Diego Lopes vs. Gavin Tucker Betting Analysis and Prediction
The UFC is back in Nashville again with a great night of fights set to take place. The next UFC fight to look at will be this main card bout between featherweights Diego Lopes and Gavin Tucker.
Read more for the betting analysis, and the official Lopes vs Tucker prediction ahead of making your UFC picks on this weekend’s betting slate.
Diego Lopes vs Gavin Tucker
Location of the fight: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN.
Date and Time: Saturday, August 05. 9:00 PM ET main card start.
How to Watch: ESPN+
Lopes is coming off a very impressive short-notice performance against a highly-ranked Movsar Evloev in his UFC debut in May, even though it resulted in a decision loss.
Tucker is looking to bounce back from a disappointed 0:22 KO loss to Dan Ige way back in 2021.
Lopes is a very exciting Brazilian fighter with a professional record of 21-6 with 8 KOs and 11 submissions under his belt. He proved a lot and earned a lot of respect from his peers with how he showed up to fight Evloev earlier this year on short notice.
He shows a lot of submission skills, and he’s very comfortable off of his back. There isn’t a single position that Tucker can get Lopes in where Tucker won’t be in danger. The ability to bite down on the mouthpiece and exchange combinations is also very impressive for the 28-year-old Brazilian.
Tucker is an interesting fighter, and his career has been full of ups and downs. With an impressive 13-2 professional record with ten finishes, he is already 37 years old and has had multiple two-year layoffs in the UFC.
He has a good wrestling attack with an average of 2.98 takedowns per 15 minutes in the UFC. His inactivity is a major concern going up against someone as explosive and game as Diego Lopes.
No injuries have been reported to the UFC.
Before getting to the Lopes vs Tucker prediction, let’s take a look at the available UFC odds for this bout.
Lopes is coming in as the -175 betting favorite in his sophomore bout against the +150 Tucker. The over/under is set at 2.5 rounds. Also, this fight is +110 to go the distance, with Tucker being +350 to get a finish and Lopes at +135 to do the same.
In a technical breakdown of this fight, Lopes is the more dangerous fighter. He has power in his hands and a very slick style of BJJ off of his back when the fight goes to the canvas. Tucker is more of a traditional wrestler.
Lopes held his own against an elite grappler like Evloev, so this might feel like a step down in competition for the young prospect. Tucker has only been in real competition four times in the last six years.
UFC picks are very difficult to make, so the best advice for this bout is to keep it simple.
- The official Lopes vs Tucker prediction is that Lopes will get his hand raised on Saturday night in front of a rowdy Nashville crowd.
You could take Lopes to get the finish, but it’s possible he wins a decision due to some wrestling from Tucker spending time in control throughout the fight. But Lopes will do the most damage and get the nod on the scorecards if it goes there.
Lopes also might start fast and steamroll Tucker, who isn’t going to be ready for that kind of pace. You could make a fun pick of Lopes to win in the first round at +275. He is the kind of athlete that is not a good matchup for an inactive, older man like Tucker.
Tucker has been way too inconsistent in the UFC to bet in his favor this weekend. Lopes has to have tons of confidence after all the respect he earned after getting Evloev in danger multiple times in his debut.
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