Jon Jones is back and he's ready to defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. He'll do so in the main event of UFC 239 this Saturday, July 6, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
Thiago Santos is the light heavyweight title challenger at UFC 239. The Brazilian fighter has proven to be exceptional since moving up from the middleweight division and is more than deserving of the opportunity to stand toe-to-toe with an all-time great of the sport.
Elsewhere in UFC 239 betting, Amanda Nunes will be aiming to successfully defend her UFC women's bantamweight title for a fourth time when she takes on Holly Holm as a strong -380 favorite. Nunes is coming off a stunning opening-round knockout of Cris Cyborg at UFC 232 to win the UFC. Bet on UFC-Mma Odds and Props Bovada. Gambling should be entertaining. Remember that you always risk losing the money you bet, so do not spend more than you can afford to lose.
In the co-main event, Amanda Nunes will defend her UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship from former champion Holly Holm.
The card also features Jorge Masvidal vs. Ben Askren, Luke Rockhold vs. Jan Blachowicz, and Diego Sanchez vs. Michael Chiesa. More on those fights later.
For now, we'll share how to find the best odds for the UFC 239 main event before breaking it down and sharing our tips and picks for Jones vs. Santos.
Jon Jones vs. Thiago Santos – Odds | ||
---|---|---|
Fighter | Best Odds | Site |
Jon Jones | 1.15 | MyBookie |
Thiago Santos | 6.50 | BetOnline |
Mybookie has the best odds on Jon Jones by a wide margin. BetOnline‘s odds for Santos are reasonably generous, as well.
It's not surprising to see Jones listed as such as heavy favorite here in this main event. He's one of the greatest to have ever entered the UFC's Octagon and has just the one blemish on his record after 25 fights. Interestingly, the UFC is actively campaigning to have that disqualification loss removed from his record, as well.
Jones enters UFC 239 after big wins over Anthony Smith and Alexander Gustafsson. Although many considered Gustafsson as a major threat, Jones managed to stop him in the third round. However, in his most recent fight, Smith lasted the distance and Jones wasn't able to put him away in the 25 minutes. In some ways, it was a disappointing performance from the 1.13 betting favorite.
Santos' rise through the light heavyweight ranks follows the Anthony Smith pattern of sliding up from middleweight and tearing through the contenders at 205-pounds. Now, Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman are also making the move up to light heavyweight to follow suit.
In three fights at light heavyweight, Santos has defeated Eryk Anders, Jimi Manuwa, and now most recently, Jan Blachowicz.
Fight Breakdown
Let's approach this breakdown from the angle of what Thiago Santos needs to do to defeat Jon Jones. From there, we can assess Santos' chances of doing the unthinkable at UFC 239.
Jones is more than a few levels above most of the light heavyweight contenders today. He has a diverse collection of attacks from every limb. But arguably more important than any one technique is Jones' ability to understand what's happening inside the Octagon and adjust his tactics as the fight progresses.
One way to look at Jones' fighting intelligence is to consider when he has been on the verge of defeat. Alexander Gustafsson challenged Jones in a way that no others had when they first met many years ago. Gustafsson exposed the simple fact that Jones' boxing is a weak point of his overall mixed martial arts ability. He's an excellent wrestler and kickboxer, but at punching range, he was incredibly vulnerable.
However, Jones made adjustments on the fly and starting to unload more kicks to control the range. Whether it was his famous oblique kick to the thigh/knee or going up high with these thunderous kicks, he was able to keep Gustafsson away and remove himself from danger. From this point onward, Jones has developed his boxing to a level where it isn't so much of a vulnerability.
If Santos wants to defeat Jones, he's going to need to take away the ability for Jones to read the contest and adjust his gameplan. There's likely no better way than to overload Jones' mind during the contest than by coming out with the intention of pushing the pace and hunting for an early victory.
Some fighters freeze when they step inside the cage with Jon Jones. Anthony Smith did it in his last fight with the champion, despite repeatedly mentioning that he wouldn't. By stalling and waiting for the right moment, it allows the champion to settle into the fight and begin his process of picking his opponent apart. There's no one quite as dangerous as Jones in the middle-to-late rounds of a fight, so Santos needs to get to work early.
When considering who in the light heavyweight division has the techniques and ability to stun Jon Jones, Thiago Santos should be on that list. He's reasonably reckless, creative, and genuinely powerful, meaning that he does have the capability of catching Jones.
However, we view the probability of Santos actually catching Jones and finishing him as relatively low. For this reason, the value play here is to take Jones to win, despite the short odds.
Jones is a great straight-betting option here or is an excellent addition to any parlay/accumulator. For more betting advice, make sure to review our other UFC betting articles ahead of UFC 239.
UFC 239: Jon Jones vs. Thiago Santos
Saturday, July 6 – 11:00 pm (ET) / 3:00am (GMT)
Jon Jones vs. Thiago Santos – Best Bet | ||
---|---|---|
Bet | Best Odds | Site |
Jon Jones to win | 1.15 | Mybookie |
UFC fights are very popular to bet on. The build up for each fight and the edge that sharp bettors can find make UFC cards some of the most popular events to bet on for the casual bettor.
On this page I will outline the best online sportsbook for California residents, touch on the legality of sports betting in the state, look at the examples of the different bets you can make on a UFC fight, and provide 3 steps you can follow to get your UFC bets placed online quickly.
Best Sportsbook for California Residents
- Built for American bettors
- Wide variety of competitive betting lines
- Easy to navigate betting platform
Bovada is our top rated betting site for California residents looking to bet on the UFC. Bovada has served the United States betting market since 2012 and are committed to continuing to provide a safe and secure betting platform for bettors from across the USA.
Bovada is quick to offer fair lines for every UFC event early in the week. They also add several other bets such as total rounds and method of victory props closer to fight night.
Sports Betting in California
It's not currently legal to operate a sportsbook in the State of California.
That said, there is no law against California residents placing sports bets through offshore sportsbooks that are regulated and licensed outside of the USA. Bovada.lv falls into this category, as they are registered and licensed in the country of Antigua, and accept players from most US States, including California.
Check out our California sports betting section for a further breakdowns of the sports betting climate in the state.
UFC Betting Options
The most popular type of UFC wager is simply betting on which athlete will win the fight. Here's a look at the odds from the UFC 250 fight between Cody Garbrandt and Raphael Assuncao:
In this example, Garbrandt is the favorite to get the win. You would have to risk $155 on Cody Garbrandt to win $100.
Assuncao is the underdog at odds of +125. You would win $125 from a $100 bet on Raphael Assuncao to win.
As long as the fighter has his hand raised after the fight, whether it be by decision, knockout, submission, or DQ, the bet on that fighter is a winner.
There are also several prop bets you can make on a UFC event. Here's a few with quick descriptions:
- Total Rounds – An over/under bet on the length of the fight in rounds.
- Method Of Victory – A bet on which fighter will win PLUS how they will win. For example, you could bet on Garbrandt to win by knockout.
- Round Betting – A bet on which fighter will win PLUS which round they will win in. For example, you could bet on Garbrandt to win in round 2.
How To Bet On The UFC From California – 3 Step Guide
Follow these three steps to quickly and easily get your UFC bets placed online from California.
Step 1. Open a Bovada.lv Account
Click here to visit the Bovada website, and fill out the pop-up form on the home page to open your account.
Ufc 239 Odds
Bovada is the most popular online sportsbook serving the United States market, and our recommended betting site for California residents.
Step 2. Deposit
After logging in click on the ‘Deposit' button in the top right corner of the screen. Choose your preferred deposit method and complete the steps to complete your deposit.
Bovada accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Bitcoin deposits.
New sign ups receive a 50% matching bonus up to $250 on first deposits. You can claim this bonus under your 'My Rewards' page.
Step 3. Bet On The UFC
Head to the ‘Sports' section of the Bovada website and select ‘UFC/MMA' from the top menu bar (you may have to first select ‘All Sports'). The upcoming UFC fights should be shown at the top of the page, but to only show UFC betting lines you can also open the ‘UFC/MMA' drop down menu in the top navigation bar and select ‘UFC'.
From here you can select the fighter you want to bet on, enter your risk amount in the ‘Bet Slip' on the right sidebar, and select ‘Place Bets' to confirm your wagers.
Here's an example screenshot of the clicks you would take to bet $100 on Randa Markos at UFC 239 (the clicks are still the same):
Watch Ufc 239
If you're new to betting online I'd also suggest checking out our betting guide section for some other articles to help you get started.
How To Bet On Ufc 249
That's it. Ready to bet? Click here to visit Bovada.lv.
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