UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Gastelum betting preview

The UFC’s Fight Night series heads to Monterrey, Mexico for its 78th installment, headlined by a welterweight battle between Neil Magny and Kelvin Gastelum in the TUF Latin America 2 Finale. We breakdown that matchup as well as another exciting bout on this card with their current MMA Fight Odds:

Neil Magny (+220) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (-285)
Gasteslum was originally schedule to take on Matt Brown, however, Brown withdrew due to an ankle injury, leaving the UFC to replace him with Magny on short notice. He’s used the element of surprise in his last fight, winning a decision against Erick Silva – a fight he also took on late notice. Magny has only one loss in his last nine bouts but hasn’t had much time off between cards, fighting twice in August and now jumping on this card thanks to the Brown injury. This will be his 10th fight in the last 21 months, so ring rust won’t be an issue, and he’s had a close-up look at Gastelum’s striking when he was in Nate Marquardt’s corner back in June.

Gastelum won that matchup with Marquardt, via a corner stoppage TKO in the second round. He’s also offed veterans in Jake Ellenberger and Rick Story, so he’s fought beyond his experience at welterweight. He’s a heavy-handed hitter who doesn’t mind standing and trading against opponents, relying on quantity over quality. Gastelum is at a disadvantage in terms of size and reach, standing 5-foot-9 to Magny’s 6-foot-3 frame and giving up nearly nine inches in reach. He will need to close the gap and unload on the bigger opponent if he wants to live up to these odds.

Ricardo Lamas (-500) vs. Diego Sanchez (+400)
Lamas has been in the cage with the very best in the featherweight division but hasn’t been able to get over the hump against next-level competition. He followed a loss against Jose Aldo for the featherweight title with back-to-back wins, then stumbled again versus Chad Mendes in his last outing – a first-round KO loss. Lamas must be careful against a dangerous striker and will be best served keeping this fight on the mat.

Sanchez is a live dog based on his striking power and Lamas’ recent KO loss. He’s suffered five losses in his last nine bouts, but is coming off a controversial decision victory over Ross Pearson in which media members scored the fight opposite of the judges. That bout was in June 2014 and since then, Sanchez has undergone surgery to repair a collarbone injury. Ring rust could be an issue for Sanzhez, but with the way his fights have been judged and the fact that he’s from New Mexico, he should have a home-field advantage Saturday.