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UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till
UFC 228 takes place on Saturday, September 8, 2018 at the American Airlines Arena Center in Dallas, Texas. The main card airs live on pay-per-view starting 10 p.m. ET following the FS1 prelims.
Two title fights top UFC 228, a card that also features some of the best girls in the sport. Welterweight kingpin Tyron Woodley will finally return to defend his title against kickboxer Darren Till in a classic wrestler vs. striker matchup. Till has been the hottest 170-pounder in 2018, and now the brash Brit tests himself against the best.
Valentina Shevchenko was tabbed as a future 125-pound champ as soon as the UFC created the weight class. But current champion Nicco Montano has had a litany of minor injuries that kept her from competing. Of course, that devolved into accusations of ducking, but Montano is finally healthy and ready to throw down.
Jessica Andrade vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz is pretty much a title eliminator. KK has the distinction of being the last fighter to be current champ Rose Namajunas, while there are a lot of fans that think Andrade would bulldoze against the champ. Without any context, I’m always down to watch Andrade bomb and piledrive away.
Let’s not leave out the guys either: a featherweight matchup between Yair Rodriguez and Zabit Magomedsharipov is so hot right now. Both dudes fight like they’re living in the matrix, throwing high-flying kicks and spinning sh*t with reckless abandon. It’s a fight that Zabit has been asking for, and after some drama with Dana White, Yair is in for the win. This could be one of the most electrifying matchups of the year.
Who else? John Dodson takes on Jimmie Rivera in a contest with high bantamweight stakes. Rivera is somebody whose been knocking on the door to a title shot, but a quick loss to Marlon Moraes ended a 20-fight winning streak, along with the hopes of challenging for the strap any time soon.
Take a look at some of the fights below, and log into the sportsbook to see the lines for every fight on the card. Make sure to check in during fight week for in-depth betting previews. We’ve got UFC odds from BookMaker.eu if they’ve been released.
UFC 228 Lineup (Subject to Change)
Welterweight title fight - Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till
Preview: Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley (18-3, 6 KOs, 5 SUBs) will defend his title against undefeated Darren Till (17-0, 10 KOs, 2 SUBs) at UFC 228 on Saturday, September 8, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The main card airs live at 10pm ET following the FS1 prelims. It’s been over a year since we’ve seen Tyron Woodley in action. After putting up an all-time stinker of a title defense against Demian Maia, it’s doubtful that a lot of people are hyped on his return. Even if it comes against an undefeated Muay Thai punisher in Darren Till. More
Women’s flyweight title fight - Nicco Montano vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Preview: Women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano (4-2, 2 KOs) will defend her title against Valentina Shevchenko (15-3, 4 KOs, 7 SUBs) at UFC 228 on Saturday, September 8, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The main card airs live at 10pm ET following the FS1 prelims. Ever since the women’s flyweight division was formed, people expected Valentina Shevchenko to one day become its champion. The only problem for “Bullet” was that the title was awarded to the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 26, Nicco Montano. She may be the inaugural champ, but against a world-class fighter like Valentina it really doesn’t mean much. More
Women’s strawweight - Jessica Andrade vs. Karolina Kowalkieiwicz
Preview: Women’s strawweight contenders Jessica Andrade (18-6, 5 KOs, 7 SUBs) and Karolina Kowalkiewicz (12-2, 1 KO, 2 SUBs) will meet at UFC 228 on Saturday, September 8, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The main card airs live at 10pm ET following the FS1 prelims. Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz both earned title shots at then-champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and both were thoroughly dominated. But now that the Polish kickboxer is no longer champion (thanks to Rose Namajunas), the division is wide open for these contenders. In fact, their main card matchup this Saturday can be viewed as title eliminator. More
Featherweight - Brandon Davis vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov
Preview: Zabit Magomedsharipov is a huge favorite over Brandon Davis in one of five main event bouts at UFC 228 on Saturday in Dallas, Texas. It was supposed to be Yair Rodriguez taking on Magomedsharipov in this bout, but Rodriguez was replaced due to injury. Davis is 9-4 in his career, while Magomedsharipov is 15-1 in his career. There are a total of five fights on the main pay-per-view card at UFC 228, with the headliner a bout between Tyron Woodley and Darren Till. There are also a total of nine fights on the preliminary card with four on FX and five on UFC Fight Pass. Let’s look at the bout between Davis and Magomedsharipov and UFC predictions. More
Bantamweight - Aljamain Sterling vs. Cody Stamann
Preview: Aljamain Sterling is a small favorite over Cody Stamann at UFC 228 on Saturday in Dallas, Texas. This event is one of four on the FX portion of the preliminary card. Sterling is 15-3 in his career, while Stamann is 17-1 in his career. There are a total of five fights on the main pay-per-view card at UFC 228, with the headliner a bout between Tyron Woodley and Darren Till. There are also a total of nine fights on the preliminary card with four on FX and five on UFC Fight Pass. Let’s look at the bout between Sterling and Stamann and UFC picks. More
Women’s strawweight - Carla Esparza vs. Tatiana Suarez
Preview: Tatiana Suarez is a big favorite over Carla Esparza at UFC 228 on Saturday in Dallas, Texas. This event is one of four on the FX portion of the preliminary card. Esparza is 13-5 in her career, while Suarez is 6-0 in her career. There are a total of five fights on the main pay-per-view card at UFC 228, with the headliner a bout between Tyron Woodley and Darren Till. There are also a total of nine fights on the preliminary card with four on FX and five on UFC Fight Pass. Let’s look at the bout between Esparza and Suarez and UFC picks. More
Bantamweight - Jimmie Rivera vs. John Dodson
Flyweight - Ryan Benoit vs. Roberto Sanchez
Middleweight - Charles Byrd vs. Darren Stewart
Preview: Charles Byrd is favored over Darren Stewart at UFC 228 on Saturday in Dallas, Texas. This event is one of four on the FX portion of the preliminary card. Byrd is 10-4 in his career, while Stewart is 8-3 in his career. There are a total of five fights on the main pay-per-view card at UFC 228, with the headliner a bout between Tyron Woodley and Darren Till. There are also a total of nine fights on the preliminary card with four on FX and five on UFC Fight Pass. Let’s look at the bout between Byrd and Stewart and UFC predictions. More
Welterweight - Geoff Neal vs. Frank Camacho
What to Watch For
Opening lines for Montano-Shevchenko are kinda hilarious. Montano is as much as a +360 underdog, with Shevchenko a -550 favorite. Championship fights aren’t supposed to be so lopsided, but the flyweight division is still so new and Montano is so unproven that we can’t say that we’re surprised. Considering that Shevchenko came within a hair of winning the bantamweight title, of course we’d expect her to beat Nicco Montano into a pulp.
Who do you want to see Rose Namajunas face next? If it’s Andrade, expect the champ to be an underdog. “Bate Estaca” is a physical savage that’s bulldozed every strawweight opponent except Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and it’s fair to question how a lankier fighter like Rose would handle her savagery. Kowalkiewicz would be the underdog, but it’s definitely a winnable fight. We’re getting ahead of ourselves here, especially since this is such a great matchup to begin with.
Tatiana Suarez dominated Alexa Grasso in her last outing, showing exactly why people think she’s a future champion. Ain’t nobody in that division can wrestle like Suarez, but she’ll be tested by another wrestling-based fighter in former champion Carla Esparza. While Esparza’s title reign was brought to a violent end before it even began, she’s quietly fought her way back into contention.
Stay Tuned for Fight Odds and Updates
Make sure to check the fight odds at BookMaker.eu for all your available betting options. For pay-per-view cards, odds usually release early for the bigger fights. In fact, you can bet on some fight odds right now. Odds for the entire card are generally available on Monday of fight week.
And during fight week, keep an eye out for our in-depth betting guides that we post during that time as well! You’ll find detailed analyses for fights, common sense betting picks and underdog specials to help you win some cash before the night’s over.
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