April 21, 2018 Boxing and MMA Fight Odds and Predictions

Saturday, April 21st will be a loaded day for fight fans. That’s because both boxing and the UFC are having busy schedules for that day. In boxing, at least two world titles will be on the line on April 21 while in the UFC, rankings will be at stake.

Let’s take a look at who’s fighting who on April 21st:

Carl Frampton vs Nonito Donaire
12 Rounds, Interim WBO Featherweight title
Odds: Frampton: -600, Donaire: +400

Carl Frampton and Nonito Donaire square off for the interim WBO featherweight title at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

This East vs West battle is one of the more intriguing matches of the year with Frampton risking his ranking and reputation against an aging but dangerous former multiple time world champion in Donaire.

Frampton’s aggressive, come-forward style matches well with Donaire’s vaunted offensive attack. Both fighters have knockout power and aren’t shy to slug it out inside the boxing ring. If your looking for action, you came to the right fight.

Retiring The Flash

Frampton has won five of his last six bouts and has bounced back nicely from his loss to Leo Santa Cruz. However, the Jackal’s last four victories have been by decision and he’s not recorded a knockout since Chris Avalos in 2015. With this fight being held in front of his countrymen, expect Frampton to try and send Donaire to an early retirement.

Donaire has seen his better years pass him already but he isn’t about to call it quits. The Filipino Flash is coming off a win over little known Ruben Garcia Hernandez last September but he’s not produced a meaningful win since losing to Guillermo Rigondeaux in 2013.

Main Weapons

Frampton’s money punch is his right cross while Donaire’s main weapon is the left hook. Now this is where it becomes interesting. Donaire is a good two inches taller than Frampton and for the shorter fighter to land the right cross against a taller foe, he must be able to walk through his opponent’s punches. To do that though, Frampton has to taste Donaire’s vaunted left hook, his best punch, to be able to land his own best punch.

At 35, Donaire isn’t the same fighter who won BWAA 2012 Fighter of the Year. But that left hook is still there. It was the punch that ended Vic Darchinyan’s rule, the one that sent Jorge Arce out cold and the one that nearly dropped Nicholas Walters. If Frampton can take that punch, then the Jackal is going to win this fight easy. However, if Donaire’s punches hurt Frampton, this is going to be an interesting bout.

Negating Donaire’s Power

Frampton’s advantage though is that he’s been fighting at featherweight longer and maybe he can offset Donaire’s height advantage with being the naturally bigger fighter. And while Donaire may be durable to stand toe to toe with him, Frampton’s size will make him take Donaire’s power well. Once Donaire’s power is negated, age is going to be a factor.

This won’t be a easy fight for Frampton. In fact, it’s a dangerous one. But given his youth and his ability to fight in the later rounds, he should be able to withstand the challenge and beat Donaire in a hard, tough 12 rounder. The home crowd should help motivate him as this fight goes longer.

Gervonta Davis vs Jesus Cuellar
12 Rounds- WBA ( regular ) Super Featherweight title
Odds: Davis: -450, Cuellar: +350

Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis will face Jesus Cuellar for the vacant WBA ( regular ) super featherweight title at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Tank Davis held a similar super featherweight belt last year when he knocked out Jose Pedraza in 7 rounds for the IBF title last January 2017. But he lost the belt on the scales in his second title defense against Francisco Fonseca. Instead of moving up in weight, Davis decided to return and fight for another title in this division.

Jesus Cuellar is fighting for the first time since losing to Abner Mares in 2016. At 31, he is moving up in weight to face Davis. Given that he was a world champion with five successful title defenses at featherweight, the rough and tough Argentine should provide Davis all that he can handle.

Top Young Fighter

Tank Davis has moved up the ladder as one of the top young American fighters in the sport. He’s undefeated in 19 bouts and has won 18 of those by stoppage. He traveled to England to halt British super featherweight champion Liam Walsh in his first title defense in May 2017.

Jesus Cuellar won an interim featherweight title before winning the secondary WBA featherweight belt. His resume is impressive, with wins over the likes of Juan Manuel Lopez, Vic Darchinyan and Jonathan Oquendo. Cuellar is 28-2 with 21 KOs with his only lossed coming at the hands of Oscar Escandon And Mares.

Cuellar’s Ring Rust

The first factor to consider here is Davis’ activity and Cuellar’s ring rust. That’s because this is Davis sixth bout since 2016 and he fought three times last year. Meanwhile, Cuellar has only fought once since December 2015 and that was the loss to Mares. It will be interesting to see how taking too much time off is going to affect Cuellar’s rhythm.

We rarely see someone coming from such a long break, get back into the ring right away with a top caliber fighter because usually, these guys take a tune-up fight first. But Cuellar is going to the lion’s den right away and while you have to love his bravado, you’ve got to be worried about his conditioning.

Pressure Fighter

Davis is like a pitbull inside the ring. He pressures his opponents like a predator does his prey and he also has extremely powerful fists. His defense is often underestimated because of his one punch knockout power. But he does have good footwork and head movement that enables him to dart in and out very quickly.

Cuellar also has plenty of pop in his punches and he also possesses good hand speed. He’s stepped up his competition since coming to the United States and has shown that he can hold his own. He can be wild at times though with his haymakers and that makes him wide open to be countered.

UFC Fight Night 128
Edson Barboza vs Kevin Lee
5 round main event
Odds: Barboza: +110, Lee: -130

Edson Barboza faces Kevin Lee in the main event of UFC Fight Night 128 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City in New Jersey.

This will be the UFC’s first event in Atlantic City since 2014 and its first at the Boardwalk Hall since 2004.

The 7th ranked Lee was hoping to welcome Nate Diaz back to the UFC on this event. Instead, Lee gets a better assignment in the person of #4 Edson Barboza in what could be one of the most underrated main events of the year. With both fighters hoping to join the title picture at 155 pounds, this should be a slugfest between two exciting fighters.

Coming Off Losses

Edson Barboza is known as one of the best strikers in the history of the division, owing to his kickboxing background. 11 of his 19 MMA wins have come via stoppage. After he lost to Tony Ferguson in the TUF 22 Finale, Barboza beat Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez in consecutive bouts. However, the Brazilian is coming off a loss to newly crowned lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov last December.

Like Barboza, Lee is coming off a loss in his last fight. Lee lost to Tony Ferguson in an interim title bout last October. He’s won six of his last eight bouts and half of his 16 MMA wins have come via submission. Lee is hoping to return to the title picture with a win over a top five fighter.

Striker vs Submission Artist

Barboza is an active fighter and a volume striker. He is most dangerous in the stand up and can end the fight at any moment with his striking prowess. He also has excellent takedown defense and hasn’t been taken down in two of his three previous bouts.

Lee is also has a good striking game but he only uses it to set up his bread and butter ground game. As his record shows, he loves to take the fight to the ground and finish his opponents via submission.When he’s on the ground, he has good control and a million submission moves.

Going To The Ground

Barboza is the much bigger fighter here and he also has good takedown defense, with the exception of his fight against Khabib. If he prevents Kevin Lee from getting this fight to the ground, he has a great chance of winning this one. But Lee is simply aggressive with his takedowns and he’s more likely going to take this fight to the ground where he has the most advantage.

Lee has landed a takedown in each of his last six fights and this one shouldn’t be any different. Once he takes Barboza down, he takes away all his advantages and put him in unfamiliar waters. Just as Khabib pounded Barboza on the ground, so will Kevin Lee.

Frankie Edgar vs Cub Swanson
UFC Fight Night 128 co-main event
3 round featherweight bout
Odds: Edgar: -225, Swanson: +175

New Jersey’s own Frankie Edgar returns to action against Cub Swanson at the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 128 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Edgar is coming off the first knockout loss of his career when he was was halted by Brian Ortega at the recent UFC 222.

One of the most beloved fighters in the sport, Edgar was urged to retire by some people following the brutal KO at the hands of Ortega. But the Answer is set to give it one one more try, against a veteran who like him is looking for one last blaze of glory.

Extra Motivation

Like Edgar, Swanson’s last loss came at the hands of Ortega. However, his came via guillotine choke submission. Swanson has won 10 of his last 13 with all his losses during that period via submission. Interestingly, one of those three losses came at the hands of Frankie Edgar so that should be extra motivation here for Swanson.

It’s interesting why Frankie Edgar wanted to return right away after such a brutal defeat. It’s even more interesting why he chose to fight a dangerous opponent like Cub Swanson. But it is what it is and Frankie never backs down from any challenge, even if its from Cub Swanson.

Tough As Nails

Edgar is tough as nails. He has been a very consistent fighter throughout his career and has fought the best of the best. Edgar is likes to shoot for the takedown and dominate the fight with his grappling. Although he doesn’t have pure punching power, he has produced three knockouts in his last six fights.

If Edgar likes to be on the canvass, Swanson would prefer to fight on his feet. Known for his knockout power and accurate strikes, Swanson likes to slug it out with his opponents. But make no mistake, he can hold his own on the ground although he doesn’t have too many submission moves.

Fighting On The Ground

Egar won their first fight via fifth round submission via neck crank.. After that fight, Swanson has been submitted twice, both guillotine choke. So without further scouting report, you know that protecting his neck is a weakness. And look for Edgar to get hold of that neck.

With Edgar one of the most polished wrestlers in the division, you can expect him to duplicate his game plan in their first fight and that is to take Swanson down. If he does that, this is going to be his fight to win.