Yoel Romero and Ronaldo Souza are set to run things back at UFC on ESPN 3, April 27th in Fort Lauderdale. Originally Romero was scheduled to fight Paulo Costa, but has since been pulled from the card due to a suspected USADA violation. In their first fight back in December 2015, Yoel Romero opened as a +130 underdog, Ronaldo Souza being the favorite at -170. This time however the tables have turned and Romero is the betting favorite.
Romero (13-3) is returning from a huge fight of the year contender against Robert Whittaker at UFC 225, “The Solider of God” only losses at middleweight comes at the hands of Whittaker, he still looks impressive at 41, but we wonder how much left the former Cuban Olympian has left? In terms of strikes landed per minute Romero out-works Souza 3.28 to 2.61 on average according to UFCstats.com, both are equal with 63% striking defense.
Souza (26-6-1) is on a hit and miss record, stemming back from his past four fights, most recently he overcame Chris Weidman in a fight of the night peformance, by digging deep in the third round to win by KO. If Souza wants to utilize his excellent BJJ he will want to take the fight to the mat. On average Souza attempts more takedowns with 3 on average per 15 minutes with 41% accuracy compared to Romero’s 1.8 average with 32% accuracy.
UFC on ESPN 3 Betting Odds: Ronaldo Souza vs. Yoel Romero 2
- Ronaldo Souza: +170
- Yoel Romero: -200
Betting Insiders analysis sees 75% of the money going on Romero, if this trend continues expect there to be immense value in Souza as he becomes an even bigger underdog.
