Jeremy Stephens will be in enemy territory Saturday night, but the UFC veteran doesn't seem to mind. He faces Mexico native Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Fight Night 159 in Mexico City. The 12-bout UFC stop from Mexico City Arena features the main card starting at 8 p.m. ET. Stephens (28-16), the No. 8-ranked featherweight, is looking to snap a two-fight losing steak and he is confident that even a home-crowd disadvantage against No. 7 -ranked Rodriguez (11-2) won't stop him. He arrived six weeks ahead of time to adjust to the climate and environment. Rodriguez is fighting for the first time since his memorable last-second knockout of Chan Sung Jung. Rodriguez and Stephens are both offered at the pick'em price of -110 (risk $110 to win $100) in the latest Rodriguez vs. Stephens odds. In the co-main event, Alexa Grasso (-120) meets Carla Esparza (+100) in a women's strawweight bout between top-10 contenders. Before finalizing your UFC Fight Night 159 picks, make sure you check out the predictions from SportsLine MMA expert.
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.
Just last week at UFC Fight Night 158, Marley selected Glover Teixeira (+100) to defeat Nikita Krylov (-120) in the co-main event. He told SportsLine members that Teixeira's edge in wrestling would be the difference, and he was proven correct when the veteran used a dominant third round on the ground to secure the decision victory.
The MMA analyst was also all over the co-main event at UFC 241 as he foresaw Nate Diaz (+110), returning from a three-year layoff, winning a unanimous decision against the dangerous Anthony Pettis. Marley predicted that Diaz's length and nonstop pace would overwhelm Pettis, and that's exactly what happened as the underdog dominated from the opening bell. Anyone who followed his advice booked an easy winner and those who have followed him consistently are way up.
Now, with UFC Fight Night Mexico City fast approaching, Marley has carefully studied every matchup on the 12-bout card, identified the best value in the UFC Fight Night 159 odds and released his MMA picks for every single fight. He's sharing those selections only over at SportsLine.
Marley knows Rodriguez, 26, has been considered a rising UFC prospect ever since he joined the promotion in November 2014. But injuries and long bouts of inactivity have halted his progress. In fact, the latter nearly cost him his job. Last year, UFC president Dana White announced Rodriguez had been cut from the roster because of a repeated refusal to accept fights.
Rodriguez met with White and, a few weeks later, both parties announced he had been taken back by the UFC. He appeared to reward White's faith in his last bout, when he engaged in an entertaining battle with Jung, aka "The Korean Zombie."
Jung was getting the best of Rodriguez and appeared headed toward a clear decision. But with just one second left on the clock, Rodriguez landed a spinning elbow that knocked Jung out cold. Rodriguez received Performance of the Night and Knockout of the Night awards for his efforts.
The 33-year-old Stephens is a respected veteran who made his UFC debut in 2007. He is known for his willingness to take on any opponent and has been in the octagon with several of the sport's luminaries. He also is noted for the devastating power that has led to 19 knockout victories.
We'll reveal one of Marley's UFC Fight Night 159 picks here: He is backing Askar Askarov (-185) against Brandon Moreno (+160) in a flyweight bout on the main card.
Askarov (10-0) will make his UFC debut with all 10 of his professional wins coming by stoppage. Moreno (14-5) is 2-2 in the UFC and stopped Maikel Perez in his last bout.
"I think Askarov is going to be the much better wrestler, and I see him being the guy in more dominant positions. I think he is much more likely to get a finish," Marley told SportsLine.
Marley also has strong picks for Rodriguez vs. Stephens, Grasso vs. Esparza and every other bout on the UFC Fight Night 159 card. You can only see them at SportsLine.
Who wins Rodriguez vs. Stephens? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on all 12 fights at UFC Fight Night 159, all from the incomparable expert who's up more than $21,000 on MMA in the past year, and find out.
