Here are our top Aldo v Volkanovski betting tips. We have a hectic weekend of Mixed Martial Arts action from the Ultimate Fighting Championship ahead and its great news for followers of the sport, as well as those who enjoy predicting the winners and backing their opinions with hard cash.
UFC 237 takes place at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday evening. UK fans can watch the action live thanks to BT Sport but will have to wait until the wee small hours of Sunday morning for the major bouts on the card, with the main event carrying an expected 5.30am start time. That’s a big ask, regardless of if you are staying up late or getting out of bed early, but the card tells us this one will be well worth catching.
Show Gets the All Clear
The preparations for this bill were hampered by fight politics and squabbling and it looked for long time like the organisers might have to pull the plug after seeing Athletico Paranaense put a line through the original venue. That was changed to the current arena and we now have the all-clear, which was a relief, certainly for those fighting on the card and the thousands who planned to attend.
The main event is a women’s clash between Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade for the UFC strawweight championship and that is backed up by a couple of bouts that has kept those close to the game guessing in the build-up. The bill-topper will be a great fight but there doesn’t look to be an awful lot of betting value or room to get an angle in, so we look elsewhere for our fix.
Regular visitors to our site will know we have already covered the Jared Cannonier v Anderson Silva match-up in detail and have a bet there worth having. We now look to do the same with Jose Aldo v Alexander Volkanovski.
Pride of Brazil
Jose Aldo is one of the most talked about UFC fighters to make it out of Brazil over the years and that will ensure he enjoys a healthy following in the stands when this fight gets underway. The 32-year-old from Manaus has stayed loyal to his roots and fights out of the Nova Uniao team. He’s a black belt in BJJ and Luta Livre and carries a professional MMA record of 28 wins from 32 fights.
Of his victories, Scarface has won an incredible 17 times by knockout with the spares made up of 10 decision and one submission. He is an aggressively fearless warrior but one who is very well skilled in the arts of BJJ and wrestling and that has resulted in a fighter who has a global following and is instantly recognisable amongst followers of MMA. Of his four defeats to date, three have come by way of knockout, with one by submission.
The stats tell is the longer the one lasts the more chance Aldo has of winning as he has never suffered defeat on the judges’ scorecards. That’s worth remembering as it would take a big effort to better him by decision in Brazil. Keep that in mind when placing your method of victory punts. Jose by decision is sure to be popular amongst those looking to land a decent pay-out.
Back to Winning Ways
Aldo’s career suffered a major setback when he was scalped by Max Holloway on UFC 212 for the UFC featherweight title in Rio almost two years ago. The beaten man was stopped in the third round by punches but thought he could avenge the result by ordering a quick-fire rematch. That took place and despite Jose promising changes, to both his style and the result of the fight, it ended in a similar fashion. Holloway again took the TKO result in December 2017 when stopping his rival in the third round by punches on UFC 218.
It wasn’t exactly clear where Aldo would go from there and he’s still stuck on the road to recovery, but he did rhyme off a couple of decent wins to get himself back in the mix. That started with a devastating first round KO win over Jeremy Stephens in Canada last July – a performance of the night award winner. It served as the perfect way to get him back in the mix. That was followed by a KO win vs Renato Moicano in Brazil earlier this year, another win that earned him a performance of the night bonus in his pay packet.
Two knockout wins over two respected opponents, a couple of performance of the night awards and a shortcut back through the rankings. It’s little wonder Jose Aldo arrives in high spirits and he’ll start this one as favourite with the bookies, although it’s not as tight as we expected. Back the jolly at Unibet and they’ll give you 8/11. That looks like value to us. Another KO/TKO win can’t be easily overlooked at 2/1 with Bet365. That’s market best price and is also favourite in the method of victory pile. A decent investment if following the form.
Hard-Hitting Opponents
30-year-old Australian Alexander Volkanovki is a former kickboxer and wrestler who comes to us from the Freestyle Fighting Gym. Operating out of New South Wales, The Hulk is a former featherweight AFC champion and is currently ranked number four in the division by the UFC. He’ll be eager to build on that and the perfect way to do that is to dish out a convincing beating to Jose Aldo, proving the pair are on completely different career paths.
Alexander has won 19 of his first 20 professional MMA fights and the fact 11 of them came by way of knockout gets us excited about how this one might go. We have two gladiators with plenty of power in their attack and they aren’t shy about letting their attacks go. Let’s hope we get the all-or-nothing battle we’re hoping for from the first bell. Of his other wins, five have been by decision with three by submission. His one defeat was the result of a knockout loss.
The spare came way back in May 2013 on the AFC tour when a head kick and punches delivered by Corey Nelson put an end to his unbeaten record. It happened so early in his career, however, we are happy to write it off as experience and he certainly stands as a tougher fighter for it. Volkanovki was last seen stopping Chad Mendes on UFC 232 in December of last year in a fight of the night performance that had fans out of their seats early.
Value in Volkanovki
With a stunning run of form behind him, Volkanovki can’t be dismissed easily and he rates himself a man who should be beating Aldo if he wants to achieve his goals in the sport. He has won half of his last six by decision, with the other half being stoppages, so we don’t have a lot to go on there.
Volkanovki has been marked up as an 11/10 second favourite by Bet365 and that’s better than the even money you’ll find about him winning with most other firms. A KO/TKO result is 13/5 with Bet365 but our safe bet is this one not to go the distance. That’s 17/20 – top price with 888sport – and will do a job in your accumulators.