UFC 284: Three Best Moneyline Bets

Shane Young (13-6) vs. Blake Bilder (7-0-1)

Returning after nearly two years away from the cage, Young looks to halt his two-fight losing streak and kick this card off with a win for the Oceanic fighters.

Young has a very crafty striking game that he can implement from any range, but does his best work from distance. He has a long and rangy combination style.

Kicks are a big part of his game, but he also likes to get dirty with the elbows in the clinch. He trains out of the same gym as many of the top fighters from New Zealand, City Kickboxing.

I can’t recall the last time I’ve seen him in such phenomenal shape and I think the lay off has reignited the passion for him, which should bring us a great performance this weekend.

Click here to read my UFC 284 main event pick.

Blake Bilder

Bilder pulled off an upset as a +180 underdog on the Contender Series this past season to earn his contract in the UFC. He comes in as the former CFFC featherweight champion, one of the best feeder promotions to the UFC.

Starting a little late in MMA by taking his first professional fight at 28, Bilder has put together a solid run to get noticed by the UFC and get signed within seven fights.

He is a solid wrestler who likes to ground his opponents and look for the finish. The weakest part of his game is his striking. We’ve seen him hurt on a number of occasions, but he’s been able to battle back and still get his hand raised. That gets harder to do as you take steps up in competition, though.

Take the Juice

A part of me wants to continue backing Bilder after he cashed as an unpopular dog on the Contender Series, but I think the step up in competition will be difficult for him to adjust to.

Not to mention, fighting in hostile territory for the first time in his career and in front of a crowd this big will likely be detrimental to Bilder’s confidence.

Add in the ruthless striking style of a highly motivated Young and this spells disaster for Bilder. Young may get taken down early, but I believe in his get up game and, ability to stuff further takedowns. This will allow him to open up with his striking and eventually get the finish.

The Pick: Shane Young -135

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Jack Jenkins (10-2) vs Don Shainis (12-4)

On a card full of chalky favorites, I think Jenkins is the best of them. Fresh off of a dominant contract-winning performance on the Contender Series, Jenkins makes his UFC debut this weekend in front of his home country.

Jenkins is a jack-of-all-trades, but he shines most when he gets his wrestling going, so he can dominate his opponents from on top.

He has heavy top pressure and great instincts in regards to posturing up and raining down powerful shots, not allowing his opponent enough space or time to work back to their feet. His striking game is sharp, throwing crisp combinations with speed.

To tie it all together, he has a limitless gas tank that allows him to remain efficient through a full three rounds if need be.

Click here to read Trent Conner’s best UFC 284 prop picks.

Don Shainis

Shainis is looking to right the ship after a short-notice debut blunder where Sodiq Yusuff disposed of him within 30 seconds.

With a plethora of solid regional experience and titles in two different promotions, I still think Shainis only has a low level ceiling in the UFC.

He likes to use a similar grinding style Jenkins and his striking game mainly consists of low leg kicks to eventually set up a takedown. He has hit some good reversals and sweeps when he’s found himself on his back, but I don’t think it will work against higher level opponents.

Dominance for Jenkins

Whatever Shainis is good at, Jenkins is just that much better and the odds clearly indicate that. Although Jenkins doesn’t have as much experience against decent opponents as Shainis has, I think it was just the lack of opportunities available of Jenkins to accrue that experience.

I think we see Jenkins dominate over the course of 15 minutes with either a late finish or lop-sided scorecards from the judges.

The Pick: Jack Jenkins -345

Yair Rodriguez (14-3) vs Josh Emmett (18-2)

Not many expected to see Rodriguez in a title fight, but circumstances have worked out perfectly for him to get a chance at the interim title here as the undisputed champion looks to capture another belt in the main event.

He’s known for his flashy striking style and a developing wrestling game. Fighters have been able to out-strike him by constantly keeping him on his back foot, enduring the early explosions, and eventually taking advantage of a spent version of him.

Korean Zombie was one second away from picking up a five-round decision victory over him, but that’s when Rodriguez delivered one of the craziest knockouts of all time. Regardless, there are still holes in his game that people can take advantage of.

Josh Emmett

Emmett is the darkest of horses in MMA, quietly putting together a five-fight winning streak.

He is fresh off of a main event victory over Calvin Kattar back in June where the judges scored his more impactful strikes over the volume of Kattar. That will be a very important aspect of his game especially in this fight.

He originally came from a wrestling background, but has managed to turn his explosive striking style into a big positive. Normally when wrestlers take on a striking approach, they are one and done. One big shot every now and then. If they can’t get the knockout they either slow down and get finished or just lose a decision from the lack of output.

However, Emmett has found a way to keep his cardio in check while throwing multiple strikes in combinations, all with power. No matter if his opponent is able to get off more strikes than him, when he hits people, the judges take notice.

A Tricky Fight

This is a tricky fight because Rodriguez has the ability to dance around the cage for the first half of this fight and out-land Emmett.

As I laid out in Emmett’s background, the damage he can land on opponents looks very good in the judges’ eyes. I think Emmett will struggle in the early goings of this fight to land on Rodriguez, but, as we get into deeper waters, Emmett will land more often and that could change the tide of the fight.

If Emmett’s durability holds up, because he will be eating a good amount of damage in the early portions of this fight, he will be able to pull away later in this fight to get his hand raised either by knockout or a close decision.

The Pick: Josh Emmett +155

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UFC 284: Three Best Moneyline Bets