PFL Playoffs best bet breakdown.
The PFL 7: 2022 Playoffs are going down on Friday, with fighters competing for a chance at the $1 million tournament prize. The main event features a rematch between former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and Stevie Ray.
Fortunately for fans, the fighters aren’t the only ones with a chance to make some serious money off of these fights, as there are some great bets to be made on this card. Specifically, the bout between Omari Akhmedov (23-7-1) and Josh Silveira (9-0) features the best betting spot on the card.
With 31 career fights to his name, including 15 under the UFC banner, Omari Akhmedov (23-7-1) is a true veteran of the sport. After suffering a knockout loss in his PFL debut, Akhmedov has bounced back strong with two straight finishes this season, knocking out Viktor Pešta and submitting Teodoras Aukštuolis. Akhmedov has leaned on a grapple-heavy approach throughout the majority of his career. While he is not afraid to mix it up on the feet, his pace is not overwhelming, and he tends to grind his opponents down slowly while dominating the control time.
Josh Silveira (9-0) is an undefeated fighter looking to establish himself as one of the top light-heavyweight fighters on the planet. Silveira is the son of American Top Team co-founder Conan Silveira. Out of his nine wins, six have come by way of a first-round finish. Silveira’s Arizona State wrestling background serves as the foundation of his constant pressure and takedown-heavy approach.
And perhaps a more interesting angle to this bout is the friendship between these two, who train together at ATT and even laughed and hugged in their face-off on Thursday night. With friendship in the mix, it could change both fighters routines completely.
The best bet for PFL 7: 2022 Playoffs is over 1.5 rounds (-180) in the Omari Akhmedov vs Josh Silveira fight
On paper, Akhmedov has all the experience and skill needed to pull off a win against a relatively inexperienced fighter. Akhmedov has also faced a much higher level of competition than Silveira. Akhmedov is a talented grappler who rarely finds himself being dominated on the ground.
However, one can’t help but think of his fight with Chris Weidman, a fight that Weidman ultimately won due to his dominant grappling in the third round. Like Weidman, Silveira also possesses a strong Division 1 wrestling pedigree that has translated successfully to MMA.
For those looking to back Akhmedov on the moneyline, his struggles against fighters with good takedown defense, as well as his questionable gas tank, should give you cause for concern. In fights against Weidman and Brad Tavares, Akhmedov fatigued in the third round of each bout, ultimately costing him the fight. If Akhmedov can’t get his grappling going, we could see another case of Akhmedov gassing out.
Akhmedov has proven to be an extremely durable fighter, and while his most recent loss did come by knockout, the knockout came in the third round of a fight that he was comfortably winning up until that point. In fact, out of his last 18 fights, 13 have gone past 1.5 rounds, with nine going to decision.
While Silveira has stopped many of his opponents early, Akhmedov has proven that he is extremely difficult to finish early in fights. Given the experience and durability of Akhmedov, along with the wrestling pedigree and vast flashes of potential from Silveira, betting on the moneyline for this fight is a big pass. If you could only take one bet on this card, it would be Akhmedov vs. Silveira fight to go over 1.5 rounds (-180 odds).
