UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs Strickland Odds, Predictions, and Best Bets
We have another full slate of exciting UFC action ahead of us this Saturday, February 4th, starting at 4 PM. This card is stacked with young prospects and journeymen alike, which should make for an exciting few hours of MMA action.
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I have two plus-money best bets for Saturday night’s card, so let’s get started.
Tresean Gore vs Bryan Battles
A fight we should’ve seen months ago, Gore and Battles were initially slated to fight at the conclusion of the newest season of The Ultimate Fighter. However, fate had different plans as Gore had to withdraw from the fight due to a pretty serious knee injury.
Battles then went on to fight TUF runner-up Gilbert Urbina, and finished him via rear-naked choke in the second round. This set up what all fans of TUF wanted–a match between Gore and Battles to see who the true TUF champion is.
Although Battles got his hand raised at the end of his fight against Urbina, he had to battle through some serious adversity to get there. Urbina was laying on the punches early in the first round, and seemingly had Battles pretty hurt. Urbina was even able to take Battles to the ground and keep him there for a good while, but a late takedown in round two by Battles led to the submission finish for the new TUF champion.
The most concerning part of Battles’ fight against Urbina was just how much damage he took early in that first round. Urbina was hitting him HARD. And you know who is going to hit him harder than Urbina? Tresean Gore.
Gore has some INSANE strength, and even finished Gilbert Urbina with a nasty left hook in the TUF semi-finals. If Battle’s isn’t careful and allows Gore to touch him up like Urbina did, then it could be a VERY quick night for the TUF Champion.
Prediction: Gore via TKO/KO/DQ (+180)
Main Event: Sean Strickland vs Jack Hermansson
This is a main event that makes true UFC fans excited. Sean Strickland, albeit a nutcase, is on an absolute tear, winning each of his last five fights. He’ll be going up against Jack Hermansson, who was on a four-fight win streak of his own in 2018/2019, but has since been 2-2 in his last four fights.
Everybody is riding with Strickland in this fight, and I’ll admit it's hard to disagree with them. Strickland is the much hotter fighter, and has proven his ability to stand and bang with some of the division's best strikers. However, I feel like UFC fans often like to forget about the ALREADY PROVEN fighters, especially when they’re going up against the rising stars.
Hermansson has only been finished via knockout twice in his career, and both were by some of the heaviest hitters in the UFC (Thiago Santos and Jarred Cannonier). Sean Strickland simply does not have that power, so if Strickland is going to win it’ll likely be by decision. Where I feel Hermansson has a huge upper hand is on the ground, seeing as how Hermansson has held his own with some of the best wrestlers in the division.
Hermansson completely outwrestled Jacare Souza in their fight a few years ago, and even grabbed a submission win over Kelvin Gastelum. I think oddsmakers are sleeping on Hermansson in this fight, so I’ll be riding with the underdog.
Prediction: Jack Hermansson (+185)
