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UFC Jacksonville: Smith vs Teixeira Odds, Picks & Betting Preview

Cole Shelton

by Cole Shelton in Mixed Martial Arts News

Updated May 11, 2020 · 10:21 AM PDT

UFC Jacksonville
Light heavyweights collide as Anthony Smith battles longtime contender Glover Teixeira on Wednesday night.
  • The UFC holds a rare Wednesday night card on May 13
  • Anthony Smith battles Glover Teixeira in the main event
  • Event back at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned with a bang on Saturday night for a star-studded UFC 249 event. Now, the promotion will make a quick turnaround as on Wednesday, May 13, the Las Vegas-based promotion is back for UFC Jacksonville.

In the main event, light heavyweights collide as Anthony Smith returns after nearly a year away due to injury to battle longtime contender Glover Teixeira. The co-main event sees Ovince Saint Preux move up to heavyweight to take on Ben Rothwell.

The UFC Jacksonville main card airs live on ESPN+ at 9:00 pm EST. The table below shows odds for the entire card, followed by best bets for the event.

UFC Jacksonville Odds

Fighter Book 1 Odds Book 2 Odds
Anthony Smith -185 -176
Glover Teixeira +150 +151
Fighter Odds Odds
Ovince Saint Preux -155 -141
Ben Rothwell +125 +121
Fighter Odds Odds
Drew Dober -125 -119
Alexander Hernandez -105 -101
Fighter Odds Odds
Ray Borg +140 +147
Ricky Simon -170 -172
Fighter Odds Odds
Marvin Vettori -165 -190
Karl Roberson +135 +165

All odds taken May 10

Does the Winner Earn a Title Shot?

Anthony Smith (33-14) returned to the win column last time out with an upset submission win over Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of UFC Stockholm last June. Before that, “Lionheart” dropped a decision to Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title. Since moving up to 205-pounds, Smith is 4-1 with wins over Gustafsson, Volkan Oezdemir, Shogun Rua, and Rashad Evans.

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Glover Teixeira (30-7) is riding a three-fight winning streak where last time out he edged out a split decision over Nikita Krylov in September. Before that, he submitted Ion Cutelaba and Karl Roberson. The Brazilian has been a perennial top-10 light heavyweight as he has notable wins over Misha Cirkunov, Jared Cannonier, Ryan Bader, Rasha Evans, and Rampage Jackson. He also lost to Jones in his only fight for the light heavyweight title.

With Jon Jones being active as of late, he is running out of contenders. He could rematch Dominick Reyes, or perhaps fight Jan Blachowicz. But, the winner could very well earn a number one contender bout if they have an impressive performance.

On paper, this is a very interesting fight as both are very similar. They both have really underrated jiu-jitsu while their striking is always improving. Yet, the big difference in this fight will be age. Smith is 31, while Teixeira is 40, and I’m not sure how many more punches the Brazilian can take.

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Early on, I think Smith will use his leg kicks to try and chop down the lead leg of Teixeira. Once there, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Brazilian shoots and Lionheart will stuff it and continue to piece up the Brazilian on the feet.

Ultimately, I think Smith will rock Teixeira a bit and in the third round, land a solid shot that drops the Brazilian and he finishes it up with ground and pound TKO. I also really like the odds as I believe Smith should be well above a two-to-one favorite, so at -176 at some sportsbooks, it is a great bet.

Pick: Anthony Smith (-176)

Smith vs Teixeira

Smith
VS
Teixeira
31 Age 40
6’4″ Height 6’2″
76″ Reach 76″
7 UFC finishes 10

How Will OSP Look at Heavyweight?

Ovince Saint Preux (24-13) is someone not many expected to move up to heavyweight. He’s been a light heavyweight stable where last time out he submitted Michal Oleksiejczuk to return to the win column after a submission loss to Nikita Krylov. The 37-year-old has notable wins over Corey Anderson, Shogun Rua, Patrick Cummins, and Krylov.

Ben Rothwell (37-12) snapped his three-fight losing streak last time out with a knockout win over Stefan Struve. Before that, he suffered three straight decision losses to Andrei Arlovski, Blagoy Ivanov, and Junior dos Santos. He has notable wins over Josh Barnett, Matt Mitrione, Alistair Overeem, Roy Nelson, and Brendan Schaub

This is a very interesting fight that not many expected would take place. Rothwell will no doubt have the edge in the power. But, I believe Saint Preux will be able to use his speed to avoid the power shots and piece up Rothwell and either grind out a decision win. Yet, you can never count out OSP earning a submission win.

Pick: Ovince Saint Preux (-141)

Other UFC Jacksonville Picks

  • Alexander Hernandez (-101): I’m surprised at this line. Hernandez will be able to use his wrestling and technical striking to piece up Dober and earn a decision win.
  • Ricky Simon (-172): Simon will most likely be the bigger fighter and should use his takedown defense to keep this fight standing and piece up Borg for a decision win.
  • Marvin Vettori (-165): Vettori took the champ, Israel Adesanya to a split decision, he’s the better fighter and will score a third-round TKO or a decision win.
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