In a featherweight bout on Saturday’s main card, Cody Stamann and Askar Askar meet at UFC on ESPN+ 48 at the UFC’s APEX Facility in Las Vegas. The event – also known as UFC Fight Night 184 or UFC Vegas 18 – has the prelims kick off at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by the main card on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET.
Stamann (19-3-1) was expected to face Andre Ewell, who was pulled from the card due to a positive COVID-19 test, according to his management. Ewell is reportedly asymptomatic and quarantining in Las Vegas. He tested negative twice since a positive test but was removed as a precaution. So, Askar (11-1) steps in on short notice.
Stamann – a.k.a. “The Spartan” – lost by unanimous decision last time out to Jimmie Rivera July 15, 2020. Stamann has a pair of losses and a draw across his past five outings, and he has gone the distance in each of his past four events and seven of the previous eight bouts overall.
Askar will be making his UFC debut. He suffered a KO/TKO loss Feb 7, 2020, to Saidyokub Kakhramonov at HFC 42: Hoosier Fight Club 42 but rebounded with a unanimous decision victory over Kevin Wirth last time out at LFA 92 in main event Oct. 2, 2020. In Askar’s 12 career professional bouts, he has had six end by way of KO/TKO (5-1) with one submission victory and five fights going the distance.
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Cody Stamann vs. Askar Askar: Betting odds, predictions and picks
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 2:27 a.m. ET.
Stamann (-500) will cost you five times your potential return, so you can’t play him on the 2-way line vs. Askar (+360). Instead, look to the method of victory on the 5-way line and take STAMANN BY DECISION (-140). His fights rarely end early, so look for the judges to get involved here. That’s good news for Stamann bettors as he is the more polished fighter, who will wow the judges with his technical ability.
If you don’t quite trust Stamann to win against the newcomer but want action, take YES (-200): “WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE?” It’s a very good bet in a Stamann event, even when fighting a newcomer on short notice.
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