Kevin Lee v Al Iaquinta Betting Tips & Predictions -


Betting Tips

Kevin Lee v Al Iaquinta Betting Tips & Predictions

Let’s check out some Kevin Lee v Al Iaquinta betting tips. The show moves onto the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as we get the latest instalment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship thriller. It’s time for Kevin Lee and Al Iaquinta settle an old score in the headline bout of UFC on Fox 31 15 December.

The arena will be packed to see the outcome of this one and those choosing to follow the results from the comfort of their own home can do so thanks to Fox Sports. Sadly, this show will bring an end to the network’s long-running association with MMA as it turns over to ESPN in the new year for what promises to be a brave new dawn. Before that happens, everyone at Fox, and those involved in the fights, will aim to put on a show.

As well as Kevin Lee v Al Iaquinta at lightweight there’s also plenty of evenly matches contests to sort through. The main card is made up of Edson Barboza v Dan Hooker at lightweight; Rob Font v Sergio Pettis bantamweight; Jim Miller v Charles Oliviera lightweight; Bobby Green v Drakkar Klose lightweight; Gerald Meerschaert v Jack Hermansson middleweight; Jared Gordon v Joaquim Silva lightweight; Dan Ige v Jordan Griffin featherweight; Jessica Rose-Clark v Andrea Lee women’s flyweight; Chris de la Rocha v Juan Adams heavyweight; Adam Milstead v Mike Rodriguez light heavyweight and Trevor Smith v Zak Cummings middleweight.

Lots of ways to bet

So, as you can see from the list, there’s a busy night to get through. Bookmakers ensure punters have been included in the thrill by offering betting odds on the night’s most popular bouts. There’s lots of ways to gamble your stake money, including predicting who will win each contest.

Picking each victor won’t make you rich on its own; however, it is possible to throw a few predictions together in an accumulator and aim for a bigger pay-out. If you are a bit more of a risk-taker and value your opinions on MMA strongly, you could play the method of victory market where traders ask you to not only pick the outright winner, but also call how they will succeed, choosing between decision, KO/TKO or submission.

A tougher task, no doubt; however, the returns are much higher, allowing you to keep your stakes low. Small stakes for big winnings, that’s what sports betting is all about and is what we aim for when running our expert eye over fight of the night.

Lee targets another big win

26-year-old MMA fighter, Kevin Lee, joins us from his Las Vegas base where he fights out of the Xtreme Couture team. The Grand Rapids born scrapper is a 5ft 9inch orthodox who boasts a background spent winning honours in NCAA Division II Wrestling.

Since switching to MMA in 2012, he has amassed a professional record of 17 wins from his first 20 starts. On closer inspection you will see he has claimed only two of those victories by knockout; eight have come by way of submission and seven on a judges’ decision. Of his three losses he has a perfect split, one knockout, one submission and one decision.

The most recent of his negative results came in his penultimate start when suffering a submission loss to Tony Ferguson that was the result of a triangle choke in Las Vegas on UFC 216. This was a result that knocked his career off-track after coming on the back of a five-fight winning run; however,  Lee was able to fire himself back into contention with a win last time.

Back on the bike

Kevin got back on the bike with a convincing TKO stoppage win over Edson Barboza last time out on UFC Fight Night Atlantic City when headlining the card. The bout had to take place at a 157lbs catchweight after the eventual winner failed to make the agreed weight limit in April; it definitely took the shine off the final result.

Regardless, he was back winning and bookies expect him to gain the desired result again here. When pricing a Kevin Lee victory up, they have him as a hot favourite with no more than Bet365’s 1/3 available. That may catch the eye of accumulator backers but it’s far too short to back as a single, unless you have the big money needed to steam in.

The short odds pushes us towards a bet on the method of victory market; so, if you are confident the jolly will live up to expectations it’s well worth predicting how he will do it. That’s where the form comes in and we’re glad to help. Lee’s last four wins have given us three submission results and we are more than happy to stick with that. Our top tip here is back Kevin to win by submission, it’ll give you a shot at a better price than taking the bare result.

Ragin’ Al hot on an upset

Al Iaquinta may be a rank outsider to win this fight; however, followers of UFC know all too well that nothing can be taken for granted in this sport. Upsets happen on a regular basis. Combat sports rarely follow the thinking of traders as it’s not like any other sports where the form plays a huge part. A split-second lapse in concentration or a big shot out the blue can turn things upside down; it matters not if the man under attack has been picked by the bookies, that won’t keep him upright in a crisis.

Ragin Al was involved in a classic last time out when losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov. Lovers of Conor McGregor will be first to admit there’s absolutely no shame in that result. Iaquinta was beaten by the Russian on a unanimous decision and lasting the distance is an achievement in itself. With the vacant lightweight title on the line, the beaten man failed to make weight, so could not have grabbed the belt if he had won.

Al Iaquinta to bounce back

That loss ended a five-fight winning run for Al Iaquinta and he’ll be eager to bounce back to form as soon as possible. This is a winnable fight and that makes the 12/5 available at Bet365 on an upset well worth our attention. We wouldn’t put anyone off a play at interest stakes if that was their preferred approach.

Being able to see the end in his last fight would’ve injected real confidence into the underdog and he will surely take some stopping here. He’s a proud warrior who knows only too well that another loss would have a serious impact on his career, knocking him way down the pecking order for major honours in 2019.

Win and he’ll throw himself right back into contention; we wouldn’t be surprised to see him challenge for the world title again in the near future. That’s dependent on him scoring here and doing so in fine style. There’s sure to be bits and pieces of attention coming for Al Iaquinta to pull off a famous upset and hurt the bookies.

Regardless of who you choose to carry your stake money, this will be a cracking fight with entertainment guaranteed from the first buzzer.

Our Tip: Kevin Lee to win – 1/3 at Bet365