Billy Ward grabbed Cameron Smotherman at +114, arguing the Texan owns a clear hand-speed and boxing edge over Serhiy Sidey. Ward described Sidey as a tall kicker who needs space; pressure boxers who collapse distance traditionally give that archetype fits. He liked the improvements Smotherman showed against Jake Hadley—tighter footwork, higher output—and trusts him to force pocket exchanges where his combinations will win judges’ eyes. With neither man demonstrating much wrestling, Ward is banking on a pure striking match and called Smotherman at slight plus money 'a pretty clear side.'

Kyle Anthony advised grabbing the +120 on Cameron Smotherman, believing the Contender Series alum is the sharper striker and better pressure fighter than Siri City. Smotherman impressed on short notice in his UFC debut as a +460 dog, out-landing Jake Hadley 96-60. Anthony praised his crisp boxing, hand speed, and surprising power. Siri City, by contrast, is 1-1 via split decisions and arguably should be 0-2; in his last bout Garrett Armfield out-landed him, scored 4 takedowns, and logged 5 minutes of control yet lost on the cards. Despite height and reach, Siri fails to fight long, relying on a ‘tall-man’ defense that gets him tagged inside. He is also 0-for-8 on UFC takedowns, so his theoretical wrestling safety valve is absent. Anthony expects Smotherman to walk Siri down, keep him on the back foot, and land the cleaner, more damaging shots in the pocket. Unless Siri suddenly wrestles effectively, Anthony sees Smotherman winning outright and likes the closing line movement toward the underdog.

The Weasle advised backing Siri Sidey by second-round TKO. City owns a three-inch reach edge, superior footwork and throws fluid four-punch combos while angling out. Smotherman plods forward behind single feints, ‘loads up on telegraphed punches’ and must crash inside to score. That forward march walks him into Sidey check hooks, step-in knees and quick high kicks. If Smotherman shoots, Sidey active guard produces triangles and elbows. The Weasle expects a highlight strike—high kick or flying knee—to drop Smotherman, followed by ground-and-pound for the finish. Betting angles: Sidey money-line, Sidey R2/R3, or Sidey KO/TKO prop.

Jim Malaro wants nothing to do with a side in Smotherman-City but loves the violence prop. He cited City’s questionable chin—flattened by Ramon Taveras in their first Contender Series meeting and badly swollen after the rematch—as well as Smotherman’s defensive lapses that got him iced on Contender Series. Because City’s most likely victory is a flash knockout while Smotherman’s path is sustained aggression and volume that can lead to late finishes, Malaro believes ‘Not to Go the Distance’ captures both fighters’ most probable win conditions and avoids guessing which inconsistent prospect shows up.

Millz Young backed plus-money Cameron Smotherman to upset Serhiy Sidey. He reminded listeners that Sidey’s last win over Garrett Armfield was a gift from the judges and noted Sidey has landed few successful takedowns in the UFC. Smotherman, meanwhile, is a polished boxer with real pop who has been sharpening his all-around game by splitting camps with Adrian Yanez, Bellator champ Rufian Stots and, most recently, Diego Lopes’ grappling-heavy room. Millz expects a pure stand-up battle that finishes inside the distance and believes Smotherman’s developing takedown defense will hold up long enough for his hands to find the chin. Recommended angles: Smotherman money-line or KO/TKO props.

Andy Lang is taking a shot on Cameron Smotherman as the underdog after seeing real evolution in the Jay Hadley fight. Lang highlighted that Smotherman controlled pace and geography, stuffed multiple takedowns, and immediately scrambled up the few times Hadley did complete a shot—skills that were absent when Smotherman was knocked out on Contender Series. He deems City’s split win over Garrett Armfield uninspiring and notes City’s face was ‘beat to shit’ in the Taveras rematch. If the Hadley-version of Smotherman shows up—pressuring, athletic, and willing to dictate clinch positions—Lang believes he will out-work City over three rounds or find a late finish, making the plus-money moneyline worth a stab.

Paul Shaughnessy doubled down on Cameron Smotherman as a plus-money bet after digging into additional tape and training intel. He noted that Smotherman just spent 12–16 weeks at Diego Lopez’s Lobos gym in Mexico, giving him the first full camp in years focused on shoring up his one glaring weakness—takedown defense. Smotherman’s last-minute UFC debut against Jake Hadley already showed progress: he stuffed several early shots, kept a furious pace, and never faded. Paul contrasted that with Serhiy Sidey’s numbers: 0-for-8 on UFC takedown attempts and a trend of getting out-landed (Garrett Armfield beat him in significant strikes every round before late lay-and-pray). Armfield himself is routinely taken down—six times by Hiestand, four by Katona—so Paul doubts Sidey can suddenly morph into a control wrestler. If Sidey chooses to trade, Smotherman’s jab, body-head combos, and superior footwork should rack up damage on a defensively porous target whose face was busted up in both Ramon Taveras bouts. Paul expects a potential Fight-of-the-Night brawl and is comfortable locking in Smotherman’s money-line, sprinkling KO and Decision props, and eyeing a live add if an early mat return briefly inflates the price.

Cody Saftic flagged Cameron Smotherman as another live underdog, acknowledging the glaring hole in his game—takedown defence—but arguing Serhiy Sidey is not the relentless chain-wrestler needed to exploit it for three rounds. Smotherman’s past losses nearly all came via extended top control; when allowed to strike, the Fury FC product piles on volume and owns sneaky body-head combinations that judges like. Cody expects Sidey to attempt early level-changes but predicts Smotherman’s footwork and gas tank will drag this back into a kickboxing match by Round 2, where Sidey’s output historically falls below six sig. strikes per minute. With the line hovering around +115, Cody believes you’re getting the better cardio, the home-run finishing upside, and a fighter still improving at 25 years old. Recommendation: take Smotherman ML pre-fight and look for an even juicier live number if he gets briefly grounded in Round 1.

Kunath picked Cameron Smotherman to cash as an underdog by sticking to the blueprint he debuted against Jake Hadley: walk forward, pump the jab-one-two and refuse to over-complicate things. He praised Smotherman’s ability to win rounds by simply being first and keeping a steady pace, noting Sidey’s 0-for-8 UFC takedown record means the Canadian’s only real submission danger comes from his guard—positions Kunath doubts he’ll reach. Sidey does throw dangerous knees and could land something down the middle, but Kunath expects Smotherman to bank minutes, pile up meat-and-potatoes volume, and exploit Sidey’s tendency to wear visible damage. Because Sidey is unlikely to land the takedowns needed to slow the boxing assault, Kunath projected a Smotherman decision and recommended taking the plus-money money-line or decision prop while sliding him into low-salary DFS lineups for cheap strike volume.

Gumby Vreeland tabbed Cameron Smotherman as a live underdog at +120, arguing his blend of explosive boxing and proactive wrestling will neutralize Serhiy Sidey’s rangy kickboxing. Vreeland acknowledged Sidey’s power and ability to land from odd angles – attributes that produced a split series with Ramon Taveras and decent takedown defense versus Garrett Armfield – but stressed that Smotherman’s only career losses came when he was flash-knocked early. Since then Smotherman has tightened his defense and stacked quality wins over Mando Gutierrez (now a PFL semifinalist), Ryan Kuse, and most recently Jake Hadley, whom he clearly out-struck on Dana White’s Contender Series. Vreeland believes Smotherman’s willingness to change levels will keep Sidey from settling into his kicking range, and that the Texan’s cardio edge will pay dividends in rounds two and three. Because of the two-pronged attack, Vreeland projected Smotherman to win either a decision or late stoppage and labeled the money-line plus money as his favorite prelim bet.

MMA Guru backed slight underdog Cameron Smotherman to outlast 5'11" power-puncher Surhe Sidey, projecting a 29-28 decision keyed by relentless body attacks. Guru re-watched Sidey’s split over Garrett Armfield and pointed out that whenever opponents press forward in combinations, Sidey simply shells up instead of countering—an approach that will let the high-volume Smotherman pile up strikes once Sidey’s initial burst fades. He added that Sidey routinely gasses after round one and has been knocked out in wild brawls, whereas Smotherman showed composure on short notice versus Jake Hadley, walking him down and mixing wrestling when needed. Smotherman’s straight work to the ribs should sap Sidey’s cardio even faster, setting up dominant second and third rounds. Guru expects Sidey’s early KO threat but said if bettors survive the first five minutes, live-betting Smotherman or taking the Smotherman decision prop is the angle.

Bedtime MMA picked Cameron Smotherman to out-hustle Serhiy Sidey across three rounds. The Contender Series alum is labeled “a killer,” whereas the tout jokingly refuses to back a Canadian male in modern UFC. Sidey’s split-decision loss to Ramon Taveras showed toughness but not elite upside. Smotherman’s pace and finishing instincts should impress judges enough for a clear nod.