The UFC APEX facility welcomes Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to “Sin City” this Saturday. night (August 1, 2020) when 185-pound veteran Derek Brunson tries to stop budding middleweight star Edmen Shahbazyan’s rise in the ESPN + main event.
The “UFC Vegas 5” fight card also features a clash of the top five flyweights Joanne Calderwood and Jennifer Maia along with a number of potential barn burners, including Vicente Luque vs. Randy Brown and Lando Vannata vs. Bobby Green 2.
Although the next major pay-per-view (PPV) event is still a couple of weeks away, it’s never too early to start saving.
That’s how.
What went wrong in the UFC on ESPN 14?
Everything went well on the card, although Francisco Trinaldo made me sweat a little. Unfortunately, while my prediction that Gadzhimurad Antigulov might beat Paul Craig was correct, my prediction that he would later dominate the mat was disastrously wrong. Oh good; it’s still a win, just not a jackpot.
Billboard:
Jonathan Martínez (-250) against Frankie Sáenz (+210)
Gerald Meerschaert (-175) vs. Ed Herman (+155)
Ray Borg (-235) vs. Nathan Maness (+195)
Markus Pérez (-200) vs. Eric Spicely (+170)
Timur Valiev (-155) vs. Jamall Emmers (+135)
Chris Gutiérrez (-350) vs. Cody Durden (+290)
Thoughts: Three guys struggling above their ideal weight classes may seem like strange choices, but trust me on this. Gerald Meerschaert, Ray Borg and Timur Valiev are worth it.
I don’t think it’s unfair to say that Ed Herman’s recent light heavyweight success came against very limited opposition. Pat Cummins is notoriously fragile and Khadis Ibragimov gave up his UFC career fighting instead of relying on his excellent sambo game. Meerschaert is a more effective striker and submission artist than either of those, and even recovering from a knockout loss to Ian Heinisch, he still seems to be too long-lasting for Herman to get past the bullet and too cunning for Herman to get over on the mat. . “GM3” returns to the wins column.
Nathan Maness is a solid fighter with a couple of good victories in his record, but he did show some massive flaws in his game that allowed Taylor Lapilus to completely disarm him despite “Mayhem’s” considerable height advantage. While Borg’s lack of reach may seem daunting on paper, Maness is not a difficult man to bridge the gap and he is at the wrong end of the speed battle at hand. Borg has the tools to stay firm on the feet and on the mat, so he bets accordingly.
Timur Valiev, although a natural bantamweight, had an excellent run in the 2018 PFL 145-pound tournament, showing the speed and variety necessary to make up for size. Although he is a capable striker and a very effective fighter, Emmers has the worrying habit of pleasing opponents in the attack that knocked him out in the Contender Series and was defeated by Giga Chikadze in his debut in the Octagon. He can’t afford a slow start against Valiev, and even if his head is set, Valiev has the surprising advantage and enough balance and the ability to fight to neutralize the threat of Emmers’ takedowns. Expect a strong debut for the Ricardo Almeida BJJ product.
Principal card:
Edmen Shahbazyan (-320) vs. Derek Brunson (+260)
Lando Vannata (-145) vs. Bobby Green (+125)
Joanne Calderwood (-160) vs. Jennifer Maia (+140)
Vicente Luque (-185) vs. Randy Brown (+160)
Kevin Holland (-210) vs. Trevin Giles (+175)
Thoughts: Both Bobby Green and Vicente Luque are notably underrated here.
Beating Yancy Medeiros, who had suffered life-changing beatings in her previous fights, and Marcos Mariano, who was signed as cannon fodder, recently to convince me that Lando Vannata is finally living up to his potential. On the other hand, giving Francisco Trinaldo and Drakkar Klose everything they could manage made it pretty clear that Green’s revival is no joke. If Green can avoid losing a 10-8 in the first round like last time, he has the assets to take over as the fight progresses. It’s a shakeup at worst, and it favors Green a bit at best, making “King” a worthless choice.
Frankly, I don’t see what advantages Randy Brown has over Vicente Luque other than height and reach. Luque has much more firepower, a ridiculously durable chin, better technical kickboxing, and more dangerous running game. It is highly unlikely that Brown will hit “The Silent Assassin” on the feet or find consistent fighting success, leaving him at the mercy of some of the division’s heaviest hands. Luque is too strong, too skilled, and too powerful for “Rude Boy” or virtually anyone outside of the Welterweight top 10. Make sure you are in a position to benefit.
The best bets for UFC Vegas 5:
Parlay-Ray Borg and Vicente Luque: $ 50 to win $ 60
Parlay-Gerald Meerschaert and Timur Valiev: $ 40 to win $ 63.60
Single Bet: Bobby Green: $ 40 to win $ 50
Between the potential for serious action fights and an unmissable undercard debut, this one doesn’t look too bad.
Initial investment for 2020: $ 300
Current total: $ 443.76
Remember that MMAmania.com will offer LIVE coverage round by round, blow by blow of the entire UFC Vegas 5 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with ESPN + “Preliminaries” scheduled to begin at 6 pm ET, followed by the portion of the main card that also airs on ESPN + at 9 pm ET.
For the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 5: “Brunson vs Shahbazyan” news and notes, be sure to visit our comprehensive archive of events here.
