Most people aren’t even aware that 2020 is a Leap Year, which is basically a free day of life … and sports betting. For the second time ever and first since November 2017, the UFC is staging a card in Norfolk, Virginia, and Saturday’s Fight Night event is headlined by a flyweight title matchup between Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo. The main card at Chartway Arena in Virginia’s second-largest city by population starts at 8pm ET on Leap Day and shown on ESPN+.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
The 35-year-old Benavidez, an American, is the No. 1 contender. It’s his third title shot in this division and he lost the previous two to Demetrious Johnson (December 2013 and September 2012). Benavidez has won his past three since a split-decision loss to Sergio Pettis in June 2018 and comes off a second-round TKO victory over Jussier Formiga last June.
Benavidez spreads out his method of victory career-wise, winning 11 times by decision, nine by submission and eight by KO/TKO. He is a -145 favorite.
Figueiredo, a 32-year-old from Brazil, is 17-1 and that lone loss was to Formiga by unanimous decision in March 2019. “Deus da Guerra (God of War)” has since beaten Alexandre Pantoja and Tim Elliott. Figueiredo, ranked No. 3 in the division, wins 47 percent of the time by KO/TKO, 35 percent by submission and 18 percent by decision. He’s priced at +115 for Saturday.
A women’s featherweight title bout between Canada’s Felicia Spencer (7-1) and France’s Zarah Fairn Dos Santos (6-3) leads into the main event. Spencer, who now fights out of Florida, is a former Invicta FC featherweight champion but comes off a unanimous decision loss to one of the all-time female greats, Cris Cyborg, last July.
Dos Santos made her UFC debut in October and lost by first-round submission to Megan Anderson; Spencer beat Anderson by first-round submission in her fight previous to Cyborg. Thus, perhaps not a surprise that Spencer is a heavy -800 favorite Saturday with Dos Santos +500.