Wellington Turman vs. Misha Cirkunov Prediction, Odds
By Reed Wallach
Wellington Turman will look to make it two wins in a row in the octagon when he takes on Misha Cirkunov on Saturday at UFC Vegas 49: Makhachev vs. Green in the co-main event.
There was quite a bit of analysis of this Middleweight bout on episode three of Jab, Cross Hook: A FanSided MMA Show.
Watch below for more insight from FanSided MMA editor Amy Kaplan, who was at media day on Wednesday, starting at the 43:00 mark.
Wellington Turman vs. Misha Cirkunov Betting Preview
Turman enters as a small underdog at WynnBETSportsbook, +100, while Cirkunov a veteran at Light Heavyweight coming down in weight for the second time in a row is the small chalk at -120.
Kaplan shared that Cirkunov missed media day and that nobody in attendance "knew where he was." She added, "When a fighter goes missing, especially a fighter who is cutting a lot weight, it makes me think he is already cutting weight, which is not good that far out."
As mentioned above, Cirkunov has made his living as a Light Heavyweight before transitioning down to middleweight last fight, a loss to Krzysztof Jotko in October, and this can be a troubling sign heading into his second bout at this weight.
Kaplan went on to add more insight into the intriguing situation, citing that Turman is part of Glover Teixeira training camp, who beat Cirkunov in 2017 by first round knockout. The current Light Heavyweight champion has been helping the Brazilian prepare for this fight.
When asked about training with Teixeira and if he has shared in insight, Turman said, "Yeah we have a secret, we know there's this thing," according to Kaplan.
She concluded that, "People might be underestimating Wellington after his last fight," which was a split decision victory over Sam Alvey.
Could Cirkunov be in the midst of a bad weight cut and could the current LHW champ be giving Turman some necessary tips to score a victory? The Brazilian sits as a small underdog with a lot of positive indicators pointing towards him cashing come Saturday night in the co-main.
PICK: Wellington Turman ML (+100)