In a heavyweight bout on the main card, Maurice Greene and Greg Hardy meet at UFC on ESPN+ 39 Saturday at the UFC’s APEX facility in Las Vegas. The early prelims kick off at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by the main card set for 7 p.m. ET, also on ESPN+.
Greene (9-5) has had mixed results at the UFC level, but the fight is generally always short and exciting. His past two fights have resulted in submissions, with a win over Gian Villante June 27, and a loss to Aleksei Oleinik before that. Before those two bouts, he split a pair of first-round KO/TKOs. In fact, six of his past seven professional bouts have finished inside the distance. His preference is to get the fight to the ground, as half of his 14 pro bouts have ended via submission, going 5-2.
Hardy (6-2) is coming off an impressive unanimous-decision win over Yorgan De Castro last time out on the UFC 249 card May 9 in Jacksonville, Fla. His past two fights have each gone the distance after a no contest and six bouts ending inside the distance. That’s to be expected when facing more talented opponents who won’t simply eat a punch and crumple to the ground, but understand how to handle it and move along. Over time, Hardy will need to do more than just brawl to be successful. However, against Greene, his old strategy should be sufficient.
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Maurice Greene vs. Greg Hardy betting odds
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:45 a.m. ET.
Hardy (-334) is expected to mow over Mo Greene (+260) here, but you can’t bet the 2-way line and risk more than three times your potential return. Instead, look to HARDY BY KO/TKO, DQ OR SUBMISSION (-134) on the 5-way line for a much better value. Yes, his past two fights have ended up going to the judges’ cards, but he isn’t a fighter who likes to go deep into the night, and Greene isn’t quite in the same class as Villante or Oleinik, who took him the distance.
If Hardy comes out swinging, he could end this one rather early. In his five professional knockout victories, the former Dallas Cowboys pass rusher has won all five in the first round. As such, take a chance on UNDER 1.5 ROUNDS (-110). Betting NO (-250) ON ‘WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE?’ is a little expensive for my tastes, but should be a winner, too.
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