Leonardo Santos and Roman Bogatov square off at lightweight tonight Abu Dhabi on “Fight Island.” One of the most interesting fights on the UFC 251 card, it features a 40-year-old fighter who is undefeated in the UFC fighting a 29-year-old Russian who is undefeated in MMA.
Santos is 17-4-1, with a 6-0-1 mark in the UFC. The four-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Cup Champion began fighting in MMA regularly in 2006, and moved to the UFC in 2013. He’s has 12 career stoppages, and as a BJJ practitioner he wants to fight on the ground. With only 2.4 strikes per minute landed in his UFC fights, he averages 1.10 takedowns per 15 minutes while defending 86% of shots.
Bogatov is 29 and undefeated in MMA at 10-0, mostly on the M-1 Global circuit, where he was their lightweight champion. He’s got six stoppages from nine graded fights, five of them are submission, and this video shows highlights of his career. He signed with the UFC in November of last year due to the partnership arrangement between Dana White and M-1 Global that champions can sign with the bigger organization.
Here are the betting splits at DraftKings Sportsbook for Leonardo Santos vs. Roman Bogatov at UFC 251 on July 11th:
Betting splits
Leonardo Santos: Opened -190, now -167 (58% of action, 62% of bets)
Roman Bogatov: Opened +150, now +137 (42% of action, 38% of bets)
Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ/WV/PA) or 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN) or 1-800-522-4700 (NH/CO). NH/NJ/WV/IN/PA/CO only. 21+ (18+ NH). Eligibility Restrictions Apply. See website for details.