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Aleksei Oleinik and Maurice Greene will battle at UFC 246 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night in a heavyweight bout on the pay-per-view card (To watch, sign up for ESPN+ now).
Oleinik (57-13-1) is battle tested with a lengthy history in mixed martial arts. He is 42 years old after all. Since joining the UFC June 28, 2014, he has fought some of the best in his division with mixed results. He owns wins over Anthony Hamilton, Mark Hunt and Jared Rosholt, while suffering losses to Curtis Blaydes, Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem. Oleinik’s last two bouts have ended up knockouts, including just 12 seconds against Harris at UFC Fight Night July 20. He is nicknamed ‘The Boa Constrictor’ – he wants to get fighters on the ground and win by submission. Five of his six wins in UFC have been by submission, and that’s how he has made a name for himself over the years.
Greene (8-4) heads into this one with a five-inch height advantage, a slight reach advantage and he lands many more significant strikes per minute. He’ll be trying to blast Oleinik and knock him out early, looking to avoid tiring out and becoming susceptible to the takedown and the alligator-jaw like legs of Oleinik. Greene isn’t much for the ground and pound, and he has just a 0.65 submission average and no takedown average or takedown accuracy to speak of. He’ll need to do whatever he can to avoid going to the mat, or Moe Greene will be out of the Tropicana … err, T-Mobile Arena. That’s for you, Irwin Fletcher!
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Per BetMGM, Greene (-134) is considered the favorite by an ever so slight margin over Oleinik (+100). The oddsmakers also show a heavy lean to the match not going the distance (three rounds), with odds there being set at -715 for no, while odds to go a full three rounds is at +400.
New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Greene is even money, returning a $10 profit if he wins. A $10 bet on Oleinik to win returns a profit of $7.46 with a victory.
Also See:
- Conor McGregor vs. Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone odds, picks and best bets | McGregor huge favorite over Cerrone
- McGregor vs. Cowboy: When, where and how to watch
- UFC 246 viewing guide: Where and where to watch
With the distance wager odds, you can tell Vegas fully expects that the judges will not be involved. This one is either ending in a knockout by Greene, or a submission win by Oleinik. But that’s where it gets tricky, and when will the victory occur? I like Greene to punch himself out early, trying to tire the 42-year-old Russian with an early flurry. If Oleinik can withstand those early blows, it will be good news for his backers. OLEINIK to win by SUBMISSION (+170) is a tremendous value, while Greene to win by KO/TKO or DQ is (+100) even money. My suggestion is taking the better value, going with Oleinik to win by submission, and taking him to win in ROUND 2 (+500), which will make for a tidy little payday. If Greene wins, it is going to be by punches and in Round 1, paying (+210). I can see either scenario, but for my money, I like OLEINIK to snap his two-bout skid and get a win.
If you want some action on this mixed martial arts bout, place your wagers at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and analysis, visit SportsbookWire.com.
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