UFC FIGHT NIGHT 102: LEWIS VS ABDURAKHIMOV Date: December 9, 2016 Arena: Times Union Center City: Albany, NY The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heads to Albany, NY for the first time in promotional history with UFC Fight Night 102: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov. The event will feature 12 bouts, all of which will be streaming live on UFC Fight Pass. Preliminary action is set to kick off at 5:45 p.m. (ET) with the main card getting underway at 9 p.m. If interested in wagering on any bouts for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available at Several Bookmakers. My Over/Under Totals are: Middleweight bout: Joe Gigliotti (+170) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (-225) Gabe’s Thoughts: Meerschaert is stepping in on short notice for the injured Oluwale Bamgbose to make his promotional debut against Gigliotti, who was serving as a replacement for the late, great Josh Samman. Gigliotti came up short in his Octagon debut, dropping a unanimous decision to Trevor Smith and getting his first taste of professional mixed martial arts defeat. I think Gigliotti and Meerschaert are both solid middleweights, so I think this bout will be closely-contested for however long it lasts. I do think both fighters have a decent chance of finishing this fight. I think Gigliotti holds a bit of betting value at his current offering price of +170, however I am going to opt to skip a play on him and instead play the Total of Under 1.5 rounds at -120 here, as I think Meerschaert has a good chance of ending this fight. Meerschaert has never been finished by T/KO, and while Gigliotti is not known as a knockout artist, I think he is capable of putting most anyone away if he connects clean. On the feet, I favor Meerschaert to earn the finish but it would not surprise me at all to see Gigliotti pull it off. On the mat, I think Gigliotti stands a decent chance of ending this fight by ground and pound TKO or submission. Gabe’s Call: Gigliotti by Submission (guillotine choke, 4:35 Round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Under 1.5 rounds (-120) 2.4u to win 2u Lightweight bout: Frankie Perez (+260) vs. Marc Diakiese (-320) Gabe’s Thoughts: Perez retired early following a first-round knockout of Sam Stout, but he is making his return, and welcoming him back is England’s undefeated Diakiese. I think this is an excellent matchup in the UFC’s 155-pound division, and I do favor the superior striker Diakiese here. However, I don’t agree with him being a -320 betting favorite. At the current odds, I do think that Perez holds some value at +260, but instead of taking him straight up, I’m opting to play the Total of Under 1.5 rounds here. The reason for that is that I think both Perez and Diakiese win this fight early more often than not, with Perez catching Diakiese with something or with Diakiese doing what he does and securing yet another first-round stoppage. Gabe’s Call: Diakiese by T/KO (strikes, 4:54 Round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Under 1.5 rounds (-120) 2.4u to win 2u
