The combat sports world is in for some entertainment this weekend as UFC Vegas 33 is set to take place on Saturday, July 31. The event will be held at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada and includes a terrific card.
One of the fights on the card is a bantamweight bout between World Jiu-Jitsu Championship gold medalist Rani Yahya and former ROAD FC Bantamweight Champion Kang Kyung-ho. Both fighters have been on a roll as of late, however, only one man can win at UFC Vegas 33 in an attempt to crack the bantamweight rankings.
UFC Vegas 33 Odds: Rani Yahya (27-10-1) vs. Kang Kyung-ho (18-8-0) Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Friday, July 30
- Moneyline: Yahya (+100) vs Kang (-120)
- Total: 2.5 Rounds — Over (-165), Under (+135)
Yahya Enters as Slight Underdog
At +100 odds, Yahya is the slight underdog entering his fight against Kang at UFC Vegas 33. Nevertheless, that’s not to say that he can’t win. After all, he’s won eight of his last 11 bouts, including his most recent one against Ray Rodriguez back in March (which he won by submission). In fact, Yahya is one of the best submission specialists that the UFC has ever seen. Out of his 27 professional MMA wins, 21 of those victories have come via submission. In fact, his seven submission wins in the UFC is one of the highest totals in company history — only six other fighters have more than that.
Needless to say, he’ll likely be going for the submission victory again at UFC Vegas 33. He averages 2.0 submissions per 15 minutes, so fans can expect to see some attempts on Saturday. The good news is that Kang has tapped out in the past, so that door could be open for Yahya. It might be a decade since that’s happened, but the precedent is there for sure.
Another thing that Yahya has going for him is the fact that Kang hasn’t fought in nearly two years, so there’s no telling as to what he’ll look like. That means that Yahya needs to grapple early and often before his opponent can get into his groove. If he can pull that off, maybe a slight upset will be in the cards this weekend.
Kang Favored at UFC Vegas 33
On the other hand, Kang is the -120 favorite ahead of UFC Vegas 33. Like Yahya, he’s been on quite the streak recently, having won six of his last seven fights (including his past three in a row). It’s safe to say that Kang has been building some momentum and he’ll look to continue it on Saturday.
The matchup between Kang and Yahya should be interesting, especially as the former can certainly hold his own when it comes to grappling and submissions. Kang averages 1.1 submissions per 15 minutes and owns a 71% takedown defense rating. That’s not even to mention his 59% takedown accuracy rating, either. 11 of his professional MMA victories have come via submission, so there’s a good chance that he’ll be looking to make Yahya tap out as well.
The one advantage that Kang does have is that his striking is marginally better compared to Yahya. The former has two knockout victories on his resume, whereas the latter has none. Kang also averages 2.52 significant strikes landed per minute, while Yahya averages 1.57. It may not seem like a huge difference on paper, but it may be noticeable at UFC Vegas 33. At the end of the day, the bout may just end up being who can tap their opponent out first, however, that doesn’t mean that Kang won’t use his superior striking to break Yahya down as each round passes.
