UFC Fight Night 138 Betting Tips

Volkan Oezdemir vs Anthony Smith

Volkan Oezdemir and Anthony Smith top the bill in a light heavyweight clash between two of the top title contenders at UFC Fight Night 138, which takes place on Sunday 28th October (4 am AEDT) at SMG Moncton in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

Having beaten Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, Smith was ideally looking for a shot at the No. 1 contender Alexander Gustafsson, only to be informed after beating Rua that the Swede had pulled out of UFC 227 (where he had yet to line-up an opponent), with an undisclosed “minor injury”.  Even so, a fight against one-time title challenger Oezdemir is a decent consolation.

It’s been a meteoric rise for Smith, who not so long ago was something of a journeyman on the Midwest’s regional circuit.  The win over Rua was not only the biggest of his career, but also his first time headlining and only the third time he’d been featured on a UFC main card. Only 43 days earlier, Smith knocked out Rashad Evans in under a minute at UFC 225.

Despite his recent surge, the reality is that Smith has lost 30% of his fights and as convincing as the wins against Evans and Rua were, both men are past their prime. Oezdemir is easily the biggest challenge of Smith’s career and he is a savage kickboxer, with plenty of knockout power, so this could be where Smith’s ascendancy hits the ceiling.

Michael Johnson vs Artem Lobov

Also on the bill on this UFC fight night is Michael Johnson vs Artem Lobov, with Johnson stepping in at short notice after Zubaira Tukhugov was pulled from the fight.  This followed the post-fight melee at UFC 229 where Tukhugov decided to jump in the cage and attack Conor McGregor. Despite the short notice, Johnson will be expected to prevail in this one.

Misha Cirkunov vs Patrick Cummins

Another UFC fight on the bill is the light heavyweight contest between Misha Cirkunov and Patrick Cummins, with the 31-year-old Cirkunov having been stopped in the first round by Glover Teixeira and Oezdemir in his past two contests. He should see off Cummins, 37, who was last seen losing a unanimous decision to Corey Anderson.

* Odds correct at the time of writing

Take a look at Anthony Smith last fight: