UFC Fight Night: Chris Weidman vs. Omari Akhmedov Betting Guide (2020)
August will be a busy month for the UFC, as they have five cards planned and just one down. In last week’s main event, Derek Brunson shocked the world as a +320 underdog with his third-round victory over middleweight up-and-comer Edmen Shahbazyan.
While this week’s main event has similarly lopsided odds, the co-main event features two other middleweights whose chances of winning, odds-wise, are nearly dead even.
Like most UFC events nowadays, you can stream this card through ESPN and ESPN+. The main card kicks off around 9 PM EST.
With all eyes on the main event at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik, let’s take a closer look at that co-main event to see where we can spot an edge.
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Chris Weidman (14-5-0) vs. Omari Akhmedov (20-4-1)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
A former champion of the middleweight division, Chris Weidman won the belt in summer 2013 and held onto it for two years while defending it four times. That fourth and final bout, a TKO loss to Luke Rockhold, has seemingly changed Weidman as a fighter. He’s lost four of five since and is dangerously close to the door closing on any future comeback attempts.
His last time in the octagon did not go well. In an attempt to move up to light heavyweight, Weidman got knocked out by Dominick Reyes in the first round. Weidman just didn’t look like he had any business being in that fight. Having now lost five of his last six, all by KO/TKO, Weidman must win this one.
The methodical Omari Akhmedov looks to put the final nail in the coffin of Weidman’s career. Unlike Weidman, Akhmedov’s bouts tend to run slower, as he looks for his shots and takes very few risks. Going 5-0-1 over his last six, all six of his fights have gone to the judge’s scorecards.
A former welterweight, Akhmedov is at a size disadvantage. And in this one, as Weidman comes in even larger than usual after his recent stint in the weight class above.
While it’s always difficult to take a fighter on as big of a slide as Weidman’s, I expect him to bounce back. If he can win the early rounds, he can use his size advantage to finish off Akhmedov.
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.