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Tyron Woodley and Gilbert Burns get together in a welterweight bout in the main event at UFC on ESPN 9 – also known as Fight Night 176 – at the UFC’s Apex Facility in Las Vegas. The card kicks off Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+.
The 38-year-old Woodley (19-4-1) holds a three-inch reach advantage which he hopes to use to keep Burns (18-3) at a distance. While Woodley can more than handle himself on the mat, the ground is where Burns holds a large advantage. Burns has a 2.39 to 1.21 takedown-average advantage, although Woodley edges him with a 41.18 to 38.98 takedown-accuracy percentage. Woodley has been champing at the bit to get back into the octagon after a unanimous decision loss to Kamaru Usman for the welterweight strap at UFC 235. So, Woodley will be fighting with a chip on his shoulder, which doesn’t bode well for Burns. Woodley has never lost consecutive bouts at any point of his mixed martial arts career, and he doesn’t plan to start now.
Burns, nicknamed “Durinho,” enters on a five-bout winning streak, including a KO/TKO win over Demian Maia March 14, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira. Burns kicked off the winning streak with a unanimous decision win over Olivier Aubin-Mercier, and hasn’t lost since a KO/TKO setback against Dan Hooker at UFC 226 (July 7, 2018(. Three of Burns’ past five bouts have ended in favorable unanimous decisions, and he has a KO/TKO and submission win during the stretch, showing off his versatility. However, Woodley represents a huge step up in talent.
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Tyron Woodley vs. Gilbert Burns betting odds
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday, May 28 at 8 a.m. ET.
Woodley (-176) is a strong favorite on the 2-way line, and rightly so vs. Burns (+145). As mentioned, Woodley has never lost consecutive fights at any point of his illustrious career.
Now, how will the fight be won? We’re likely to see plenty of toe-to-toe action, and takedown attempts, but each of these guys have solid ground games, both offensively and defensively. Look for a long, drawn out fight with plenty of action, but a bout that will ultimately be decided by the judges. As such, betting DECISION (+115) on HOW WILL THE FIGHT FINISH? is a good wager. In addition, YES (+115): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE? is a nice value as well.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on Woodley (-176) to win returns a profit of $5.68. A $10 bet of Yes (+115) on the fight going the distance pays a $11.50 return, and betting on the fight to end on a Decision (+115), regardless of fight winner, fetches a $11.50 profit.
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