Valentina Shevchenko made the first defense of her flyweight championship just two months ago. But she suffered no damage and has long expressed her willingness to take a fight on limited notice. Shevchenko will be back in the octagon Saturday for her second defense against third-ranked Liz Carmouche in the main event of UFC Fight Night 156 in Montevideo, Uruguay. The 13-bout card takes place at Antel Arena features the main card starting at 8 p.m. ET. Shevchenko (17-3) is coming off a first-round knockout of Jessica Eye in June. She hopes to avenge a 2010 loss to Carmouche, who earned the title bid with consecutive victories over top-10 contenders. Shevchenko is a -1,200 favorite (risk $1,200 to win $100), while Carmouche is a +775 underdog (risk $100 to win $775) in the latest Shevchenko vs. Carmouche odds. In the co-main event, welterweight contenders collide when Vicente Luque (-230) takes on Mike Perry, who is getting +190 as the underdog in the Luque vs. Perry odds. Before you make any UFC Fight Night 156 picks of your own, check out the predictions from SportsLine MMA expert Kyle Marley.
Marley won the first-ever “ToutMaster” UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and is in contention to win this year’s contest. He also appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and DFS shows. Over the past year, $100 bettors who have followed Marley’s picks are up more than $21,000.
Last week at UFC on ESPN 5 in New Jersey, Marley accurately predicted that second-ranked welterweight contender Colby Colvington would defeat veteran Robbie Lawler by decision. Marley surmised that Covington’s relentless pressure and takedown efficiency would be the difference. Covington set a record for strikes thrown and won by a wide margin on all three scorecards.
Moreover, at the UFC 240 card in Edmonton, Marley called Max Holloway’s one-sided title defense against veteran Frankie Edgar. He told SportsLine members that Holloway’s advantages in speed and striking would be the difference in a unanimous-decision victory. That’s exactly what happened as the champion controlled the action from the opening horn and won all five rounds on two of the three judges’ scorecards. Anyone who followed Marley’s advice booked an easy winner, and those who have followed him throughout 2019 are way up.
Now, with UFC Fight Night 156 fast approaching, Marley has carefully studied every matchup on the 13-fight bill, identified the best value in the UFC odds and released his MMA picks for every single fight. He’s sharing those selections only over at SportsLine.
Marley knows that, despite being a significant favorite, this bout is important for the legacy of the Russia-born Shevchenko as she works toward entering the conversation as one of the top female UFC fighters of all time.
Shevchenko not only seeks a third match with Nunes, she hopes to receive the level of acclaim that is now being thrust upon the two-division champion. Shevchenko got the attention of MMA observers with her spectacular head-kick knockout of Jessica Eye in her first title defense two months ago.
Carmouche similarly hopes to make the most of her second UFC title shot and a recent career resurgence in which she has won four of her past five bouts. She lost by armbar to Ronda Rousey in a 2013 bantamweight title fight and went on to lose two of her next three fights.
But she has fought her way back up the rankings and is coming back-to-back decision wins against Jennifer Maia in July 2018 and Lucie Pudilova in February. Carmouche will be fighting for the second time in a calendar year for the first time since 2013.
We’ll reveal one of Marley’s UFC Fight Night 156 predictions here: He likes Volkan Oezdemir (-155) to get his hand raised against Ilir Latifi (+135) in a light heavyweight bout on the main card.
Oezdemir (15-4) was once seen as a fast-rising contender but has suffered three consecutive losses. His latest setback came by split decision to Dominick Reyes in March. The veteran Latifi (14-6) has won two of his past three but looks to rebound from a decision loss to Corey Anderson in December.
“Oezdemir is much more active on the feet, so a striking decision should still go to him based on skills and pace alone. I think he also has more knockout power as well,” Marley told SportsLine.
Marley also has strong picks for Shevchenko vs. Carmouche, Luque vs. Perry and every other bout on the UFC Fight Night 156 card.
Who wins Shevchenko vs. Carmouche and Luque vs. Perry? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on all 13 fights at UFC Fight Night 156 all from the incomparable expert who’s up more than $21,000 on MMA in the past year, and find out.
