Name: Hunter Azure
Opponent: Brad Katona
Odds: +140 (bet $100 to win $140)
The odds are swayed for a very obvious and public reason here – we have an Ultimate Fighter champion coming back for his fourth UFC fight up against a guy making his debut. On paper, it has all the makings of the type of fight to get the TUF champ back in the win column and in the public’s eye. However, skill set wise, it reads much more like his most recent loss.
In his last fight, Brad Katona was taken down five times by Merab Dvalishvili en route to a clear cut unanimous decision loss. Even if you want to excuse that with Dvalishvili’s grappling credentials, you can take a step back and find another instance. In the bout before that, Katona was ripped to the ground another four times by Matthew Lopez. When you combine these two with his TUF Finale victory, his takedown defended percentage comes out to a scary 43%.
Hunter Azure may not be a household name, but he does have a collegiate wrestling background. He wrestled for Montana-Northern, which is a NAIA wrestling program. While we shouldn’t assume he can get Katona down on credentials alone, we have his Contender Series fight to bank on. Not only did he look good in his wrestling there, but his recent move to Fight Ready to train with the killer wrestlers there should make it even better.
Record: 8-20
Earnings (based on $100 bet/event): $-700
Return on Investment: -25%
2018 Record: 18-19 (+26%)
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