Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen tussle in a bantamweight bout on the main card at UFC 250 at the UFC’s Apex Facility in Las Vegas. The card kicks off Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ and on pay-per-view.
Sterling (18-3) is four inches shorter than his counterpart, while possessing a one-inch reach advantage. Sterling, also known as the “Funk Master,” is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Pedro Munhoz June 8, 2019 at UFC 238, improving to 4-0 over his past four bouts with three unanimous decision victories during the stretch. Sterling ranks No. 1 among active bantamweights with a 2.84 striking differential, and checks in third among active bantams with a 50.0 significant strike-accuracy percentage. What’s odd about those two previous stats is that he hasn’t won via KO/TKO since dropping Hugo Viana July 16, 2014. In 21 fights as a pro Sterling has never been submitted, either, winning by that method on seven occasions.
Sandhagen (12-1) has tasted defeat just once in his career, and is a perfect 5-0 at the UFC level, including a unanimous decision victory at UFC 241 (Aug. 17, 2019) over Raphael Assuncao – who is also on this UFC 250 card. Each of Sandhagen’s past two outings have ended up going the distance. In his 13 career pro bouts he has never suffered a loss by KO/TKO (4-0) or submission (3-0). In addition, he has a tremendous 7.14 significant strikes landed per minute, so he should put that striking differential of Sterling’s to the test.
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Aljamain Sterling vs. Cory Sandhagen betting odds
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday, June 4 at 11:45 a.m. ET.
This is going to be a brawl, and it’s tough to pick a winner between Sterling (-118) and Sandhagen (+100). However, since neither of these fighters have been submitted in their career, it’s a good idea to AVOID the 2-way line as the method of victory. In addition, Sterling just hasn’t been knocking people out, and he has never been KO’d. So, look for this FIGHT TO FINISH VIA DECISION (-209). Plus, back YES (-193): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE? Try to parlay this with some other props for a better value.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on Sandhagen pays even money, with a net profit of $10. A $10 bet on the fight finishing via decision (-209) nets a profit of just $4.78, and a $10 wager on the fight going the distance (-193) fetches a return of $5.18.
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