One of the main card bouts at WSOF 17 is a three-round middleweight contest between Krasimir Mladenov and Brendan Kornberger. According to the current betting lines available at Several Bookmakers, Mladenov is a -265 favorite (bet $265 to win $100) while Kornberger is a +185 underdog (bet $100 to win $165). MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened up Mladenov at -265 and Kornberger at +185 and the lines have yet to move. I like Mladenov to win this fight and agree with his status as the favorite. Here’s why. Mladenov (11-0) is nicknamed “The Wrestler” and that’s because he is an effective wrestler. The 28-year-old Bulgarian is undefeated so far in his MMA career and is 2-0 in WSOF with wins over Angel DeAnda and Kendrick Miree. He is a product of the Bulgarian regional circuit but he has fought in the US on numerous occasions as well. Mladenov hasn’t fought a great level of competition so far in his career, but it hasn’t been terrible, either. Basically he’s a wrestler with a good top game and good submissions from the top. His striking isn’t anything special, but he is working on it. He is a big, strong middleweight and he could make some noise in the WSOF 185 pound division soon enough. He was originally set to fight a fellow wrestler in Jesse Taylor in what would have been a difficult fight style-wise, but he now fights a striker in Kornberger and it’s a fight he should win. Kornberger (5-0) is a veteran of MFC and WSOF Canada. The 30-year-old Canadian is undefeated in his career with four wins by knockout. Like Mladenov, he hasn’t fought a great level of competition, but he hasn’t fought cans either. He definitely has finishing ability in his hands and is not to be taken lightly on the feet. However, he can be taken down and controlled on the ground. He has looked good so far in his career and deserves this step up to WSOF, but it’s a tough situation. He is taking the fight on short notice and if he hasn’t had enough time to shore up his takedown defence he is going to be in trouble. He basically needs to win by knockout in the first round because he will almost certainly gas due to the short camp, and while that’s possible, it’s not likely, and that’s why he is the underdog in this one. The first round could be competitive with Kornberger still has a fresh tank of gas, but if he can’t get an early finish I think Mladenov will take over with his wrestling and conditioning and grind out a decision here. He might even get a late submission. I think he will take advantage of the fact Kornberger took the fight on short notice and win a pretty clear decision, so at -265 he is good parlay material.
