Noche UFC is coming this weekend to T-Mobile Arena to celebrate Mexican Independence Day and give fight fans a great night of fights full of Mexican talents. From the start of the card all the way to the main event, there’s great matchmaking.
In the main event, we have the first non-PPV title fight in a long time, and it’s a rematch between women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and former longtime champion Valentina Shevchenko. Grasso shocked the world with her upset submission win over Shevchenko earlier this year, but now, this time around, it’s a whole different matchup in oddsmakers’ eyes.
Let’s take a closer look at this main event and talk about any other key fights you can win money on by betting.
Check out the full UFC odds over on Bookmaker
Main Event – Grasso vs. Shevchenko
This main event title bout is one of the more exciting women’s title fights in years. Grasso coming in as the champion and going through her first training camp with a champion’s mindset could potentially bring her to another level.
Shevchenko is one of the most dominant martial artists of all time and is so much fun to watch. Her all-around skill set is second to none, and she will be ready to get her title back.
This fight will come down to who shows up on Saturday night. We saw a confident Grasso in their first meeting, winning the first round and setting the tone on the feet while winning a couple of wrestling scrambles as well. Shevchenko started dominating their last fight with wrestling, which seemingly exposed a big hole in Grasso’s game.
You have to assume that Grasso has made her takedown defense a priority in this camp since she was very late in her reactions last time. This kind of puts pressure on Shevchenko to make adjustments and go out to win this fight. It will be the first time she is in the challenger’s seat in a fight, and she will need to “take” that belt back if she wants her hand raised on Saturday night.
You should almost look at this fight as 50/50 odds and take the fact Shevchenko is a slight favorite away. It will depend on who shows up healthier on fight night and who can implement their carefully devised game plan the best in the 25 minutes.
The official betting prediction of this Grasso vs. Shevchenko title bout is that Shevchenko will get her belt back after a tough fight that will probably go the distance. Grasso is very tough and will be competitive throughout, but it’s hard not to trust the adjustments a martial artist like “The Bullet” makes.
Other Key Fight Picks
One of the other interesting bouts of this Noche UFC card is in the co-main event. Kevin Holland is set to take on Jack Della Maddalena in a three-round bout that could honestly headline its own fight night event.
Holland is a new animal at welterweight and has leveled up to a legit contender whether he wants to or not. Maddalena is a very dangerous fighter with tons of power in both hands and a great fight IQ. The underdog pick with Holland is a great bet to make because he has a big physical advantage and has the ability to end the fight at any second.
Other than those two fights ending the event, there are plenty of fun fights to watch, but not too many intriguing betting lines to bet on. We have Raul Rosas Jr. as a -800 favorite over Terrence Mitchell, which seems like a crazy line.
Rosas Jr. is coming off a loss that proved he wasn’t ready to grapple with grown men at this level, and Mitchell is a slick grappler and striker. Don’t count out Mitchell as a massive underdog winner this weekend.
