Amanda Ribas and Randa Markos tangle in a women’s strawweight bout in the prelims at UFC on ESPN+ 28 – also called UFC Fight Night 170 – at the Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia. The card gets underway in Brazil’s capital Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.
Ribas (8-1-0) and Markos (10-8-1) are the same height at 5-foot-4, but Ribas owns a 2 1/2-inch reach advantage. She is 2-0 since making her UFC debut against Emily Whitmire June 29, 2019 on the Ngannou-Dos Santos card in Minneapolis.
Ribas would have been hugely popular in her home nation of Brazil, but the arena will be empty due to the COVID-19 situation. She is coming off an impressive upset victory of Mackenzie Dern at UFC on ESPN+ 19.
Markos replaces the injured Paige VanZant, who bowed out due to an undisclosed ailment. Ever since UFC introduced the women’s strawweight division Markos has been a part of the weight class. She will hold the divisional record with 14 appearances when she arrives in the octagon Saturday. She’ll be trying to avoid going down to the mat, as Ribas is roughly twice as effective on takedowns, holding advantage in submissions. Ribas has a 2.71 Takedown Average to Markos’ 1.38, with a 57.14 percent Takedown Accuracy to just 27.59 percent for the Iraqi-born Canadian Markos. Ribas holds a 1.35-0.26 Submission Average, too.
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:10 a.m. ET.
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Amanda Ribas vs. Randa Markos betting odds
Per BetMGM, Ribas (-371) is the overwhelming favorite on the 2-way line vs. Markos (+285). But you can’t risk nearly four times your potential return, so look for a fighter or two and include Ribas as part of a parlay instead.
RIBAS BY SUBMISSION (+450) might be a more lucrative way to go, as she is tremendous on the ground, and that’s not exactly a strong suit of Markos. As such, if you take UNDER 2.5 (+230) for the total number of rounds, you could make out like a bandit if Ribas can finish Markos either by submission, or with a KO/TKO or DQ before the middle of Round 3.
New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Ribas (-371) to win nets a profit of just $2.70. A $10 wager on Ribas (+450) to win by submission secures a profit of $45, and a $10 wager on the fight to go Under 2.5 rounds (+230) nets a profit of $23.
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