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The UFC came back with a bang putting an end to three fight cards in a one week span with Saturday’s UFC Fight Night. Jacksonville, Florida, has become the temporary home of the UFC with the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena hosting the bouts. Top-10 heavyweight contenders Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem (45-18-0, 23 KOs, 17 SUBs) and Walt “Big Ticket” Harris (13-7-0, 13 KOs) do battle in the main event of an 11-fight card. Unbeaten in his last four starts, Harris opened as the favorite at BookMaker.eu.
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Check out odds for every fight on Saturday’s card at BookMaker.eu and place your wager. Then catch all the action on ESPN with the main card starting at 9 p.m. ET.
UFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Alistair Overeem +115
Walt Harris -145
Over 1.5 Rounds -150
Under 1.5 Rounds +120
Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris Fight Preview
It looks like the matchup of top-10 heavyweight contenders will actually take place on Saturday. The two were originally scheduled to fight last December in Washington D.C., but Harris backed out after his stepdaughter’s abduction and murder. There was also a date set for April in Portland before that was shelved by the coronavirus.
Both fighters rank just inside the top-10 of heavyweight contenders and are looking to move up. Overeem also has plenty to prove after a late knockout loss in his last battle. Overeem was on his way to a unanimous decision over Jairzinho Rozenstruik until a crushing knockout blow with only four seconds left in the fifth round. That gave Rozenstruik a chance to move up the division rankings before he was flattened by Francis Ngannou last week.
We pretty much know what were getting in Overeem. He’s been around the circuit and has a number of fights on his resume. At this point he’s a fringe top-10 contender and likely won’t get another shot at the belt. He doesn’t shy away from the top fighters in the weight class, though. His last four losses have been to Rozenstruik, Curtis Blaydes, Ngannou and current belt holder Stipe Miocic in a championship bout in 2016.
Currently the No. 8 ranked heavyweight, Overeem is an accomplished mixed martial artist and a former kickboxing champion. He also held the last heavyweight crown in Strikeforce. Impressive wins over names like Brock Lesnar, Fabricio Werdum, Junior Dos Santos and Frank Mir earned him a title shot against Miocic.
Overeem suffered a first round KO in that bout and has dropped three of his last five fights with all coming by stoppage. The majority of his success is against mid-level fighters so he has a good chance on Saturday if he can stay off the floor.
Harris got a late start in his MMA career and he’s making up for lost time. He lost his first two UFC bouts and was briefly dropped from the promotion. He’s had a solid run lately going unbeaten in his last four fights. He won a split decision over Andrei Arlovski in December 2018 only to have that changed to a no contest due to a failed sample.
One of the fiercest strikers in his weight class, Harris has an edge on his feet. All of his victories have been by (T)KO and his two fights last year lasted a total of 62 seconds. Harris stopped Serghei Spivac in 50 seconds and took just 12 seconds to end Aleksei Oleinik giving him plenty of momentum heading into this battle.
This will be the first fight for Harris in 10 months and the first since the tragic death of his stepdaughter. Something like that can be a great motivator in the octagon or it can deflect your attention away from the task at hand.
Bet Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris at BookMaker
There is plenty at stake in this bout. Both fighters are looking to climb in the heavyweight division and hopefully earn another title shot. Throwing down on Overeem is risky considering his recent outcomes. He’s hit the mat a lot recently and Harris can punch with the best. While Harris looked good in his recent bouts, the competition has been far from superior. I really had to digest this fight and I like Harris for his punching ability. Overeem’s glass chin is too inviting. And the octagon is the perfect outlet for Harris to deal with his family crisis.
UFC Odds Pick: Walt Harris / TKO / 3rd Round
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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com
