UFC Fight Night: Derrick Lewis vs. Aleksei Oleinik Betting Guide (2020)
This UFC fight card is the company’s second of five August events, all held in their Las Vegas APEX facility. Like the last few events, you can stream the entire evening through the ESPN family of networks. The prelims get underway at 6 PM EST, and the main card kicks off at 9 PM EST.
While the co-main event offers a set of tested middleweights, the main event carries much more intrigue. Derrick Lewis and Aleksei Oleinik, two legendary heavyweights, will go at it as each tries to keep climbing up the division’s ranks.
With 100-plus professional fights between them, let’s take a closer look at what promises to be an explosive main event.
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Derrick Lewis (23-7-0) vs. Aleksei Oleinik (59-13-1)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
When you fight professionally 73 times throughout a 24-year career, you’ve probably had your peaks and valleys. A champion for multiple other companies but never the UFC, Aleksei “The Boa Constrictor†Oleinik comes into this fight as the No. 10 contender in the heavyweight division. He will try to make one final run at the belt before calling it a career.
He got a step closer the last time we saw him in the octagon, as he knocked off Fabricio Werdmun by a split decision in May. That’s rare for the heavyweight — the majority (46) of Oleinik’s wins have come by submission, including five of his last six.
Derrick Lewis comes into this one on a two-fight win streak of his own. Having last fought in May at UFC 247, Lewis earned a unanimous decision win over Ilir Latifi as he took one step closer to another shot at the belt.
Currently ranked as the No. 4 contender, Lewis’ first shot at the belt came back in November 2018 against Daniel Cormier, a night that ended in a rear-naked choke loss. In this one, he must avoid the boa constrictor’s grasp at all costs.
Take a closer look at the odds in this one. Lewis is rightfully a large favorite to win at -190. For me, however, the value lies in betting on this fight to go the distance. With three decisions in their last combined four fights, the nearly 5:1 odds that this prop currently offers is hard to turn down. While I understand that this is a five-round fight compared to three, if it goes to the ground, expect each of them to drain the clock.
Pick: Will the fight go the distance? – YES (+440)
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.