ACB 86 takes place Saturday, May 5 at Olypmic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. The Euro sportsbooks recently opened up odds for the fights and here they are.
ACB 86 Opening Odds
Yusup Raisov -380
Marat Balaev +260
Batraz Agnaev -610
Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov +405
Askar Askarov -555
Rasul Albaskhanov +365
Ali Bagov -600
Gleristone Santos +400
Some initial thoughts on these odds…
– Raisov (12-1) has won three-straight fights since suffering his lone career loss and in that win streak is a decision win over WSOF vet Luis Palomino. Just 22, Raisov continues to get better and better. Balaev (8-0) is the ACB featherweight champ but is the underdog here despite having a win over Raisov in 2016. Of all the underdogs on this card the one with the best chance to win is likely Balaev. His one-year layoff concerns me as well as the fact he is 42, but but the fact he’s gone five rounds multiple times and also holds a win over Raisov already makes me think there’s value on him here as the dog.
– Agnaev (4-0) is coming off of a huge TKO win over notable UFC vet Thiago Silva. This guy has a ton of knockout power and looks like a really promising light heavyweight prospect. Yagshimuradov (15-5-1) has won five-straight fights including a TKO win over UFC vet Joachim Christensen. His last four wins have come by stoppage and he’s really dangerous right now with his striking. I still have to favor Agnaev in this one based on that quality win over Silva, but the line seems high for a guy who has never really been tested in any of his fights. The fact this five is a five-round title fight makes it interesting the longer it goes. Though Agnaev looks like a solid 205lbs champ for ACB, it wouldn’t shock me to see an upset here.
– Askarov (9-0) is undefeated in his career and beat former Bellator fighter Anthony Leone in his last fight and former UFC fighter Jose Maria Tome the fight before that. He’s a nasty finisher and at just 25 has a ton of potential. Albaskhanov (7-2) has won two-straight fights but was choked out by Leone the fight before that. The oddsmakers must think Askarov will take Albaskhanov down and that seems like the most likely way this fight ends so I get why he’s such a big fav. The five rounds is a bit of a wash here so I’ll go with Askarov to defend his flyweight belt.
– Bagov (25-10) is riding a three-fight win streak and just beat former UFC fighter Leandro Silva in his last bout. He also has a submission win over Bubba Jenkins last year. This is a guy with a ton of experience and a lot of finishes by submission, and most of his losses came early in his career. Santos (34-8) is coming off of a decision win over Islam Makoev which snapped a two-fight losing skid. Santos also has quite a bit of expeirence including time spent in Bellator, though he didn’t fare well there. I can’t see this fight going well for Santos and I’m expecting Bagov to get a finish, so I’m not surprised he’s such a big favorite here.
