UK ready for Edwards vs Woodley
MMA and UFC fans in the United Kingdom are impatiently waiting for UFC Fight Night 171 which takes place at the O2 Arena in London, England on the 21 March. The main bout of this event is between the home crowd favourite Leon Edwards and the former welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley.
Edwards (18-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is a slight favourite in this one, with the bookies setting the odds on his win at 8/11. On the other side, Woodley (19-4-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC), the ex-champion of the welterweight division, sits at 11/10. However, there is one piece of important information anyone betting on this fight must know. As time goes by, the difference in odds is shrinking. After the confirmation of the fight, Edwards’ win was 8/13, while Woodley’s triumph 5/4.
If you already have something in mind regarding the outcome of this event, choose your free bet from this list, before odds change even more.
Edwards is one of the most dominant welterweight fighters at the moment and is ranked No.4 in this division. His stamina and toughness are rare, and the majority of his fights have gone the distance. ‘Rocky’ likes to wear down his opponents and take the bout into the later rounds. The Kingston-born fighter has won just one of his UFC contests before the third round.
The 28-year old hasn’t lost since 2015, when he slipped to a decision defeat against current champion Kamaru Usman. From that moment on, Edwards has been terrorizing his opponents, winning eight fights in a row. ‘Rocky’ aims to triumph over the former champion Woodley and earn a chance at redemption against Usman.
Regarding Woodley, the former champion who had four successful title defences lost his crown to Usman at the UFC 235 in March 2019. The judges awarded the belt to the Nigerian via unanimous decision, and after that fought Colby Covington in a fight of the year candidate at UFC 245.
Woodley has experience with fighters from the United Kingdom, as one of his title defences came against Darren “Gorilla” Till at UFC 228. During this fight he made easy work of Till scoring a submission win in the second round.
Whoever wins this bout should be the next title challenger. Edwards already indicated that he wants a shot at the belt, and Woodley expected his opportunity to regain the throne even earlier. So we can say that the stakes are pretty high for both guys.
What might be problematic, is the fact that UFC is looking to book a fight between Usman and Jorge Masvidal, which would definitely suspend both Edwards’ and Woodley’s plans. The early prognosis for that bout are giving a massive advantage to the champion Usman whose 2/5 for retain his title. His opponent Masvidal is 15/8 to emerge victorious when the pair meet.
Edwards vs Woodley is the biggest UFC event in the first few months of 2020, along with UFC 247. This event will be headline by a light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes.
The Toyota Center in Houston, Texas long sold out and it is estimated that this event might generate one of the highest PPV incomes over the recent few years. The fight will go down this Saturday night live on ESPN Pay-Per-View.
Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) is a big favourite, and odds on ‘Bones’ are short at 2/9. Meanwhile, Reyes’ (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) success is 10/3. Many believe that the champion might finish this one pretty quickly. If you decide to bet that Jones ends the fight before the third round. Odds on that are 5/8, while for the opposite 13/11. Also, Jones to finish this contest via KO, TKO or DSQ is valued 13/5, while his victory via submission stands at 10/3.
We can’t forget the ladies’ flyweight title contest, between the reigning champion Valentina Shevchenko (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) and Katlyn Chookagian (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC). This is the co-main event, in which the Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian fighter defends her belt for the third time after winning it against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231.
She is a massive favourite, and anything besides her win here would be an enormous sensation. After all, Shevchenko is one of the most dominant female fighters in the history of UFC, while on the other side; her opponent is nearly as well regarded.
The bookmakers have set the odds for the “Bullet” to defend her title at 1/9, while the odds on Chookagian’s upset will multiply your stake eight times. For those who love to chase big numbers, the American underdog is 20/1 to win via TKO, KO, and DSQ is 20/1.
