UFC Fight Night 139: Korean Zombie vs. Yair Rodriguez Betting Guide

We mentioned it last week and we’ll mention it again now – the UFC has a seriously difficult time keeping their fight cards intact.

The build-up to UFC Fight Night 139 – which marks the 25th Anniversary of the UFC – promised an all-action featherweight scrap between Frankie Edgar and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung.

Of course, that fight held together as well as Greg Oden’s knees, and “The Korean Zombie” now finds himself against short-notice opponent Yair Rodriguez.

If it’s any consolation, though, this main event has the potential to be better than the one that was originally advertised.

Here’s the main card for UFC Fight Night 139:

• Chan Sung Jung vs. Yair Rodriguez (🔥🤑)
• Donald Cerrone vs. Mike Perry (🔥)
• Raquel Pennington vs. Germaine De Randamie (🤑)
• Beneil Dariush vs. Thiago Moises
• Maycee Barber vs. Hannah Cifers (🤑)
• Michael Trizano vs. Luis Pena

🔥 = Must-watch fight 🤑 = Betting opportunity

As always, we’ll be bringing you the hottest betting tips out there now that we have completed our diligent tape study and statistical analysis.

Let’s begin.

Chan Sung Jung vs. Yair Rodriguez

UFC Fight Night 139
Saturday, November 10
Main card starts at 10:00 pm (ET) / 7:00 pm (PT)

You know when NFL and NBA teams take some time away from the sport over the offseason and make some quiet developments that no one can really appreciate or understand until they’re back to competing again?

There’s no offseason in mixed martial arts, but Chan Sung Jung and Yair Rodriguez have not competed in the last 544 days.

We have a lot of questions that need answering.

Best Odds For Chan Sung Jung vs. Yair Rodriguez

• Chan Sung Jung: -132 (SportBet)
• Yair Rodriguez: +123 (Pinnacle)

“The Korean Zombie” will enter this fight as the betting favorite, but not by a wide margin. The odds have not shifted majorly in any direction since release, either.

If you’re looking to bet on Total Rounds, you’ll find that the Under 2.5 Rounds option is a slight favorite at -120. The public and the bookmakers aren’t expecting this one to last the distance.

Betting Opportunities

Let’s move on to the good stuff and start identifying the value for bettors here in this main event.

Firstly, there’s decent value here on Chan Sung Jung to win before even taking into account all of the improvements that could have been made by either fighter in their time away from the cage.

The “Korean Zombie” typically pressures his opponent and walks them down before launching combinations of strikes, mostly sticking to boxing. If he keeps to his usual game plan against Rodriguez, he’ll keep his opponent backed up and in a disadvantaged position. This is especially important considering that Rodriguez will be unable to fully utilize his taekwondo techniques, which mostly involve varied high kicks and spinning kicks that are not set up by punches or other attacks.

If Rodriguez is pushed back to the cage and forced to exchange hands with the “Korean Zombie” at close range, it might get ugly. And if so, expect Jung to come out on to in these exchanges more often than not.

There are opportunities for Rodriguez in this one, too.

Most notable of all opportunities is Jung’s tendency to keep his hands down by his hips as he storms forward. That defensive posture is a living dream for someone like Rodriguez who can strike with brilliant power, speed, and accuracy at any given moment. It takes just one well-timed shot from Rodriguez to end the night – just ask Andre Fili.

But realistically, the most likely outcome is that Chan Sung Jung wins and wins convincingly.

There is a small chance that Rodriguez scores an incredibly flashy SportsCenter-type knockout that puts us to shame, but again, it’s just a small chance.

Expect “The Korean Zombie” to have his hand raised.

Bet on Chan Sung Jung to win: -132 at SportBet

Raquel Pennington vs. Germaine De Randamie

UFC Fight Night 139
Saturday, November 10
Main card starts at 10:00 pm (ET) / 7:00 pm (PT)

This is a matchup of huge importance to the women’s bantamweight division.

Raquel Pennington will be taking a step back after failing in her title challenge against Amanda Nunes. That doesn’t necessarily mean her opponent isn’t an easier one, though.

Germaine De Randamie is a talented striker who actually struck gold the last time she entered the cage. “GDR” came out on top in a five-round war with Holly Holm to claim the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship at UFC 208 in February 2017.

If you’re unfamiliar with De Randamie, you might be wondering why she hasn’t competed since winning the title early last year. Well, that’s a whole bag of worms that is best discussed another time, but let’s just say that De Randamie was stripped of her title because she would not defend it against Cris Cyborg.

With a dominant win against Pennington, De Randamie might end up within reach of Nunes’ bantamweight title.

Best Odds For Raquel Pennington vs. Germaine De Randamie

• Raquel Pennington: +159 (Pinnacle)
• Germaine De Randamie: -172 (SportBet)

With Pennington coming off a failed title shot in the division and De Randamie suddenly appearing for the first time in a long time, we expected the public to be heavy on Pennington as an underdog. However, the value for Germaine De Randamie has decreased by 5% since the odds were first released.

Betting Opportunities

Straight up, the best bet right here is taking Germaine De Randamie to win at odds of -172.

We don’t need to pretty our selection up by sorting through the available props and extra markets, this right here is good enough.

Germaine De Randamie should piece up Raquel Pennington while standing. And if Pennington wants to close the distance, smother “GDR” and take her to the mat, she’s going to have a very hard time doing so.

De Randamie’s career takedown defense is an impressive 86% after denying all nine of Holm’s takedown attempts in her last bout. Pennington is undoubtedly more of a takedown threat than Holm, of course, but there’s enough evidence to suggest that De Randamie can handle herself when pinned against the cage long enough to separate and reset in the middle of the octagon.

And it’s there where De Randamie will do the most damage. Pennington was outlanded 124 to 64 significant strikes in her last fight with Nunes and the punishment ultimately added up to a point in which many were calling for her corner to stop the fight.

Stranger things have happened, but there’s just too much value here to pass up on betting on Germaine De Randamie as she looks to bounce back and regain some favor in the eyes of the fans.

Bet on Germaine De Randamie to win: -172 at SportBet