Zuffa Boxing 08 — Edwin De Los Santos vs. Jos Valenzuela: Primetime, card, predictions
Zuffa Boxing 08 goes down Sunday from the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, and the fight card promises action. In the main event, Edwin De Los Santos takes on Jose Valenzuela in a lightweight bout.
The fight between De Los Santos and Valenzuela is a rematch of the 2022 fight where De Los Santos scored a third round knockout. Despite the quick end to the first meeting, the fight was a firefight with both men hitting the canvas while throwing heavy punches at the opening bell.
De Los Santos built on that success, taking a decision over Joseph Adorno, to secure the biggest fight of his career, the November 2023 fight with Shakur Stevenson.
Subscribe to Paramount+ and watch Zuffa Boxing 08 live at no extra charge — plus every numbered UFC event and UFC Fight Night included in your subscription! Plans start as low as $8.99/month or $89.99/year!
The fight between De Los Santos and Stevenson was not pleasant, with De Los Santos landing only 14 of 19 power shots from Stevenson as Stevenson took a narrow decision.
After a two-year hiatus, De Los Santos returned to the ring last November, knocking out Eliot Chavez in the first round to make his Zuffa Boxing debut.
After his loss to De Los Santos, Valenzuela dropped a controversial decision to Chris Colbert before eliminating Colbert in a quick match.
Valenzuela then picked up the biggest win of his career, a split decision over Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz. Just as De Los Santos saw his momentum shut down by Stevenson, Valenzuela’s win over Cruz was followed by a near-card loss to Gary Antoine Russell.
After winning his first Zuffa Boxing match, Valenzuela is ready to get revenge on De Los Santos.
The main card also sees two interesting fights. Featherweights get a featured spot when Omar Trinidad takes on Jerwin Ancajas. Trinidad is looking to take a big step forward in his career against WBO junior bantamweight champion Ancajas. Also, rising welterweight contender Brandun Lee looks set to go on to face 23-year-old Cain Sandoval. Lee is undefeated at 30-0 with 23 strikeouts on his resume. Sandoval suffered his first loss in his Zuffa debut in January.
Let’s take a closer look at Sunday’s full fight card in Las Vegas and the latest odds from DraftKings before getting the expert’s prediction and picks for the main event below.
Zuffa Boxing 08 card, odds
- Edwin De Los Santos -115 vs. Jose Valenzuela -110, lightweights
- Omar Trinidad -450 vs. Jerwin Ancajas +320, featherweights
- Brandun Lee -180 vs. Cain Sandoval +140, welterweights
- Floyd Diaz -205 vs. Andres Teran +160, bantamweight
- Tony Hirsch Jr. -140 vs. Jaybrio Pe Benito +110, lightweights
- Damoni Cato-Cain -245 vs. Vernon Brown +190, welterweights
- Brady Ochoa -260 vs. Adrian Serrano +200, lightweights
- Jakhongir Zokirov -1200 vs. Zachary Spiller +650, heavyweights
Prediction
The outcome of the first meeting between De Los Santos and Valenzuela should not be seen as a prediction. Both men landed big shots that night, it’s just that De Los Santos made Valenzuela hurt more and more and was able to land him for the finish. That said, Valenzuela is tough as nails and can take shots, so another strike isn’t guaranteed, even if De Los Santos can land a clean shot again.
Where De Los Santos has the edge is in technique, as Valenzuela can sometimes fight wide open and De Los Santos’ ability to land clean counters is a huge advantage in this fight. Possibilities tell the story here; this is no matter the person’s fight, which means it depends on who can control the fight early and ride that momentum. I’m going to tip things slightly in favor of Valenzuela since De Los Santos has less than one round until November 2023. Pick: Jose Valenzuela for UD
