UFC Fight Night 114 Betting: Pettis vs Moreno
The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its fourth stop in Mexico this weekend with Fight Night 114 headlined by Brandon Moreno and Sergio Pettis at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico.
After a huge night last weekend with UFC 214, Fight Night 114 may seem a little flat by comparison, but we can look at this card as a preview of the future with a potential flyweight challenger emerging from the main event this weekend. Whereas UFC 214 settled things in two divisions, Fight Night 114 may turn out to be the starting point for an unsettling of things in another division.
Best Betting Sites for UFC Fight Night 114
Brandon Moreno and Sergio Pettis are both rising stars in the 125-lbs division. An emphatic win on Saturday night will give one of these men a strong case for having earned a shot at challenging Demetrious Johnson or Ray Borg for the flyweight title.
Demetrious Johnson has held that title since 2012 and has defended it perfectly ever since with 10 consecutive successful title defenses (tied with Anderson Silva for the longest championship run in UFC history). Johnson and Borg will fight for the title on 9 September, but either way the winner this weekend will be right in the mix for the next title shot.
Whoever gets that shot will have a tall order in taking that belt from the long-reigning champion, should Johnson defeat Borg as expected. The thing to watch for this weekend is a big win in the headliner so we can get our hopes up for an exciting title fight between a dangerous contender and the long-reigning king of the division.
The full Fight Night 114 card features a dozen bouts and the card is stacked with local talent. Four of the six fights on the Main Card feature a Mexican fighter while four of the six prelims do as well. Mexico has a long history of producing hard-nosed fighters and it is great to see mixed martial arts grow in that market.
We’re already starting to see some very tough fighters come from Mexico and that always bodes well for an action-packed card even if it does come up short on star power. Now let’s look at the full card and then preview the event from a perspective of betting on MMA.
Full Fight Night 114 Card
Main Card
- Sergio Pettis vs. Brandon Moreno (flyweight)
- Randa Markos vs. Alexa Grasso (strawweight)
- Alan Jouban vs. Niko Price (welterweight)
- Martin Bravo vs. Humberto Bandenay (featherweight)
- Sam Alvey vs. Rashad Evans (middleweight)
- Alejandro Perez vs. Andre Soukhamthath (bantamweight)
Prelims
- Bradley Scott vs. Jack Hermansson (middleweight)
- Dustin Ortiz vs. Hector Sandoval (flyweight)
- Henry Briones vs. Rani Yahya (bantamweight)
- Jose Quinonez vs. Diego Rivas (bantamweight)
Early Prelims
- Joseph Morales vs. Roberto Sanchez (flyweight)
- Alvaro Herrera vs. Jordan Rinaldi (lightweight)
Fight Night 114 Betting Odds
Online bookmakers have published Fight Night 114 odds and most are taking wagers on all six of the Main Event fights. The early odds are relatively even across the board with the exception of just one fight. This is always an encouraging sign as it portends exciting fights, opportunities to get in on mispriced fighters or both.
Sergio Pettis vs. Brandon Moreno Preview
Sergio Pettis and Brandon Moreno are both coming up in the flyweight division as potential title challengers. Sergio Pettis (15-2) is riding a three-fight win streak and is 6-2 in the UFC overall. As the brother of former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, Sergio has a big advantage in having a close confidante who knows all about winning at the highest level in mixed martial arts.
After losing to Ryan Benoit via TKO at UFC 185 in 2015, Sergio Pettis has rattled off three straight victories over Chris Cariaso in October of 2015, Chris Kelades in April of 2016 and John Moraga in January of this year. He won all three fights via decision, which is somewhat underwhelming, but Pettis has shown improvements in both his standup and wrestling games over that stretch.
Pettis has used his leg kicks to great effect in recent bouts and is scoring takedowns at a higher rate than before, showing an improved all-around game.
The biggest knock against Pettis compared to Moreno is that Pettis hasn’t finished a fight since 2013; his last six victories have all come by way of unanimous decision. Likewise, the two losses on his record were both early stoppages. Ryan Benoit finished Pettis with a TKO in 2015 and Alex Caceres beat him via rear naked choke in 2014.
Brandon Moreno (14-3) is riding an 11-fight win streak which includes three straight in the UFC. Since joining the UFC in 2016, Moreno beat Louis Smolka via submission, Ryan Benoit via split decision and Dustin Ortiz via submission.
Over his last eleven wins, Moreno has finished seven of his opponents via submission and one via TKO. The finishing rate shows a very strong ground game to go along with Moreno’s effective takedowns.
When we look at Moreno’s finishing rate and overall dominance in MMA fighting over the course of his current five-year win streak, Moreno looks to have the edge in this matchup. Combine that with Moreno fighting on home territory in front of a friendly crowd and we have all the ingredients necessary for another Moreno win.
At odds of 7/10 at UK betting sites, I like everything about taking Moreno in this matchup. He has a deadly submission game and the takedown ability to mitigate Pettis’ striking and earn his 12th straight victory.
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Wes Burns has more than a decade’s worth of experience as a writer, researcher, and analyst in the legal online betting industry and is co-founder of OnlineBettingSites.com. Wes approaches his work from the viewpoint of players.
