UFC Vegas 27 Main Card Betting Preview

Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt looks to move closer to getting another crack at his old belt when he faces the rising Rob Font in the main event of UFC Vegas 27 on Saturday night at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Garbrandt snapped a three-fight losing streak with a highlight reel ko of Raphael Assuncao in his last outing. Meanwhile, Font has won three straight bouts to move to no. 3 in the rankings. No question the winner of this bout could get the next shot at the world title, making this a very important bout for both.

Let’s take a look at the fights in the UFC Vegas 27 main card and make our predictions.

Rob Font vs Cody Garbrandt

Rob Font is the no. 3 ranked bantamweight in the UFC. The 33-year old is a former CES MMA featherweight champion and heads to this bout with six wins in his last eight bouts, including wins in each of his last three bouts. Font has a record of 18-4 with eight knockouts and four submission wins. He is 5-8 tall with a reach of 71 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Cody Garbrandt is the former UFC bantamweight champion. No Love is the no.4 ranked bantamweight in the UFC and is the second fighter to defeat Dominick Cruz. The 29-year old lost three straight bouts via knockout from 2017-2019. He returned to the winning column with a spectacular KO win over Raphael Assuncao in his last assignment. Garbrandt is 12-3 with 10 knockouts and he stands 5-8 tall with a reach of 68 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance.

This should be a fun fight between two fighters who love to fight on the feet. Both of them have knockout power and you can make a case for both fighters here. Garbrandt is the more credentialed striker and has faced better opposition. However, Font looks to be more sharp and has better movement. The key to this fight could very well be Font’s six-inch reach advantage because there’s no way Garbrandt gets to his striking range without getting tagged. This one could go either way but I think that Garbrandt will get caught trying to get to Font.

Prediction: Rob Font

Yan Xiaonan vs Carla Esparza

Yan Xiaonan is the no. 3 ranked female strawweight in the UFC. The 31-year old from China heads to this bout with six straight victories in the Octagon, including wins over Angela Hill, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and Claudia Gadelha. Yan has a record of 13-1 with five knockouts and she is unbeaten since 2010. She stands 5-5 tall with a 63-inch reach and fights out of the orthodox stance.

Carla Esparza was the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion. The 33-year old known as Cookie Monster is the current no. 4 female strawweight who has won four consecutive bouts after suffering back-to-back losses in 2018. Esparza has a record of 17-6 with three knockouts and four submission wins. She is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-1 tall with a reach of 63 inches.

Esparza is the kind of fighter you don’t want to bet against. She is a balanced fighter who has a good gas tank and has the ability to stay in a fight even if things aren’t going her way. However, Xiaonan is the better striker and has good takedown defense. In fact, I think she is better than Esparza in almost all departments. And don’t forget that she is much bigger and rangier than Cookie Monster. I’ll eat the chalk here and go with the favorite.

Prediction: Yan Xiaonan

Justin Tafa vs Jared Vanderaa

Justin Tafa is a former XFC heavyweight champion in Australia. The 27-year old from Auckland joined the UFC in 2019 and is just 1-2 inside the Octagon. He has an overall record of 4-2 with four knockouts and is coming off a loss to Carlos Felipe. Tafa is a southpaw who stands six feet tall and has a reach of 74 inches.

Jared Vanderaa is a veteran of Smash Global and EFC who knocked out Henry Hunsucker at the Contender Series last year. He made his UFC debut last February but suffered a knockout loss to Sergey Spivak. He is 11-5 with 7 knockouts and three submission wins. Vanderaa stands 6-4 tall with a reach of 80 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Vanderaa is easily the bigger fighter here with his six-inch reach. However, he is also the slower fighter between the two and that’s not good when you’re in a fight that will most probably be fought on the feet. Tafa is the more talented fighter here and he has more pop in his punches. He also is a southpaw which makes him tricky for any opponent. I’ll lay the reasonable juice in what should be a brawl that will only end when one of these two men falls down.

Prediction: Justin Tafa

Felicia Spencer vs Norma Dumont

Felicia Spencer is a former Invicta FC featherweight champion. The 30-year old from Montreal, Canada joined the UFC in 2019 and is just 2-2 inside the Octagon. However, her two losses have come against Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes, both of whom she took to the judges’ scorecards. Spencer has a record of 8-2 with two knockouts and four submission wins. She is 5-6 tall with a 68-inch reach and fights out of the orthodox stance.

Norman Dumont fought four Jungle Fight and Shooto Brazil before joining the UFC. The 30-year old Brazilian lost to Megan Anderson via knockout in her UFC debut. She bounced back to defeat Ashlee Evans-Smith in her second Octagon appearance. Dumont has a record of 5-1 with two submission wins. She is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 67 inches.

No doubt that Spencer is the clear favorite here because she is the more decorated fighter between the two. Not to mention that she was able to go the distance with Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes inside the Octagon. However, Dumont has that stocky frame and strong body to make this fight interesting, especially in the clinch. Once she gets her opponent pinned against the cage, she throws a lot of strikes and mixes elbows and knees. Neither of these fighters is a great finisher and that gives Dumont the chance. I’ll take the plus money here.

Prediction: Norma Dumont

Jack Hermansson vs Edmen Shahbazyan

Jack Hermansson is the no 7 ranked middleweight in the UFC. The 32-year old from Sweden was a champion at Cage Warriors and Warrior Fight Series. He joined the UFC in 2016 and went 7-2 in his first nine UFC bouts but is just 1-2 in his last three, losing to Marvin Vettori in his most recent outing. Hermansson has a record of 21-6 with 11 knockouts and six submission wins. He is 6-1 tall with a 77-inch reach and fights out of the orthodox stance.

Edmen Shahbazyan is the 10th ranked middleweight in the UFC. The 23-year old went undefeated in the California circuit before joining the Contender Series. Shahbazyan opened his UFC career with a 4-0 record with three stoppage wins but was knocked out by Derek Brunson in his last bout. Shahbazyan 11-1 with nine knockouts and one submission win. He is 6-2 tall with a 74-inch reach and fights out of the orthodox stance.

Shahbazyan is the younger and hungrier fighter between these two and he also has a better chance of winning this fight via stoppage. However, Hermansson is a savvy veteran who knows how to survive and find a way to win even if he is in trouble. He also has the clear advantage if this fight goes to the ground. I was leaning with Shahbazyan but then I remembered how another veteran in Derek Brunson sparked him. That was his first loss and I’m curious how he will respond to that. Hermansson is also coming off a loss but we’ve seen him bounce back before. I’ll take the safe bet here with the veteran.

Prediction: Jack Hermansson

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