In a women’s bantamweight bout, Holly Holm and Irene Aldana do battle at UFC on ESPN 16 Saturday at the UFC’s Fight Island facility in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in the main event. The prelims kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by the main card set for 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+.
Holm (13-5) will always be known as the woman who took down Ronda Rousey, easily her most famous fight and win back on Nov. 14, 2015 at UFC 193. “The Preacher’s Daughter” has gone just 3-5 since, including four title fight losses in four tries. Five of her past seven bouts have ended up going the distance, and she has won each of her past two decisions sandwiching a KO/TKO loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 239. The southpaw has just 2.75 significant strikes landed per minute to 6.16 for her counterpart, and she also trails in significant strike-accuracy percentage at 38.98 to 35.21.
For Aldana (12-5), she looks to win her third consecutive bout. She is coming off a KO/TKO win over Ketlen Vieira at UFC 235 on Dec. 14, 2019. She has tremendous punching power, but she has won just that one time against Vieira by KO/TKO in eight bouts since arriving at the UFC level. She also will want to avoid going to the mat, as Holm owns a 0.50 to 0.28 takedown average.
Place your legal, online sports bets in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM, The King of Sportsbooks! Terms and conditions apply. Bet now!
Holly Holm vs. Irene Aldana betting odds
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:49 a.m. ET.
ALDANA (+100) is a nice play for the mild upset at even money. She is a whirling dervish with a lot more fury in her punches lately. As long as she can keep the fight upright, she’ll be able to push past Holm (-121), who is favored slightly over the Mexican fighter.
You can expect this one to go deep into the night, however, and ALDANA ON POINTS (+215) is an attractive play as well, as you can more than double up. If you’re not looking to pinpoint a specific winner, but like the fight to go to the judges, take FIGHT TO GO THE DECISION (-209) for the finish result and it doesn’t matter who wins.
To watch the full card, sign up for ESPN+ now.
If you want some action on this MMA bout, place your wagers at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and analysis, visit SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow @JoeWilliamsVI on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Also see:
- UFC on ESPN 16 predictions (MMA Junkie)
- Holm wants to ‘retire with the title’ (MMA Junkie)
- MMA Junkie – The latest UFC/MMA coverage
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=2559]