Point of interest: Odds and opinions

The oddsmakers and public seem to be siding with the Russian standout, listing Yan -225 and Aldo +185 as of this writing.

Although my Aldo fandom is hoping for a fight that is closer than the odds lead on, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see the betting spread above widen come fight day.

From a betting perspective, fading the older lion has long been a popular trend in the fight game. And from a stylistic standpoint, I’m not liking what I’m seeing for the former featherweight king.

Sure, Aldo appears to be rejuvenated at bantamweight to the extent that he was able to push forward for three hard rounds. And though he was also able to take some hard shots from Marlon Moraes, Aldo seemed to be overpowered in certain tie-ups that were a bit disconcerting.

Moreover, Moraes, like Aldo, is also a fighter who needs pockets of time to recover, which – to me – bodes badly against a building fighter like Yan.

Yan typically uses the first round to make a lot of his reads and establish his rhythm before unleashing versatile violence in full force. So, unless Aldo can capitalize on a mistake in the first two rounds, I suspect we’ll see Yan overwhelm him (likely from a southpaw stance to help mute jabs and potential leg licks) via body shots and uppercuts by the end of the third round.

Prediction: Yan inside the distance

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