UFC 290: Bo Nickal vs. Val Woodburn Betting Analysis
Opening up the main card of UFC 290 during International Fight Week will be arguably UFC’s most exciting prospect Bo Nickal taking on UFC debutant Val Woodburn on short notice.
Woodburn took this fight a few days ago due to Nickal’s original opponent, Tresean Gore, dropping out of the fight because of a wrist injury.
Read further for the official Nickal vs Woodburn betting analysis and prediction ahead of making your picks this weekend.
Bo Nickal vs Val Woodburn
Location of the game: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV.
Date and Time: Saturday, July 8. 10:00 pm ET.
How to Watch: ESPN+
Nickal is coming off a dominant win in his UFC debut over Jamie Pickett last year.
Woodburn is making his UFC debut, but his last bout was a title win last August in a regional promotion.
If you don’t know who Bo Nickal is, this will be a brief rundown of his combat sports career. He wrestled at Penn State, where he won three Big-Ten titles and three National Championships at 184 lbs. and 197 lbs. He also went on to win the 2019 freestyle National Championship and 2019 World Championships at 92 kg in Budapest.
His MMA career has been very brief so far, with only being in the sport for about a year and some change, but he has a record of 4-0, with all four wins being finishes. Three of the fights have lasted not much longer than a minute.
Woodburn is a pretty much unknown fighter out of Florida who fights in honor of the country of Jamaica, showing lots of pride in his roots. He is currently 7-0 professionally with 5 TKO/KO finishes under his belt.
At the age of 29, Woodburn stands in at 5’8” and has a very impressive physique that seems to pack a lot of power and strength in his short frame. The short legs and strength might be the challenge that Bo Nickal needs to slow down his onslaught.
No injuries have been reported to the UFC.
Woodburn is taking this UFC debut fight on less than a week’s notice.
The Nickal vs Woodburn betting odds are historic. Bo Nickal is officially the largest betting favorite in UFC history, with a moneyline of -2500 when the lines opened. Now some sportsbooks have him as high as -3000. Woodburn comes in as the modest +1100 underdog.
UFC odds like this make this bout basically impossible to bet on in an intelligent way. A pick in the clear favorite’s favor isn’t good because there is literally zero value in that pick. If you pick Woodburn, it seems like you’re throwing away money and trying to win the lottery.
The craziest line available right now has to be the over 1.5 rounds at +335. If another professional fighter lasts 7.5 minutes with a 4-0 prospect, it’s a +335 win for you. This might be on of the best UFC predictions for this one-sided matchup.
With the unknown being so massive for both guys, especially Woodburn making his debut, it’s tough to imagine letting a line be this crazy.
On the technical side of this bout, it’s clear to see who the better athlete is by watching tape of past fights. Nickal has explosiveness that is tough to see out of literally anyone else in the UFC. The way he wrestles just looks different than most.
Woodburn is a big, strong dude that looks like he uses his physical attributes to win his fights against lower competition. Unfortunately for him, he will need more than that to beat Bo Nickal.
- The official Nickal vs Woodburn betting prediction is that Bo Nickal wins this fight with a finish.
The Nickal ML isn’t playable, so we are going with the over 1.5 rounds at +335. If Woodburn can start fast and try to keep Nickal aware of any threat coming his way, he might be able to buy some time.
The ridiculous +1100 line on Woodburn is potentially justifiable to make a play on, just in case something crazy happens. We have literally seen fights end in 15 seconds due to injury–hopefully, no one gets hurt, but there’s a lot of money in a Woodburn pick as well.
UFC events like this one are what make the sport so great and betting on it so much fun. Bet responsibly for all of International Fight Week, and enjoy it.
If you love sports and want more sports betting information@InsidersBetDigfree betting picks.
