This Saturday night from the Forum in Los Angeles, California, Jon “Bones” Jones makes his much-anticipated return to the Octagon when he will rematch “The Mauler” Alexander Gustafsson for the undisputed light heavyweight championship of the world.

• Vegas Odds Ufc 242
• Vegas Odds Ufc 232 Ufc

UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 odds & betting lines. UFC/MMA odds comparison service. Compare the latest UFC/MMA fight odds and betting lines from the top online sportsbooks. Jon Jones vs Alexander Gustafsson Betting Odds - UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 - December 29, 2018 - Live betting lines, fighter and matchup stats. UFC March 4, 2021 Aleksandar Rakic Slams Prospect of Israel Adesanya Moving To Heavyweight. Concerns divisions will be held-up. Thinks middleweight needs interim-title. Labels champ’s path to glory ‘disrespectful’. UFC 232 Preliminary Card Fights (UFC Fight Pass) The following UFC 232 preliminary fights will begin at 6:30 PM ET and air on UFC Fight Pass. The UFC betting odds are courtesy of BetOnline: Brian Kelleher.

Wait, wasn’t UFC 232 supposed to be held in Las Vegas?

Vegas Odds Ufc 242

It was, but Jon has yet again “found a way” to shake up the MMA world.

He’s a fighter that is kept on a short leash and he’s still fighting this weekend so how bad could this metabolite be?

Tomorrow at noon “The Golden Snitch” returns! Tomorrow at noon @jeffnovitzkyufc is going to explain what the fuck is going on with @jonnybones recent drug test controversy. https://t.co/bncRB0ktX3

— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) December 27, 2018

Well, there you go. If Joe Rogan can’t get some answers on this topic, I’m not sure who can.

I’ve already heard Jeff Nowitzky’s entire schpeel on this, so I can save you the trouble of listening to an entire podcast just for a few sentences.

Jeff said that this metabolite is too small to even be administered. He also said Jon has been tested something like 9 times since he returned from suspension for this fight camp and everything has been clean.

UFC 232 was supposed to be in Vegas. Some people lost out on hotel reservations or tickets.

Vegas Odds Ufc 232 Ufc

Bummer I know, but the show must go on.

There is more to this world and the UFC than just the return of Jon Jones.

Almost sadly, the co-main event is the biggest women’s fight of all time. Normally, that’s something I would rave about but Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes have hardly got any press or hype for their 145lb title fight on Saturday.

Like her or not, Cris Cyborg has been the best women’s MMA fighter on the planet for about as long as women have been fighting mixed martial arts at the professional level.

Watch out for “The Lioness”, though! Amanda Nunes will be cutting minimal weight for this fight at 145, so we may see her at her strongest ever for a fight.

Just before these two ladies throw their bones at one other, the wiry rear naked choke artist Michael Chiesa makes his move to welterweight for a meeting with the wily “Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit.

I like Chiesa. I’ve trained with him many times but this won’t be easy against Carlos. Mike is making the massive leap of nearly 10% of his body weight from 155-170. He’s told me he walks around about 176 but I’ve known guys to cut from 190 down to the lightweight limit of 155.

Mike’s game is taking guys down, getting their back and sinking in the “mata leao” or lion kill as it is translated from Portuguese to English.

Will this be easier or harder at a weight class 15 pounders higher?

We have betting odds on the main card for you today as well as some ideas for parlays and even some interesting prop bets to spice things up.

Let’s dive in!

Chad Mendes vs Alexander Volkanovski

You guys are probably familiar with Chad “Money” Mendes. He gave Conor McGregor a heck of a fight on just a few days notice and was the proverbial gatekeeper for Featherweight king Jose Aldo for years prior.

He’s a pretty good athlete.

Chad’s opponent Volkanovski, on the other hand, I had to research. “The Hulk” looks like quite the worthy opponent for Mendes. Both are short stocky powerful men who don’t mind trading leather to fell their opponents.

The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt Volkanovski rolls into this weekend with an impressive fight record of 18-1 and 5-0 inside the UFC Octagon.

His most recent fight was the biggest of his career against the forever-game Darren Elkins where he was able to win a dominant 3-round decision.

Chad Mendes is a name we haven’t heard in a while, so some fans might begin to think his career has begun the downslope. Looking at his record tell us otherwise, though.

He lost to Jose Aldo twice and once to McGregor and Frankie Edgar, respectively. That’s it.

He TKO’d Myles Jury in July of this year in his first fight after consecutive losses in 2015 to Edgar and McGregor.

“The Hulk” Volkanovski is out of Australia and has done a lot of work at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand where many UFC stars still train.

I would be lying if I thought he wasn’t a dangerous fighter with power in both hands. I can’t give him the nod over Mendes, though, just based on his resume.

The tale of the tape lets us know that Mendes will have a 5.5-inch reach disadvantage. This could be the difference in the fight but Chad is used to having shorter arms than his opponents.

In his last fight with Jury, Chad gave up 7 inches of reach and still managed to crack “The Fury” with a left hook that dropped him and quickly led to a TKO.

There are some prop bets available where you can pick the round or the method of victory for either fighter, but we don’t know enough about “The Hulk” to make anything more than an educated guess.

Ilir Latifi vs Corey Anderson

In our next fight, we have a very dominant wrestler in Corey Anderson taking on the vicious striker from Sweden, Ilir Latifi.

“The Sledgehammer” can really swing ‘em. Ilir has the power to knock out any man, woman, or child on the planet. In his most previous performance, Latifi hurt the highly durable Ovince St Preux on the feet and finished the fight with a standing guillotine.

This submission is even more impressive considering the shorter man by 6 inches was the guy securing the neck for the win. Try a standing guillotine on someone half a foot taller and tell me how that works out for you.

Corey is a bit stiff in his striking. He has improved since his time on The Ultimate Fighter show but stands tall and punches down. That plays directly into the hands, literally, of Latifi, who will be much faster and loops them over the top.

Anderson will, no doubt, want to take this fight down to the ground as soon as he can. I just don’t think he will be able to take down Latifi more than once, if at all. Ilir holds that lower center of gravity advantage and if Corey reaches his arms out too far and/or low, it’s night-night for the man from Rockton, Illinois.

Corey has been TKO’d before by 3 fighters that don’t possess the level of power Latifi does. This one could go to a decision and there’s always the chance Latifi snatches another neck, but I think Latifi hurts and finishes him with punches in either round 1 or 2.

The betting odds on a 1st round win for “The Sledgehammer” are pretty nice (+330). I also like the 2nd round win for Latifi payout of 5-1.

Maybe throw him onto a potential parlay to win at (-143) and 10 or 20 bucks on the first round Latifi win (+330).

Michael Chiesa vs Carlos Condit

I touched on this one a bit earlier and it’s a very interesting matchup. Chiesa is making a big jump up in weight but his first test at 170 won’t be against a powerhouse wrestler or a totally jacked knockout artist.

“The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit may not be “totally jacked” but he is a knock out artist who has been fighting for many many moons as the old heads would say.

The past few years haven’t been ideal for Carlos as he has lost 4 in a row and 7 of his last 9 fights, albeit against very high-level competition. His last 3 losses, in particular, were all against long guys with good submissions.

Michael Chiesa, if you didn’t know, is a long fighter with good submissions. “Maverick” isn’t as big of a guy as those three previous opponents, though, and may not be able to take Carlos down. If that’s the case, it’s going to be a long night for the man from Spokane.

Looking at Mike’s resume, I’m not that impressed. He gets a lot of press but has lost two in a row and his biggest win inside the Octagon is Beniel Dariush. Dariush is a solid fighter, but not the level of a striker as Condit.

Conversely, Carlos has been in there with multiple world champions including Georges St Pierre, Nick Diaz, and current welterweight king Tyron Woodley.

If Condit’s recent losses were knockouts because his chin is gone and Chiesa was a power striker, I would be a little more worried. Mike will be stronger at 170 but Condit has defended takedowns from larger men with similar wrestling prowess.

I like the underdog in this one.

Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino vs Amanda Nunes

This is the biggest women’s fight ever!

Cyborg is the #1 women’s MMA fighter of all-time and Amanda could potentially become another UFC champ-champ of 135 and 145 which would put her in the argument as the greatest of all-time (GOAT) of women’s MMA.

Both women have left a trail of bodies in their wake the past several years in the UFC. Both of these incredible martial artists are in dire need of a challenge.

They have both admitted that and admitted that they each have respect for one another. It isn’t often a Brazilian fighter calls out another Brazilian but Amanda did it respectfully and Cris is happy to oblige.

Both women stand tall at 5’8” with Amanda Nunes holding a slight reach advantage in the arms and legs. I don’t know how much weight “The Lioness” has been cutting to make 135 but she isn’t small.

The effectiveness of the jab of each fighter may be minimized if Nunes stays southpaw and Cyborg keeps her left foot in front as the lead attacks from each fighter are muted when in opposite stances.

Amanda will have to rely on her straight left hand which has been a useful weapon for her in her career. Cris likes to keep the range a little closer so that she can throw more hooks and enter into the Thai clinch as she pleases.

145 is still a hard weight cut for Cyborg and featherweight will, of course, be an easier than normal cut for Nunes.

Amanda has a bit bigger frame and Cris has more lean muscle mass. Couple that fact with Cyborg’s always difficult weight cut and the fresher Amanda could be a major problem in the championship rounds.

This is a tough fight to call.

It is almost 2019, though, so…

When in doubt, ask a video game.

I like Cyborg to find a way to win as she has done her entire career, but not without a major test from potentially her toughest opponent to date.

Amanda Nunes has been TKO’s three different times in her career. If you can’t survive a barrage from Cat Zingano or Alexis Davis, surviving a Cyborg attack is not likely.

Jon Jones vs Alexander Gustafsson

Finally!

We have been waiting long enough!

5 freaking years is too long for a rematch that was so close the first time around.

Or was it that close?

I just re-watched the fight from 2013 and I had to drown out Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg’s commentary which was clearly in favor of the challenger.

The commentators were so shocked by someone just being able to land shots on Jones, that they rode the Gus bandwagon the entire fight. Jones made the same point in an interview. He is expected to dominate so when he doesn’t, it seems like he’s losing.

He wasn’t losing, though. Jon was the aggressor for nearly the entire 25 minutes. He landed double-digit elbows and double-digit head kicks while his opponent was content to continue boxing.

If Gus were wearing a pedometer, it would likely show he traveled several more miles than Jones in their 5 round fight. Gus landed a couple clean punches to the head but they arguably didn’t have much sting on them, at least for the light heavyweight division.

It’s very hard to move backward for most of the fight and win. To do that like say Carlos Condit vs Nick Diaz, you have to at the very least land more significant strikes. FYI, Jon out-landed Gus in sig strikes in every round.

Do we really need any more convincing of the dominance of Jonny “Bones” Jones?

Betting on a finish of either fighter is quite the stretch considering many of Jon’s finishes are by submission and he had a hard time taking Gus down in their first meeting, so that’s not likely.

Jones has only been threatened with a finish once in his career when he toughed out an armbar attempt by “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort. He put himself in that submission by doing the can opener grip on the back of the Brazilian’s head. I don’t think he will make the same mistake twice.

Alright, what does EA Sports say?

They agree with me. Jon was the better fighter 5 years ago and I believe he will prove better on Saturday night in LA.

In Conclusion

I really like Ilir Latifi this weekend as my best bet.

If you’re thinking parlay, throw Chad Mendes on there too and maybe even “Bones” Jones.

If you did a parlay with these three guys it would pay out at nearly 3-1.

The prop bets on MyBookie are another option for you if you’re thinking high risk-high reward. There’s nothing wrong with that, that is as long as you have it in the bank.

As much as I’m looking forward to Jon and Gus doing their thing once more after a 5-year break, I really hope Cris and Amanda will be the fight of the night. I am not super confident in Cyborg being able to stop Nunes.

This will be the toughest fight of each of their careers, at least on paper. Hopefully, they can steal the show on Saturday night.

Get your bets in early, tune in, and turn up this weekend for UFC 232 after Bama puts away the Sooners Saturday night.