Derek Brunson has won each of his last two fights and is 7-2 over his last nine. The 34-year-old middleweight will try to add to his winning streak when he faces Ronaldo Souza in the main event of UFC Fight Night Charlotte Saturday.
Brunson is a +110 underdog at the Spectrum Center in North Carolina at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Each of Brunson’s last six wins has come by way of first-round knockouts, including his most recent wins over Dan Kelly and Lyoto Machida. The fighter could regain the momentum he lost in back-to-back defeats to Robert Whittaker and Anderson Silva with an upset win over Souza.
Souza (-140) has lost two of his last four fights but is 10-2 over his last 12 professional bouts. One of those 10 wins came against Brunson by first-round knockout in a Strikeforce event back in 2012. Brunson has improved since then, and Souza, at 38 years old, has lost a bit of his power — the path to victory this time around would likely be to keep this fight on the mat.
Dennis Bermudez was a rising star in the UFC featherweight division with seven straight wins from 2012 to 2014. Since then, Bermudez has lost four of his last six fights, including each of his last two. The 31-year-old will try to get back in the win column as a -160 favorite on Saturday facing off against Andre Fili (+130).
Fili has alternated wins and losses in all nine of his fights since joining the UFC in 2013 and will be looking for his first career winning streak with the organization after defeating Artem Lobov in his last fight.
The undefeated Gregor Gillespie is the biggest favorite on the card Saturday, going off at -600 against Jordan Rinaldi (+400). Gillespie is 10-0 as a professional and 3-0 in UFC action thus far. Rinaldi has won six of his last seven professional fights but does not match up well against Gillespie’s superior wrestling and striking abilities.
Other fights on the UFC on FOX 27 card include Drew Dober (-175) vs. Frank Camacho (+145) and Bobby Green (-170) vs. Erik Koch (+140). Dober and Camacho are both heavy hitters who will be looking to end this fight early in what should be an exciting bout.
UFC Fight Night Charlotte Betting Lines
Ronaldo Souza (-140) vs. Derek Brunson (+110)
Dennis Bermudez (-160) vs. Andre Fili (+130)
Gregor Gillespie (-600) vs. Jordan Rinaldi (+400)
Drew Dober (-175) vs. Frank Camacho (+145)
Bobby Green (-170) vs. Erik Koch (+140)