RFA 18 Date: September 12, 2014 Arena: Albuquerque Convention Center City: Albuquerque, NM RFA 18 will be live from Albuquerque, NM with a six-fight card tonight at 10pm ET. Interested in wagering on these plays, or any other plays for this fight card, you may do so at Several Bookmakerss. My plays for RFA 18 are: Flyweight title bout: Alexandre Pantoja (-130) vs Matt Manzanares (-110) Gabe’s Thoughts: I favor Manzanares to successfully defend his RFA flyweight title in this five-round main event match-up. Simply put, I think he will manage to keep this fight on the feet long enough to get the better of the Brazilian on the feet for at least three out of five rounds en route to a decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. Gabe’s Call: Manzanares by Unanimous Decision (48-47, 49-46, 48-47) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Matt Manzanares (-110) 2.2u to win 2u Welterweight bout: Chidi Njokuani (-280) vs Steve Hanna (+280) Gabe’s Thoughts: Njokuani is the superior striker in this match-up and I believe that will be the difference. Hanna is solid on the mat, but I think he will have trouble taking the fight there. I see Njokuani defending his takedown attempts, keeping the fight on the feet and ultimately stopping him with strikes. I think there is a good chance he produces a highlight reel finish in this 170-pound scrap. It is also worth noting that Njokuani will have a size advantage over Hanna in this bout, especially considering that Hanna is stepping up from lightweight to the welterweight division for his RFA debut. Gabe’s Call: Njokuani by KO (head-kick, 1:30 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Chidi Njokuani (-280) 4.2u to win 1.5u Bantamweight bout: Abel Cullum (+125) vs Ullyses “Useless” Gomez (-165) Gabe’s Thoughts: This is a bantamweight contest between a pair of fighters who have not seen action in quite some time, with Gomez last having fought Phil Harris in the UFC nearly two years ago, dropping a split decision to the Brit, and ultimately receiving his pink slip from the promotion with an 0-2 record. Cullum has been away from action longer than that, last fighting at Dream 17 in Japan three years ago, losing via third round submission submission to Japanese fighter Masakazu Imanan. Gomez is on a two-fight losing streak with losses to John Moraga and the aforementioned Harris, and Cullum is on a three-fight skid, having dropped a pair of decisions to Jared Papazian and Dante Rivera to top off the Imanan submission. Gomez is stepping up from flyweight to the bantamweight division for this contest, and I think he will be at a size disadvantage against Cullum. While I think this could very well be a close fight, I think the lines should be flipped, with Cullum being the favorite. I think the best chance “Useless” has of winning this match-up is by submitting Cullum, whereas I think Cullum is capable of knocking Gomez out, and has a better chance of earning the nod, should the scrap reach the judges’ scorecards for a decision. I think there is value with Cullum as the underdog, so I have to side with him for a play. Gabe’s Call: Cullum by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Abel Cullum (+125) 2u to win 2.5u
