Two of the most fearsome Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) knockout artists will do battle once again this Saturday evening (June 9, 2018) when the promotion’s Middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker, collides with Yoel Romero in UFC 225’s main event from inside United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Down at Welterweight, former Lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos faces Colby Covington for the interim title, while Holly Holm welcomes Invicta FC Featherweight champ Megan Anderson to the Octagon one fight prior.

UFC pay-per-view (PPV) events are always a burden on the wallet, but let’s see if we can’t lessen the blow!

What Went Wrong at UFC Fight Night 131?

Nothing ... besides New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) pulling Jessica Aguilar out of an extremely winnable fight because of “chapped lips.”

UFC 225 Odds For The Undercard:

Curtis Blaydes (-175) vs. Alistair Overeem (+155)
Claudia Gadelha (-550) vs. Carla Esparza (+425)
Mirsad Bektic (-230) vs. Ricardo Lamas (+190)
Rashad Coulter (-175) vs. Chris De La Rocha (+155)
Anthony Smith (-330) vs. Rashad Evans (+270)
Joseph Benavidez (-250) vs. Sergio Pettis (+210)
Charles Oliveira (-160) vs. Clay Guida (+140)
Dan Ige (-135) vs. Mike Santiago (+115)

Thoughts: Putting Alistair Overeem on the undercard was dumb, but making him the underdog against Curtis Blaydes more than makes up for it. Look, I’ve been on the Blaydes Train since the beginning. I picked him to beat Francis Ngannou and I have proof. I get that he’s good, but his striking hasn’t developed the way it should and taking down Overeem is a monumental task. While I’d ordinarily be hesitant to pick a guy coming off a devastating knockout loss, I think Overeem’s used to them by now. The sheer amount of time they’ll spend in the clinch has me leaning toward the guy whose clinch is a borderline war crime.

UFC 225 Odds For The Main Card:

Robert Whittaker (-240) vs. Yoel Romero (+200)
Colby Covington (-115) vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (-105)
Holly Holm (-235) vs. Megan Anderson (+195)
Tai Tuivasa (-270) vs. Andrei Arlovski (+230)
Mike Jackson (-230) vs. CM Punk (+190)

Thoughts: Rafael dos Anjos is s beast and he’s going to smash Colby Covington’s face. That assessment isn’t even driven by antipathy toward Covington, although he does do a bang-up job of generating it. Dos Anjos is by far the best striker Covington has fought in UFC and has both the wrestling and the cardio to enforce his will for all five rounds. Covington’s record is iffy outside of Demian Maia, for whom he was a stylistic nightmare, and dos Anjos is going to punish him with low kicks and body shots all night.

UFC 225 Best Bets:

• Single bet -- Alistair Overeem: Bet $80 to make $124
• Single bet -- Rafael Dos Anjos: Bet $105 to make $100

UFC 225 features two title fights, the debut of a champion from another organization (the aforementioned Anderson), and a boatload of near-guaranteed finishes. That’s good enough for me! See you Saturday, Maniacs.