Pedro Munhoz will be looking to avoid suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in his professional MMA career when he takes on fellow bantamweight Frankie Edgar on Saturday in a main event matchup as the -265 favourite on the UFC odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Munhoz is coming off a 14-month layoff since his last outing, a three-round unanimous decision loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 238 that dumped his pro MMA record to 18-4 with one no-contest going into Saturday night’s bout at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
Munhoz’s loss to Sterling as a +130 underdog snapped a three-fight win streak that featured impressive first-round victories over Bryan Caraway and former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt. Two of Munhoz’s three recent wins came by knockout, including his victory over Garbrandt, which paid out on +150 odds at sports betting sites and earned him a Fight of the Night bonus. However, Munhoz has a well-earned reputation as a tap-out specialist, with nine of his 18 career wins coming by submission.
Edgar has a lot to prove as he prepares for his bantamweight debut as a +205 underdog on Saturday’s UFC odds. “The Answer” is coming off a first-round TKO loss to the Korean Zombie in a featherweight clash at UFC Fight Night 165, marking his third defeat in his past four outings.
The 38-year-old American also went down in the first round while pegged as a +160 underdog in his date with featherweight Brian Ortega at UFC 222. However, Edgar went a full five rounds against Max Holloway in a bid for the UFC featherweight crown at UFC 240 before suffering a unanimous decision loss as a +250 wager.
Elsewhere on the board, two light heavyweights coming off recent defeats clash as Alonzo Menifield battles Ovince Saint Preux as -135 chalk. Menifield is coming off his first-ever defeat as a pro, a three-round unanimous decision loss to Devin Clark as a -230 favourite at UFC 250. The loss ended a 9-0 start to his career, with seven of those victories coming by first-round KO or TKO.
Saint Preux’s recent struggles continued last time out with a three-round split decision loss in his heavyweight debut at UFC Fight Night 171. The 37-year-old has come up short in four of six outings, but finished opponents by submission in four of his past five wins — including each of his past two victories.
In Saturday’s other light heavyweight contest, Mike Rodriguez battles Marcin Prachnio as a -240 favourite, while Daniel Rodrguez is -190 chalk in his date with fellow welterweight Takashi Sato.
[relatedlinks]