6 UFC fighters that you should be keeping your eye on in the next 12 months
Since its first fight in the early 90s, the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) has offered mixed martial arts (MMA) fights, and has been the leading league in the sport. The organization’s following had been growing rapidly before the pandemic put a pause to sports events. Now that international travel is opening back up and we are seeing more fights being booked, we’ve seen the bookies offering a lot of unexpected odds on bouts.
Most of the fighters have taken at least a year and a half out of the octagon. Many people are wondering which fighters will come back stronger and which will be affected by the break.
Here are 6 UFC fighters worth betting on:
#6 – Cortney Casey (9-9-0)
Cortney ‘Cast Iron’ Casey fights in UFC’s Strawweight division. She is an American fighter with a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
The 34 year old has 9 wins and 9 losses to her name at this point in her career. While Casey has been suspended from the sport in the past for doping, she has turned her career around and has made herself a serious contender everyone should be watching.
Casey has the definition of a mixed record, which is only going to make the odds on her next few fights better for anyone betting on her.
#5 – Kyron Bowen (9-6-0)
Kyron Bowen has lost his last two fights but before that he was on an amazing victory run. His odds from the bookies are going to be longer than they were for his previous fights. But this Welterweight fighter has a lot more to offer than his odds suggest.
Bowen is also known as ‘Bullseye’ thanks to his ability to land jabs on target. He hits hard and is more than happy to gain a victory through a TKO or a submission.
He lost his last fight in 7 seconds, so he’ll be out for blood and will be more than happy to give the UFC a different fight to remember.
#4 – Stuart Austin (15-6-0)
Stuart Austin is the only fighter from over the pond of this list, but for good reason. Austin has 21 fights under his belt (a lot more than most) and still has a good win ratio.
Austin is the current holder of the EMC Heavyweight Championship. He hasn’t had the best run over the last year, but this is going to make his odds even more tempting. He is on a two win streak and is looking to extend that.
If you’re looking to see the best of what Europe has to offer the UFC, Stuart ‘He-Man’ Austin is definitely one of them.
#3 – Brett Cooper (27-14-0)
Brett Cooper has fought for many different fighting companies over his 16+ year career. But rumor has it that he’ll be joining the UFC at the end of the year.
Cooper already has a huge number of fights under his belt but he’s not showing any sign of slowing down – with at least two more booked in this year.
He hasn’t fought since late 2019, so no one is sure what to expect from Cooper. Many big fighters have returned from lockdown and lost unexpectedly. However, with the experience that Cooper has, we expect him to win.
#2 – Austin Lingo (8-1-0)
Austin ‘Lights Out’ Lingo has a fantastic fighting record. He’s currently on a winning streak of one, but his career record is 7 wins in a row.
Lingo favors boxing when it comes to fighting styles, but he also has a 100% grappling record. Lingo also has a Purple belt in BJJ and a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He was also on Team USA at the IFMA World Championships. He is an all round fighter who can compete with the best the UFC has to offer.
If you see that Lingo is fighting soon, we’d bet on him to win.
#1 – Alex Martinez (8-1-0)
Alex Martinez seems to be one of the big fighters who fell victim to the post-COVID training break. Before the pandemic, Martinez was undefeated in the UFC and it came as a big shock that he lost.
Don’t be surprised if Martinez comes out swinging in his next few fights. He has been pretty open about the fact that he doesn’t intend to lose again.
Martinez has a habit of ending his fights within the first 3 minutes – with KOs or chokeholds. He is someone we don’t expect to be losing matches any time soon.