UFC Saudi Arabia: Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov kicks off the prelims with a fight in the bantamweight division between promotional newcomers Xiao Long and ChangHo Lee. Long comes into this Road to UFC finale with four wins in a row meanwhile, Lee comes into this matchup with three wins in a row all by finish. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Long-Lee prediction and pick.

Xiao Long (26-8) had his first shot at fighting for a contract in the UFC on the Contender Series but things didn’t go his way when he dropped a decision to Cristian Quinonez. Now, after four straight wins and back-to-back wins in the Road to UFC tournament, he will be looking to finally secure his contract in this Road to UFC finale fight against ChangHo Lee in Saudi Arabia.

ChangHo Lee (9-1) has won three fights in a row with all three of those fights coming by TKO stoppage. He has won his two fights in the Road to UFC tournament and will be making his first appearance in the Octagon looking to complete the mission and become the Road to UFC season 2 bantamweight winner when he takes on seasoned veteran Xiao Long this weekend.

Here are the UFC Saudi Arabia Odds, courtesy of BetOnline. 

UFC Saudi Arabia Odds: Xiao Long-ChangHo Lee Odds

Xiao Long: -111

ChangHo Lee: -109

Over 2.5 rounds: -240

Under 2.5 rounds: +190

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Why Xiao Long Will Win

Xiao Long was getting ready to fight ChangHo Lee back in February for the Road to UFC finals but a visa issue stopped that from happening and then an injury on Lee’s side delayed it even more. Now, they are finally ready to battle it out for the Road to UFC bantamweight tournament finals this weekend in Saudi Arabia. Long has now won four straight fights since losing his fight on the Contender Series with both of his wins in the Road to UFC tournament coming by close decision. Long will be looking for a more decisive victory this go around when he takes on Korea’s ChangHo Lee this weekend.

Xiao Long does his best work on his feet where he’s able to press forward and throw a ton of volume at his opponents. That will certainly come in handy against a fighter who will be wanting to come forward hunting for takedowns much like his last two opponents. In this matchup, Lee is known for losing his fights early and having the cardio to win or get a finish late. What’s good for Long is that he has exceptional cardio to put on a relentless pace for the full 15 minutes. If Long can just defend the takedowns or scramble back to his feet it should be his fight to lose.

Why ChangHo Lee Will Win

ChangHo Lee will look to become the next big thing out of Korea when he steps into the Octagon this weekend against Xiao Long for the Road to UFC finals. Lee is coming off three straight finishes and will be looking to make a fourth when he goes to battle this weekend in Saudi Arabia against Xiao Long.

Lee is a relentless forward pressure fighter who’s always going to be looking to track down his opponents and take them down. From there he can wear on them and punish them with heavy ground and pound. As the fight progresses that’s when Lee takes over as his opponents get tired that is a game plan each and every time he’s fighting. Going up against another high-paced in-your-face fighter like Long, Lee is going to need to match his intensity and drain that card, and his relentless grappling pace can certainly do that. If he can wear on Long he can get the job done and become the Road to UFC bantamweight champion.

Final Xiao Long-ChangHo Lee Prediction & Pick

It’s a very good thing that the UFC didn’t decide to scratch this finale as this will be a great fight for the fans. We can expect a high-paced fight with a bit of everything from a ton of grappling exchanges and brawling to the bitter end. This is exactly the type of fighter that Long has had success against in the past as he’s shown great takedown defense and cardio in the past and with his striking, this should be a long night for Lee. As long as Long doesn’t fade like Lee’s past opponents, he should come on strong winning the striking exchanges, defending the takedowns outworking Long for most of this fight, and getting the win in his Octagon debut.

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Final Xiao Long-ChangHo Lee Prediction & Pick: Xiao Long (-111), Over 2.5 Rounds (-240)