The UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Simon event on Saturday may present bettors with some valuable opportunities. Despite the fact that a few of the fighters may not be as familiar to bettors, the event promises to be full of excitement. Keep reading to uncover the top UFC betting picks for the lead up to UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Simon, including a Marcus McGhee moneyline you can’t ignore.
UFC Best Bets for Fight Night: Song vs. Simon
Dog of the Week: Marcus McGhee Moneyline (+160, Caesars)
McGhee is taking this fight on three days’ notice, but he is always in the gym training. This fight will be at a catch weight of 140 pounds, and McGhee looked great on the scales. He will be the bigger fighter in the ring for a change and the guy with more finishing ability. McGhee is a well-rounded fighter but much better on the feet. He has very good power for a bantamweight, and he works the body and head equally. He is very strong and extremely hard to hold if he’s taken down.
Journey Newson has been an up-and-down fighter in the UFC. He is 1-3 with one no-contest, and even his victory was underwhelming. He will get backed up in this fight, and McGhee does a good job cutting off the cage. Newson will have an advantage on the ground, having a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but he will not have success taking this fight to the ground. In a standup fight, McGhee’s price makes him the play, and he would be the favorite if he had full preparation for the fight.
Prop of the Week: Caio Borralho by Submission (+160, Unibet/Bet Rivers)
There are levels to this game, and Borralho’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu game is levels above anyone that Michal Oleksiejczuk has faced. Oleksiejczuk is 18-5, with three of those losses being by submission. In the UFC he has not faced many very good submission grapplers; the only one was Jimmy Crute, who submitted Oleksiejczuk easily in the first round. Borralho is 3-0 in the UFC without any submissions, but the opponents he faced had much better takedown defense, along with better submission defense. Oleksiejczuk gives his back up when trying to stand after getting taken down, and Borralho will find the back to get a submission in this fight.
Best Play of the Week: Charles Johnson Moneyline (-130)
This line was as high as Johnson -200, and lots of money has come in on the Cody Durden side. Johnson has Durden covered everywhere, and even if Durden has some success wrestling early, Johnson is extremely hard to hold down. This is a buy-low spot on Johnson after he lost a split decision to Ode Osbourne in his last fight, one he took on short notice and was sick leading up. Johnson is the much better striker, with a big advantage in athleticism. He will have a significant cardio edge and potentially could finish Durden late in the fight, where Durden historically slows down. Johnson’s weakness is starting slow in fights, but that will not be the case here. Durden will try to push the pace, eventually gassing himself before Johnson takes over.
