The third, and almost certainly, final fight between Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson main events a card in Sao Paulo, Brazil Saturday. Hendo took the first bout back in 2006 when both fighters were in Pride, while Belfort scored a quick and decisive knockout in the second fight in 2013.
Both of these grizzled veterans are in their twilight years with Henderson being the oldest fighter in the UFC (45) and Belfort not that far behind (38). Both of these fighters’ careers took a rapid decline after their TRT regimens became illegal with Hendo posting a 2-5 record in his past seven fights and Belfort looking like a shell of his former self in his last fight.
Neither of these fighters are likely to go the five rounds, given their age and recent endurance issues. Henderson is currently a +300 betting underdog at Sportsbook as he has lost several fights in recent memory and will be in Belfort's home country of Brazil.
Co-Main Event: Glover Texeira vs Patrick Cummins
Despite the relatively small age gap, Glover Texeira and Patrick Cummins are at two different parts of their careers. Texeira has always just been on the fringe of the light heavyweight title picture, with his one shot at the belt seeing him get convincingly beaten by Jon Jones. The Brazilian also has 27 professional fights in his career, with two of his four losses coming in his past three fights.
Cummins, on the other hand, has only 10 career fights with a 3-2 record in the UFC. Cummins only career losses have come as a last minute replacement against Daniel Cormier and against fellow wrestling specialist Ovince Saint Preux.
This is the classic fight of a wrestler (Cummins) vs a striker (Texeira), with whoever can implement their gameplan likely winning. Texeira's notoriety has him as the huge -440 betting favorite at Sportsbook.
The Rest of The Main Card
Thomas Almeida has a perfect 19-0 record with 15 of those victories coming via T/KO, and keep in mind he is only 24 years old. He will be facing submission specialist Anthony Birchak who is 12-2 in his career and 1-1 since joining the UFC. Almeida is currently a -440 betting favorite.
Polish Piotr Hallmann has flashed a versatile skillset in his career with seven victories coming by T/KO or submission, but has lost his past two fights. Heavy-handed Alex Oliveira will be looking to extend his win streak to three. Oliveria is currently a -200 betting favorite.
Gilbert Burns and Rashid Magomedov have a combined MMA record of 28-1 with the one loss coming back in 2010. The lightweight division in the UFC is stacked and the Sportsbook of this could see a big jump in fighter calibre in their next contest. The undefeated Magomedov is currently a -160 betting favorite.
Fabio Maldonado has made a respectable career out of being a gatekeeper in the light heavyweight division, with a relatively green Corey Anderson presenting the next opportunity for ‘Caipira De Aco’ to shutdown another promising prospect. Anderson is a massive -515 betting favorite.