figueiredo

It was unimaginable that a fighter of Petr Yan’s level found himself on a three-fight losing streak prior to his last fight against Song Yadong at UFC 299, but that is the position the Russian found himself in.

Two razor-close split-decision losses to Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley followed by being on the end of a one-sided beatdown at the hands of Merab Dvalishvili left fans and pundits alike wondering whether the best of Yan had already been and gone.

However, at UFC 299, Yan reminded us all that he is still a top contender at 135 pounds when he defeated Song Yadong.

Deiveson Figueiredo, on the other hand, has amassed a flawless 3-0 record since his move up to bantamweight with wins over top contenders such as Rob Font and Marlon Vera and even a submission finish over former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt at UFC 300.

Figueiredo has mixed in the grappling element of his game more since jumping up a weight class but has also shown that his power translates well to his new division as he rocked Font in his bantamweight debut - and even cracked the granite the chin of Vera in their fight when he dropped him with a big right hand.

It will be crucial for Figueiredo to continue to mix in the threat of the takedown in this fight as Song Yadong found success in drawing out big reactions from Yan whenever he would faint a takedown in their last fight. 

This is more than likely due to scars of the past from the Dvalishvili fight not quite healing yet for Yan, who was on the end of a relentless wrestling barrage.

The threat of the takedown will open up Figueiredo’s power early on, but I back the defensive boxing of Yan to navigate the threat early before beginning to impose his will on Figueiredo as the fight goes longer, similar to how he did to Jose Aldo to win the title.

The body shots will be key for Yan to zap the gas tank of Figueiredo, who is known to slow down as the fight goes longer, while Yan typically grows in strength the longer a fight goes.

The uppercut will also be useful for Yan to deploy just as he did in his last fight to try and give Figueiredo something to think about if he shoots for a takedown.

Suggested bet: Yan by KO/TKO Bonus bet: Round 5 KO/TKO

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Volkan Oezdemir vs Carlos Ulberg

It’s fair to say that Volkan Oezdemir has struggled to put a consistent run of form together since his title shot against Daniel Cormier in 2018 that ended in defeat.

But as of late, the hard-hitting Swiss has seemed to recapture the vintage form that propelled him into title contention with back-to-back first-round knockouts over Bogdan Guskov and Johnny Walker.

Whilst Oezdemir has been cutting his teeth within the top 10 of the division for years, Carlos Ulberg has just recently joined that top 10 after he finished Alonzo Menifield in 12 seconds back in May. 

Ulberg has also not struggled for consistency as of late as he is currently riding a six-fight win streak with his last five wins coming by finish.

Ulberg proved he has the ability to knock opponents out even on the backfoot as shown in his fight against Ihor Potieria. 

This will be crucial in this match-up against Oezdemir as Ulberg has a height and reach advantage that he will look to use.

Whilst Oezdemir has also shown he can knock people out moving backwards, it is more than likely that he will be the fighter moving forward on Saturday.

Oezdemir dealt with Walker, who is the tallest light-heavyweight in the division,  in his last fight - so he has experience trying to close the range to land a KO shot. 

Ulberg may opt to use leg kicks in order to poke and prod at Oezdemir from the outside initially as Walker had some success with that weapon against Oezdemir.

Both fighters certainly have the power to knock each other out and I will be very surprised if this fight goes the distance, but I favour Ulberg and the momentum he brings with him going into this match-up.

Suggested bet: Carlos Ulberg by KO/TKO Bonus bet: Round 2 KO/TKO

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