A Showdown Between Fan-Favorite Heavyweights is set for this Weekend’s UFC Fight Night 185 Main Event

The UFC is set to host its third event in as many weeks at the Apex Center in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday. The card, while not exactly star-studded, is headlined by what should be an absolute banger of a heavyweight fight between Curtis Blaydes and fan-favorite Derrick Lewis.

UFC Fight Night 185 Event Details

• Event: UFC Vegas 19
• Day: Saturday, February 20th, 2021
• Time: Prelims (4:30 pm ET), Main Card (8:00 pm ET)
• Venue: UFC Apex
• Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

All odds listed are per BetOnline Sportsbook.

UFC Vegas 19 Main Event Analysis: Curtis Blaydes (-450) vs Derrick Lewis (+330)

A heavyweight tilt between two power-punchers will be must-watch TV on Saturday night but the oddsmakers seem to think it will be a one-sided affair. It’s hard to argue against them as the #2 ranked fighter in the UFC’s heavyweight division has lost just twice in his professional career, both to current title challenger Francis Ngannou. With a 14-2 (1 NC) record to his name, it’s hard to imagine him losing again on his way to a UFC title shot.

With that being said, “The Black Beast” has been on a solid win streak of his own as he’s gotten his hand raised in three straight bouts. This will be the longest odds Derrick Lewis will have entering a fight since he challenged Daniel Cormier for the heavyweight strap in 2018 where he closed as the +365 underdog.

UFC Vegas 19 Best Bet: Curtis Blaydes via Decision (+340)

Curtis Blaydes has finished his opponents inside the distance in ten of his fourteen professional victories and Derrick Lewis has never made it to the judges scorecards in a five-round fight so why should you bet on this fight to go the distance? Well “Razor” Blaydes has told us something that fighters rarely do before entering the cage; he told us exactly what his game plan is.

Blaydes certainly has the power and ability to put away his opponents, but his base skill set and what he’s most effective at is wrestling. Now that he’s made a name for himself within the promotion and seems to be on his way to a title shot, he has no plans to risk losing by getting in a standup war with the likes of Derrick Lewis. He recently told Ariel Helwani of ESPN exactly that.

Curtis Blaydes makes no secret of his gameplan and motivation 💯 #UFCVegas19

(via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/bsY6ByDIAC

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 17, 2021

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone as Blaydes implemented this exact same strategy in his last fight when he defeated Alexander Volkav via decision by out-wrestling him on the mat for the full 25-minute affair. Unless Derrick Lewis’ cardio gives in and he effectively gives up, expect this fight to be decided by the judges scorecards.

Ketlen Vieira (-290) vs Yana Kunitskaya (+225)

Ketlen Vieira will look to continue her journey to what seems like an inevitable title shot in the women’s bantamweight division when she takes on Yana Kunitskaya in the co-main event. Vieira, who’s only loss in her professional career came in 2019 to Irene Aldana, is seemingly just a win or two away from a meeting with the current champion Amanda Nunes. This is the shortest odds Vieira has had in her UFC career.

Yana Kunitskaya will try to play spoiler on Saturday night as the #7 ranked fighter in the women’s bantamweight division enters the bout with a 3-1 record over her last four fights. After losing to Aspen Ladd via TKO in 2019, she got back on track with a win over Julija Stoliarenko in August of last year. This will be just the second time in her UFC career that she’ll enter the octagon as the betting underdog but she’s 0-2 in that spot in the previous two instances.

Best Bet: Ketlen Vieira via Decision (-110)

Vieira seems to be the obvious play in this spot but you can get quite a bit better odds if you bet on her to win via judges scorecards. Four of her five wins inside the octagon have come via decision while Kunitskaya has gone to decision in three of her five bouts with the promotion. Vierira should have no problem fighting a risk-free fight and -110 odds for her to win the fight in her usual fashion is too good to pass up.

Charles Rosa (-190) vs Darrick Minner (+155)

Charles Rosa has eight fights inside the UFC octagon but has yet to win (or lose) more than two fights in a row since signing with the promotion. He hopes to break his win-one-lose-one streak when he takes on fellow featherweight Derrick Minner.

Minner, who will be competing for the third time inside the UFC, is 1-1 with the promotion entering this main card tilt. Minner was an underdog in both of his UFC bouts including winning as a +290 dog in his latest fight against TJ Laramie.

Best Bet: Fight to end via Submission (-140)

BetOnline Sportsbook offers an interesting option in which you can bet on how a fight will be decided regardless of who gets their hand raised. This sneaky little bet might just be the lock of the night as these two fighters are submission specialists.

Eight of Charles Rosa’s thirteen wins as a professional fighter have come via submission while an astounding twenty-two of Minner’s twenty-five wins have been finished the same way. On top of Minner’s twenty-two submission victories he also has eight submission losses on his record while Rosa has yet to tap in his professional career.

Expect these two fighters to hit the mat and not stand up until someone calls “uncle”.