Top sportsbooks favor Walt Harris to beat Alistair Overeem at the titular match of the event produced by Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on May 16, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States.
Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris Money Line
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Alistair Overeem | +130 |
| Walt Harris | -160 |
Betting Alistair Overeem
The Demolition Man is the underdog heading into the match, according to the best online sportsbooks. Overeem enters the bout with a 45-18 record. He has won 51% of his fights by knockout. Overeem has split his last eight fights. Overeem averages 3.54 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy of 62%. He is averaging 1.39 takedowns with an accuracy of 53%. Overeem is coming off a frustrating December loss to Jairzinho Rozenstruik. He was in complete control but then he got KTFO at the last minute out of nowhere. Well, not so much out of nowhere, really. As a matter of fact, he’s now been knocked out in three of his last five fights. At 39 going on 40, Overeem is fierce on his feet, with powerful combinations in his hands and nasty knees.
Thanks to his kickboxing background, Overeem has very educated feet, as good ol’ J.R. would say. He is also an accomplished grappler and has eight career wins via the guillotine choke. Unfortunately, he has the proverbial glass jaw; he’s been sent to dream street via KO in 14 of his 18 losses. Overeem had never gone to five rounds prior to the Jairzinho bout. Either he finishes early, or is finished early. This will be Overeem’s second career fight in Florida.
Like Alexander Hernandez, Overeem claims he has already had and recovered from COVID-19. Yeah, right. The only thing he has had is too many shots to the head. All things considered, all Harris needs to overcome Overeem is an above-average IQ.
Betting Walt Harris
The Vault enters the fight favored by top sportsbooks. The Big Ticket has a 13-7 record. All of his wins have been by KO, technical or otherwise. The Skull Crusher has won three of his last four fights. It should be four in a row, but his win over Andrei Arlovski in December 2018 was overturned after Harris tested positive for LGD-4033.
He is coming off a July win over Aleksei Oleinik. Harris averages 2.96 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy of 38%. He is averaging 0.35 takedowns with an accuracy of 33%. Harris hasn’t lost since UFC 217. He is coming off a two first-round-knockout, performance-of-the-night wins. Harris is an athletic, explosive striker. Harris is fearsome standing up and likes to get his work done in the early rounds. If a fighter can withstand Harris’s opening flurry, he will have a good shot at wearing him down and walking away with the victory. This will be Harris’ fourth career fight in Florida.
Our Pick:
It makes me feel dirty to even bring this up, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it. Harris’s stepdaughter went missing in October. Later that month, her body was discovered, and her murderer was caught and charged. As a result of these tragic circumstances, Saturday will be the first time Harris has been in the Octagon since July. All of which is to say that he has a wealth of raw emotional material from which to draw. As well as a very powerful extra motivation to get the win. If he has to dig deep, well, he may dig deeper than anyone we have seen recently. Now, if you, as a user of top sportsbooks, have no qualms using this knowledge to place a wager, that’s on you. No judgment here.
