UFC Contender Series Odds: Hyder Amil-Emrah Sonmez prediction
Contender Series Week 2: Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. George Hardwick continues with a fight in the featherweight division between Hyder Amil and Emrah Sonmez. Amir is an undefeated prospect coming into this fight winning all seven of his professional bouts meanwhile, Sonmez is coming off three consecutive wins. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Amil-Sonmez prediction and pick.
Hyder Amil (7-0) is an undefeated prospect training out of Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu in Northern California and being coached by former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and UFC lightweight Gilbert Melendez. Amil is looking to put his perfect record on the line to get a UFC contract when he takes on Great Britain's Emra Sonmez on this week's episode of the Contender Series.
Emrah Sonmez (14-4) is a former Cage Warriors alumni and is riding a three-fight winning streak into the biggest fight and opportunity of his career. Of his 14 victories, 11 of them have come inside the distance which bodes well for him as he takes on the undefeated prospect in Hyder Amil for his chance at a UFC contract.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
Contender Series Week 2 Odds: Hyder Amil-Emrah Sonmez Odds
Hyder Amil: -190
Emrah Sonmez: +148
How to Watch Hyder Amil vs. Emrah Sonmez
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET/ 4:00 p.m. PT
Why Hyder Amil Will Win
Hyder Amil is an undefeated prospect fighting out of Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu training with high-level fighters like Nate Diaz, Kron Gracie and he has former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez in his corner training him. He also has had some good experience on the regional scene fighting most of his time for Bellator and LFA. Most recently, Amil knocked out Chase Gibson after having to fight through adversity which is what you want to see from fighters who are coming to make an appearance on the Contender Series.
He does his best work on the feet with crisp combinations, forward pressure, and great movement. His speed and power will be on full display when he takes on the taller and longer Emrah Sonmez who will be looking to take Amil down to the mat. While Amil has gotten taken down in previous fights, he has been able to work his way back to the feet and be defensively sound in scrambles on the mat. If Amil can use his defensive grappling and scrambles to keep this fight standing then he can really put a hurting on Sonmez and potentially put him away late in this fight.
Why Emrah Sonmez Will Win
Emrah Sonmez is a product of Great Britain Top Team which has produced UFC fighters like Brad Pickett, Nathaniel Wood, and Marc Diakiese. Sonmez has spent most of his time fighting for Cage Warriors one of the most respected organizations in the United Kingdom. He fought against a ton of inferior opposition until he was about 7-1 as a professional as it looked like the Britain fighting was padding his resume.
His level of competition then increased from that point on and has recently fought some decent competition while winning three in a row coming into his Contender Series fight. Sonmez does his best work in grappling with heavy top control and ground and pound. While he isn't a bad striker by any stretch as he has eight wins by knockout or TKO but in this matchup his easiest path to victory would be to take Amil down and dominate him there. If he is able to avoid the big shots from Amil and get this fight to the mat, he has a good chance of scoring the upset and getting a contract with the UFC.
Final Hyder Amil-Emrah Sonmez Prediction & Pick
This should be a high-paced scrap between the Californian and Britain. Amil is so fast and diverse with his striking on the feet that even the taller and longer fighter in Sonmez is going to be hard for him to get his timing down. Sonmez will need to get this fight to the mat and the earlier the better as Amil can crack on the feet. It will be up to Amil to utilize his movement to keep this fight at his preferred range to counter Sonmez as he attempts to pressure forward to time a takedown. Ultimately, this fight will be close in the early going until Amil starts to touch up Sonmez on the feet and that is when we will see Sonmez start to shoot to get this fight to the mat. From there Amil will either defend the takedowns or get back to his feet and punish Sonmez and finish him before the final bell.
Final Hyder Amil-Emrah Sonmez Prediction & Pick: Hyder Amil (-190)
