Rafael dos Anjos vs Tony Ferguson betting tips, UFC FightNight 98

UFC Fight Night 98 gets underway in Mexico City, Mexico this Saturday, November 5. This is the last UFC event before the uber-fight, UFC 205 that pits Conor McGregor against Eddie Alvarez. Fight Night 98 proves to be the perfect lead up to UFC 205.

Fight Night 98 kicks off at 10PM/7PM ETPT.

Rafael dos Anjos vs Tony Ferguson

The main card fight of the night is this lightweight match up between Dos Anjos and Ferguson.

Dos Anjos heads into this fight off the back of losing the UFC lightweight Championship to Eddie Alvarez earlier this year via TKO in July. He will be looking to prove a point after that deflating loss. Dos Anjos holds a professional record of 25-8-0. Twelve of his wins have come through decision while five of his wins have come from KO or TKO, Dos Anjos’ eight remaining wins have come through submission, but the majority of his submission wins were a lot earlier in his career.

Ferguson on the other hand is heading into this bout on the back of an eight fight winning streak. Ferguson holds a professional record of 22-3-0. Of his 22 wins, 11 have come through KO or TKO. Ferguson is a striker and a grappler. He can close out fights early: only 18% of his fights have gone to a decision.

You can’t help but think Ferguson will come out of the gates swinging, but if Ferguson can’t roll Dos Anjos in the first couple of rounds you can’t help thinking the odds begin to swing his opponent’s way.

Heading in to the fight the bookies see dos Anjos as a slight favourite over Ferguson. Bodog.eu has dos Anjos at a money line of -150 and Ferguson at a money line of +120. Alternately, CrownBet.com.au has dos Anjos at $1.67 and Ferguson at $2.20.

Martin Bravo vs Claudio Puelles

Relative unknowns to the UFC, Mexican, Martin Bravo and Peruvian Claudio Puelles face off in a featherweight bout.

Bravo heads into the fight with an unblemished record of 11-0-0, with almost half of his wins coming through submission.

Puelles also heads into the fight with a similar record of 8-1-0. Again, Puelles is quite prolific with his submission work.

Both fighters will be looking to get this fight to the ground as quickly as possible, where it will turn into a battle of wills, skill and technique.

This fight is so close even the bookies can’t really tell them apart. Both are untested in the UFC arena and both clearly have a propensity for winning their fights on the canvas. Bodog.eu can not split the pair, offering -115 on both.

Diego Sanchez vs Marcin Held

The second lightweight match up the night pits American, Diego Sanchez against the Polish Marcin Held. This fight represents Held’s UFC debut, so he will clearly be out to prove a point: that he belongs in the UFC.

Sanchez steps into the octagon against Held with a professional record of 28-9-0. Worryingly for Sanchez, the bulk of his defeats have come in the back end of his career. Sanchez began his pro career in 2002 with a string of 17 straight wins. Since 2007 though, his history is punctuated with losses. Almost half of his wins have come from decision, which proves he can go the distance. Fighting out of Albuquerque, New Mexico ensures Sanchez’ resilience is second to none.

Held, a virtual unknown to the UFC public, holds a professional history of 22-4-0 and comes to the UFC as a bit of a submission guru. Twelve of his 22 wins have come from a range of submissions: arm bar, rear naked choke, knee bar, inverted heel hook, heel hook, toe hold and triangle choke. The Polish Prodigy will clearly looking to be getting this fight to the canvas as quickly as possible.

Clearly, Held’s impressive record and ability to use a range of submissions has him in good stead with bookies and punters alike with Bodog.eu running a money line of -270 on Held, while Sanchez is fetching a money line of +210. In other odds, CrownBet.com.au has odds of $1.37 for held and $3.10 for Sanchez.

Check all the latest odds at www.Bodog.eu and claim a swag of sign-up bonuses and promotions. USA punters can check the odds at Bovada.lv. Australian and New Zealand readers can try their luck at Crownbet.com