There are several best MMA bets to dive into for the first week of May 2024! While the UFC will take center stage with a PPV on Saturday, the top sports betting sites have a slew of other options for other promotions.
You don’t have to only bet on UFC 301 to cash in some MMA winners this week! Some other promotions have great value on the board before Saturday arrives. This week, my top bets for MMA are for ONE Fight Night 22 and Oktagon 57.
ONE Fight Night 22 can be watched live on Amazon Prime Video this Friday night, so set a reminder for 8:00 p.m. ET! Below, check out the latest odds, courtesy of Bovada, and my best MMA bets this week.
Shumarov To Beat Sitsongpeenong (ONE Fight Night 22)
- Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong (-175)
- Bogdan Shumarov (+135)
If you enjoy Muay Thai and kickboxing, this should be a thrilling encounter between Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong (4-1-0) and Bogdan Shumarov (2-0-0).
The former is a Muay Thai specialist with experience in kickboxing, while his opponent grew up training heavily in kickboxing. I wouldn’t discount Shumarov’s ability to win with his fists, though.
Sitsongpeenong is a Muay Thai champion in multiple weight classes. He’s won titles at the 70kg, 75kg, and 77kg as recently as 2020. Known as “Legatron”, the native of Thailand signed a contract with ONE Championship in 2023.
The 28-year-old has made a name for himself with his devastating leg kicks. He’s riding four wins in five ONE Championship assignments into Friday. In his latest effort, Sitsongpeenong defeated Shakir Al-Tekreeti with a TKO at 1:44 of Round 2.
It was a nice response after he was KO’d by Russian Dmitry Menshikov in an earlier fight.
Menshikov was far superior with his fists in the stand-up as a boxer. Sitsongpeenong was unable to fend off his constant attacks and he buckled. Despite being able to bounce back versus Al-Tekreeti, he’s taking on a similar fighter to Menshikov at ONE Fight Night 22.
Similar in the sense that the 27-year-old native of Petrich, Bulgaria, has the ability to end this fight with one punch. Before joining ONE Championship, he posted a strong record of 15-2-1.
Shumarov’s looked great with a KO and TKO win since signing with ONE. In his debut, the Bulgarian needed just 1:15 in Round 1 to KO Tunisia’s Marwen Houli with a vicious right hand to put him out cold. Houli dropped his guard and went for a clinch, with Shumarov responding with a KO out of nowhere.
In his second fight, Shumarov showed his versatility and kickboxing skills with an upset win over Constantin Rusu. He used a quick leg kick to the side of Rusu’s head to seal the win at 1:33 of Round 3.
This is closer to a coin flip than the ONE Fight Night 22 odds suggest here. Shumarov has a chance to end this fight at any time with his incredible leg kick and punching power, so consider backing the surging Bulgarian as an underdog.
Dmitry Menshikov To Beat Sinsamut Klinmee (ONE Fight Night 22)
- Sinsamut Klinmee (-155)
- Dmitry Menshikov (+120)
Dmitry Menshikov (2-1-0) already has a couple of big wins on his ONE Championship resume and will look for another over favorite Sinsamut Klinmee at ONE Fight Night 22.
After suffering a loss in his ONE Championship debut, Menshikov responded with impressive back-to-back wins. The 26-year-old Russian defeated Sitsongpeenong in the opening round and then did the same to Mouhcine Chafi.
Menshikov KO’d him at 1:59 of Round 1 to win with early knockouts in back-to-back fights. The efficient kickboxer sported a record of 27-2 with 19 KOs before signing with the ONE Championship!
Menshikov has an assortment of tools, including his legs and strong fists at his disposal to pick apart opponents. He’ll need them all in the upcoming match.
His opponent didn’t have a great start after a KO loss to Regian Eersel in June 2023, but he’s been in great shape since then.
Both of Muay Thai fighter Sinsamut Klinmee’s (4-2-0) losses have been against Eersel. He came up short via a split decision in October 2022 and then silenced with a KO loss in March 2023 in the rematch.
However, Klinmee has since gone on a two-match winning streak. In his last appearance, he cleared Chafi by unanimous decision. He couldn’t finish him as impressively as Menshikov, but it was a strong showing!
Again, this is another ONE Fight Night 22 match where there is solid betting value. Klinmee’s odds suggest an implied chance to win of 60.8%, while I see another coin flip here.
I don’t see him as that much of a favorite, so consider betting on the red-hot and confident Menshikov this Friday.
Pavol Langer To Beat Marc Doussis (Oktagon 57)
- Pavol Langer (-175)
- Marc Doussis (+135)
Pavol Langer (12-10-0) and Marc Doussis (9-3-0) clash in a light heavyweight showdown in Frankfurt, Germany. Doussis is the hometown fighter, but the Oktagon 57 odds have him well behind Langer.
Currently, he has an implied probability of 63.6% to win this clash if we trust the oddsmakers. He has the worse record, but these two fighters have been heading in opposite directions.
Doussis’ career started off well, though struggling to put together consistent wins since going to 7-0-0 in 2021. He’s won just two fights in his previous five assignments.
As soon as Doussis left the lower promotions and went to KSW, he started running into issues against tougher fighters. He went 1-2-0 in three KSW fights, and is 1-1-0 since his first Oktagon bout in January 2023.
Doussis is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Scott Ashkam at Oktagon 48 in November. It was a rather uninspiring performance, and he looked overmatched and unprepared for the challenge!
Conversely, Langer has won three of his previous four bouts and six of his last nine, including winning the light heavyweight title last June. The Slovakian’s career started on the rails, with seven losses in 13 outings. He has since found momentum and made the most out of his time in Oktagon.
Langer should have the speed advantage, which is critical. Doussis appears to be losing half a step, so the favorite should win this one.
Stipe Brcic To Beat Beno Adamia (Oktagon 57)
- Stipe Brcic (-185)
- Beno Adamia (+140)
Stipe Brcic (11-4-0) and Beno Adamia (10-8-2) duel in what should be an entertaining fight at Oktagon 57. Brcic is looking to bounce back with a win after his last assignment ended in a loss to Jhonta Silva at Cage Warriors 151.
The 31-year-old Croat had won three of four matches and six of his previous nine attempts before losing on March 24, 2023. Despite the defeat, Brcic should respond well against a more one-dimensional fighter!
The Croatian MMA artist is a well-rounded flyweight, with three wins by submission, three wins by KO/TKO, and five by decision. He usually looks for submissions but has the talent to end a fight on his feet.
Adamia has recorded just one win via KO/TKO, but has lost six fights from getting knocked out. Most of his victories have come on the mat with four submissions and five decisions.
After losing three consecutive fights, the Georgian is currently on a four-fight winning streak. However, all four opponents were well below Brcic’s level. His opponent likely would have done the same against those foes, just more convincingly.
Brcic’s versatility will be the difference and give him an edge over Adamia. This won’t be a quick fight, but the favorite’s variety of tools are expected to overwhelm his opponent.
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