UFC 325 Betting Tips: A Knockout Show Down Under
Volkanovski vs Lopes 2 headlines a marquee UFC 325 live from Sydney, Australia, and stars some of the best fighters that side of the equator, including some familiar faces like Tai Tuivasa.
How will the Aussies fare one week removed from last week’s stellar UFC 324? With plenty of highlight reel finishes is what we’re going with, starting with the main event.
Tip 1 – Volkanovski to win & over 3.5 rounds @ 5/4
Alexander Volkanovski’s (27-4-0) first opponent since winning the featherweight title? The same man he beat last April to earn his crown in the first place in Diego Lopes (27-7-0) who clearly used that loss as fuel to a raging fire only a few months later.
Lopes wasted no time in getting back to winning ways with a brutal spinning elbow into the ground and pound to earn an impressive stoppage against Jean Silva at UFC Fight Night in September.
This main event rematch promises more of the same from their previous showdown – so expect a technical clinic in terms of striking, grappling and all that other good stuff – only the result here will be very much the same.
It’s said time heals all wounds, but Volk was too much for the Brazilian then and he’s still too much for him now, which could also be said for the majority of the division as it stands.
Lopes’ over-eagerness to prove himself against ‘The Great’ will ultimately serve as his downfall, playing into the very capable hands and feet of the champ in what should make for a highly-entertaining affair in his home country of Australia.
Tip 2 – Tuivasa to win by KO, TKO or DQ @ 17/5
It will of course be another homecoming for Tai ‘Bam Bam’ Tuivasa (15-8-0) who, after an 18-month hiatus, returns to the octagon looking to re-establish himself in the heavyweight division once more.
His opponent, Tallison Teixeira (8-1-0), is clearly a fighter for the future as one of the youngest prospects on the roster at 26… which begs the question: why is he being rushed into a fight like this so soon after the Derrick Lewis loss?
Of course, anything can happen in the UFC, and pitting a hungry striking prospect against a kill-or-be-killed slugger can always swing either way.
If Tuivasa wants to taste from his trademark shoe he’s going to have to put his experience to work, and as a Sydney native, there’s added motivation in doing it in front of what will be a lively crowd fully behind their man.
So, for as much as this fight could go either way, we’re backing Bam Bam to do what he does best:
Slug it out to a finish.
Tip 3 – Salkilld to win by KO, TKO or DQ in round 1 @ 7/5
What is it with Aussies and unbelievable knockout power?
The third tip we want to direct your attention to features even more sluggers from down under in Quillan Salkilld (10-1-0) and Jamie Mullarkey (18-8-0) who both look primed to put on one hell of a show to open the main card.
For all of Mullarkey’s merits in the striking department, it’s difficult to overlook the fact he’s been knocked out in the first round in two of his last three fights against Mauricio Ruffy and Nasrat Haqparast.
There’s only so much damage a fighter can withstand before they can no longer stand, and ‘Hooligan’ certainly feels like he’s at the latter stages of that scale as a fighter whose best defence is having no defence at all.
It’s something Salkilld will be very much aware of having ended two of his last three fights with knockout blows in, you guessed it, the first round.
Wear and tear should also be measured alongside age and athleticism; Mullarkey may be able to withstand one or two shots but youth is on the side of his opponent who has shown in only a few fights that he will not let up.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change
