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The UFC 285 Early Prelims will continue on ESPN+ with this bout in the Batamweight (135 lb) Division between two promising prospects on the rise. Da’Mon Blackshear will look for his first UFC win as he squares off against Farid Basharat making his debut. Don’t miss this exciting matchup between talented strikers. Check out our UFC odds series for our Blackshear-Basharat prediction and pick.
Da’Mon Blackshear is 12-4-1 in his MMA career and will be making his second appearance in the UFC after a Majority Draw against Youssef Zalal. He looked very poised through a closely-contested fight but wasn’t able to do enough to get the win in the eyes of the judges. At 28 years old, Blackshear continues to evolve his game and will look to secure his first win against Basharat. Da’Mon Blackshear stands 5’10” with a 72-inch reach.
Farid Basharat is undefeated in his career at 9-0 and will be making his debut in this one after securing a contract in a unanimous decision win on Dana White’s Contender Series. His brother and training partner, UFC Bantamweight Javid Basharat, believes that him and his brother are the next big prospects in the 135 Division. Farid will look to stay undefeated as a heavy favorite in a tough test against Blackshear. Basharat stands 5’8″ with a 71-inch reach.
Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
UFC 285 Odds: Da’Mon Blackshear-Farid Basharat Odds
Da’Mon Blackshear: +360
Farid Basharat: -500
Over (2.5) rounds: -182
Under (2.5) rounds: +142
How to Watch Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Farid Basharat
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET/ 2:30 p.m. PT (Early Prelims)
*Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Da’Mon Blackshear Will Win
Da’Mon Blackshear showed many positive aspects to his game in his debut fight with Zalal, but often played to Zalal’s game and made it a closer fight than it should have been. If he’s smart, Blackshear will build on his last performance and tighten up the areas that allowed his opponent to stay in the fight. He’s very big for the division and uses his reach in his striking. He’ll have a full fight camp to work with as he’ll be representing Jackson-Wink MMA on a Jon Jones fight week, a luxury he didn’t have in his debut as he stepped in on short notice.
Blackshear will feel comfortable in the wrestling exchanges due to his background in the sport and lanky frame. He’s strong in defending takedowns, but will sometimes settle for working off of his back and relying on his defensive jiu-jitsu from bottom position. Against a fighter like Basharat, he’ll have to be careful and avoid heavy shots in the ground-and-pound. He will have the experience on his side as he’s had more fights and faced the much better competition at this point of his career.
Why Farid Basharat Will Win
Farid Basharat made a huge impression on fans in his DWCS performance when he got the decision win. While many were expecting to finish his opponent, Basharat rather showed off his offensive wrestling and held top pressure for most of the fight. He did a great job of avoiding submission attempts from his opponent and displayed that he can land nasty ground-and-pound when on top. On the feet, Basharat had a significant advantage and showed his ability to slip in and out of range with ease and return on the counter strikes.
The main question when evaluating Farid Basharat is the level of competition he’s faced. While many of his opponents boast undefeated records, the majority of them have had less than 10 fights, no providing a huge sample size of experienced fighters. Blackshear will have the edge over Basharat in experience and will look to drag this fight on, so Basharat will have to conserve his energy output. He’ll look to be more aggressive and get Blackshear backing up.
Final Da’Mon Blackshear-Farid Basharat Prediction & Pick
This is a great fight to have this early in the card as both fighters are in great form and will be willing to stand and strike. They’re both explosive in the scrambles and are hard to bring down, boasting high takedown defense numbers. Basharat is the heavy favorite, indicating that odds makers like this matchup for him. I think this fight will be extremely close throughout and a tough test for Basharat in his debut. Still, he has more ways to win this fight and will be more aggressive in imposing his game plan. His line is juiced, so let’s look for a submission prop.
Final Da’Mon Blackshear-Farid Basharat Prediction & Pick: Farid Basharat (-500); by Submission (+380)