What betting splits, DFS advice tell us about Villanueva vs. Wright at UFC Fight Night

A UFC newcomer steps in as a last-minute replacement, but also a favorite, at light heavyweight when Ike Villanueva takes on Jordan Wright at UFC Fight Night on ESPN+ this Saturday live in Las Vegas.

Villanueva is 16-10 in the UFC, and was scheduled to fight Jorge Gonzalez last weekend before the bout was scrapped. In his only UFC bout so far he was TKO’d in the second round in May by Chase Sherman, landing only 16 significant strikes in that fight, but taking 51 before the stoppage. “Hurricane Ike” won his last four in the Fury FC promotion before moving to the UFC, and trains with team Xtreme Couture in Houston.

The short-notice nature might be why Wright weighed in at just 200 lbs., five short of the 205 limit of light heavyweight. He is officially undefeated in his UFC career at 10-0, but lost in 40 seconds to Anthony Hernandez at Dana White’s Contender Series. However that fight was later overturned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission as Hernandez tested positive for marijuana.

All 10 of Wright’s wins are by stoppage (five KO’s, five submissions), with nine of them coming in the first round. The 28-year-old fights out of Los Angeles.

Here are the betting odds and bet splits at DraftKings Sportsbook for Ike Villanueva vs. Jordan Wright at UFC Fight Night from Las Vegas on August 22nd.

Betting splits

Ike Villanueva: +104 (66% of action, 51% of bets)
Jordan Wright: -129 (34% of action, 49% of bets)

Here are the DraftKings DFS salaries for Ike Villanueva vs. Jordan Wright tonight:

DraftKings DFS Salaries

Ike Villanueva: $8,200
Jordan Wright: $7,900

Wright’s impressive record here might be a bit of a mirage, as he’s not really fought much in promotions of note beyond two wins in the Legacy Fighting Alliance. His string of first round stoppages looks great on a record, but his getting ended early at DWCS against a good-not-great fighter is a concern.

The stats might be a bit overvalued by bettors here, but Villanueva hasn’t shown much either, so this is a stayaway from us.

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