UFC 212 is an upcoming MMA event that will be held this Saturday June 3rd at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Continue reading for our fight breakdowns and free MMA betting tips.
Hot off the heels of UFC Fight Night Stockholm where we saw Alexander Gustafsson nearly decapitate Glover Teixeira with a series of uppercuts in a highly entertaining five round fight. UFC looks to put on another fireworks fight when newly reclaimed title holder Jose Aldo looks to unify his belt against interim title holder Max Holloway. In the co-main event we see what is likely to be a title eliminator fight we see Karolina Kowalkiewicz attempt to rebound from her loss to Joanna champion when she takes on another title challenger Brazilian powerhouse Claudia Gadelha.
Admittedly from a fan perspective this isn’t quite the card that was promised with Anderson Silva not able to come to an agreement with the UFC he was subsequently removed from the card after potential match ups with Kelvin Gastelum, Luke Rockhold and Nick Diaz had been discussed. Whilst the star name value isn’t quite there we do see Nate Marquart take on Vitor Belfort in what is sure to be an entertaining albeit meaningless fight. The real star matchup however headlines the FOX prelims when WSOF standout Marlon Moraes battles top contender and often overlooked Raphael Assuncao.
Jose Aldo vs Max Holloway
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Marlon Moraes vs Raphael Assuncao
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Nate Marquardt vs Vitor Belfort
Both Nate Marquardt and Vitor Belfort are certainly in the twilight of their careers and this fight really has no implications in the middleweight division but with all that considered its a fight I’m looking forward to.
Nate Marquart Betting Tips
Nate Marquardt like his opponent has truly had some ups and downs in his career and his second UFC stint is no different, alternating wins and losses he has compiled a record of 3 wins and 6 losses. On the wrong side of some brutal KO’s does he have enough in the tank to take on the Phenom?
- Circles well and active lateral movement.
- Heavy low and high kicks.
- Powerful double leg.
- Heavy top control.
- Strong counter right hand.
- Gas tank has never been a weapon and is fading with age.
- Porous boxing defence and thoroughly tested chin.
- Not particularly active in top control.
- Low striking output.
- Bad reaction to getting hit.
- Can reach and overextend right hand.
Vitor Belfort Betting Tips
A legend of the sport who’s as much famous as he is infamous Vitor Belfort is rarely out of the MMA spotlight. A blitzing southpaw power puncher with explosive striking and a quick to empty gas tank Vitor is rarely if ever in a boring fight.
- Very fast hands.
- Explosive kicking arsenal.
- Underrated chin.
- Strong counter left hand.
- Good distance control
- Rapidly declining gas tank.
- Very little head movement.
- Susceptible to wrestlers.
- Requires confidence to win fights.
- Can trap himself against the cage.
Conclusion
Both fighters have taken a serious amount of damage in their recent fights with Vitor losing 4 out of his last 5 fights by T/KO and Nate losing by T/KO in 4 of his last 9 fights. In all honestly the most likely outcome of this fight is a first round KO for either fighter. Even though Vitor has been flattened in some recent losses its imperative to note he’s been fighting some elite competition. Losses to Weidman, Jacare, Mousasi and Gastelum are nothing to be ashamed of and I certainly wouldn’t favour Nate in any of these match ups. All of these fighters have one thing in common and thats aggressive high level pressure fighting something Nate simply does not possess. I see Vitor connecting with a counter left hand and putting Nate away in the first round. Betting on ageing fighters with losing records is certainly risky so another safe bet would be fight to end by KO as neither of these are submitting each other.
Antonio Carlos Jr vs Eric Spicely
Antonio Carlos Jr MMA Betting Tips
Antonio Carlos Junior is an imposing figure under the 185 pound weight limit. Originally starting his career winning the heavyweight Ultimate Fighter Brazil he then dropped to light heavy weight lost a competitive decision to Patrick Cummins and has now settled as a hulking middleweight.
- Huge frame for a middleweight.
- Heavy front head control position.
- Athletic & Powerful.
- Good distance control.
- Heavy clinch with powerful strikes against the cage.
- Strong low & middle kicks.
- Noticeably slows after the first round.
- Porous boxing defence.
Eric Spicely MMA Betting Tips
Eric Spicely is a fighter I genuinely love to watch with his almost constant underdog status he fights against the odds to rally big wins such as in his performance of the night choking out Thiago Santos. With an impressive 10-1 professional record he does actually have more experience than Carlos Jr, the questions is will he be able to use it?
- High reactive guard, probes his jab hand often to measure distance.
- Aggressive clincher from the opening bell where he looks for takedowns against the cage.
- Aggressive ground game on top and on bottom.
- Fair recovery though not particularly durable.
- Reversed on takedown attempts in last two fights
- Leaves neck exposed during take down attempts
- His ground game is negated by the higher level grappling of Carlos Jr.
Conclusion
I really wanted to be able to pick Spicely as the betting underdog here but unfortunately he simply does nothing better than his opponent in this fight. Antonio Carlos Jr will be the much more powerful heavy man in the octagon and he can hurt Spicely on the feet & negate his strength in the clinch. I could see Carlos Jr hurting spicely on the feet after defending takedowns ultimately leading to a unanimous decision or even a finish. The pick is Antonio Carlos Jr.
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