After a week off, the UFC is back with yet another event held in the Apex Arena. This time, top 10 heavyweights Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik face off in the main event. Both men are coming off disappointing losses, and are looking to catapult themselves back into the title picture with a big win on Saturday night.
Rising undefeated featherweight Movsar Evloev competes in the co-main event slot, taking on hard-hitting 145lb veteran Dan Ige, in what will be his penultimate litmus test to see if he is truly ready to face the elite of the division.
An explosive flyweight bout between Ode Osbourne and Zarrukh Adashev, as well as a clash of light heavyweight titans between Alonso Menifield and Askar Mozharov, round off the main card.
Also featured on the prelims are several notable names, such as Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Felice Herrig, Damon Jackson, and Jeff Molina.
Join LowKickMMA as we preview, predict, and hopefully win some money betting on UFC Vegas 56.
Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
The main event of UFC Vegas 56 is an intriguing one. Rozenstruik is one of the hardest-hitting individuals in the entire promotion. However, he rarely pushes a pace, instead relying on his opponents to engage with him, in order to set up counter shots. Alexander Volkov is a colossal fighter, standing at 6ft 9inches tall. However, he isn’t known as a particularly dangerous finisher, often relying on his size advantage to land high volume attritional damage over the course of the fight.
There are several ways you could bet on this fight. If you are backing Rozenstruik, then taking his KO/TKO prop is likely the way to go. He can be found at solid plus odds on Betway, which have the line priced at 3.00 at the time of writing. Alternatively, if you think Volkov will be victorious, then taking his decision prop is the way to go. This can be found at 2.62.
However, we will not be taking a side. Instead, we will take the fight to go over 3.5 rounds, which Betway has priced at 1.80.
Pick: Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik – Over 3.5 Total Rounds
Movsar Evloev vs. Dan Ige
An excellent featherweight matchup that easily could have been a five-round fight in its own respect, Evloev vs. Ige is a classic UFC prospect vs. veteran matchup. Ige hit’s very hard and is a solid offensive wrestler. However, as demonstrated in his recent loss to ‘The Korean Zombie,’ Ige is lacking when it comes to takedown defense.
Unfortunately for Ige, Evloev is one of the best wrestlers in the division, having absolutely mauled the likes of Hakeem Dawodo and Seung Woo Choi. It is hard to imagine a scenario where Evloev is not able simply to dominate this fight with relentless takedowns and suffocating top control.
Unfortunately, the bookies seem to agree with this assumption, and Evloev’s ML is currently at a ridiculous 1.25. Instead, we will take his decision prop, priced at 1.57.
Pick: Movsar Evloev to win via Decision or Technical Decision
Felice Herrig vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Felice Herrig vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz represents a matchup between two veterans of the UFC, and also a rematch several years in the making. Herrig has not competed for two years now, and is on a three-fight losing streak that includes the decision loss to Kowalkiewicz. However, she enters this fight as the betting favorite.
This is likely due to Kowalkiewicz being on a five-fight losing streak. However, the former UFC title challenger has still remained active, and has recently begun training at ATT. Kowalkiewicz is also a notorious decision artist, and can currently be found at 2.62 odds to win on the judge’s scorecards.
This is the line we will take on this fight, though we’d advise limiting the amount you place on it.
Pick: Karolina Kowalkiewicz to win via Decision or Technical Decision