UFC Fight Night 87 Date: May 8, 2016 Arena: Ahoy Rotterdam City: Rotterdam, Netherlands Heavyweight bout: Alistair Overeem (-225) vs Andrei Arlovski (+185) Fight Breakdown: The main event for UFC Fight Night 87 will be a five round heavyweight tilt between Jackson-Wink MMA training partners Alistair “The Reem” Overeem and Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski. Overeem is the betting favorite heading into this bout at -225 ($225 to win $100) and Alovski is an underdog to win at +185 ($100 to win $185) at. Several Bookmakerss. Alistair Overeem (40-14-1 NC MMA, 5-3 UFC) is coming off an impressive second round TKO win over former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos and currently enjoys a three fight winning streak inside the Octagon, including another TKO of Stefan “The Skyscraper” Struve and a unanimous decision over Roy “Big Country” Nelson. He appears to have turned things arround since switching from the Blackzilians camp in Boca Raton, FL to Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuqurque, NM. Most notably, his fight IQ and conditioning have improved; one, in my opinion, being a benefit of having Greg Jackson in his corner, and the other for training in high-altitude Albuqurque. That said, it is worth noting that Jackson will not be in his corner in this bout and will instead be cornering his opponent Andrei Arlovski, as they are training partners and Arlovski has seniority. As for his cardio, I think Overeem will have enough gas in the tank to go a full five rounds against Arlovski. “The Reem” is an excellent striker who comes from a Muay Thai background and has developed a solid grappling game, as well. He is always a knockout threat, but is also capable of simply outpointing his opponents with his superior technical striking. Andrei Arlovski (25-11-1 NC MMA, 14-5 UFC) last saw action at UFC 195 four months ago, where he suffered a first round knockout at the hands of current number one contender Stipe Miocic. The unfortunate defeat snapped a six fight winning streak for the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, which included four in the UFC over Brendan Schaub, Antonio Silva, Travis Browne and Frank Mir. Following the sour loss, he will be looking to get back into the win column against current training partner Alistair Overeem. “The Pitbull” is a true veteran of the sport and a very well-rounded mixed martial artist who holds his own in every facet of the sport. He is solid on the feet and packs power in his hands, owning an impressive 17 of 25 professional mixed martial arts career victories by way of knockout. Arlovski’s defensive grappling is good; he has a solid base and is hard to take down. Offensively, the Belarusian’s grappling is on-point, too, as he comes from a Sambo background, owning multiple titles in the sport. Training in high-altitude out of Jackson-Winkle MMA in Albuquerque, NM, Arlovski has excellent cardio and should be ready to go all 25-minutes against Overeem, if necessary. Gabe’s Call: Overeem by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) Gabe’s Thoughts: I think there’s a good chance Overeem technically outstrikes Arlovski over the course of five rounds to pick up a unanimous decision win on the judges’ scorecards. I think “The Reem” should be a 3-to-1 betting favorite heading into this contest, so I believe there is value to be had with him at his current offering price of -225. I think there’s also value on the Total of Over 1.5 rounds at +100. Gabe’s Recommended Plays: 1) Overeem (-225) and Barroso/Krylov Over 1.5 rounds (-120) +164 for 3.1u to win 5.1u, and 2) Overeem/Arlovski Over 1.5 rounds (+100) 3u to win 3u
