The UFC returns to pay-per-view on Saturday night time with a UFC 293 card headlined by one of many sport’s finest defending his world title. The primary occasion options Israel Adesanya making the primary protection of his second reign as middleweight champion when he faces Sean Strickland.
Strickland acquired the decision to problem for the belt when prime contender Dricus Du Plessis was not accessible for the cardboard. With Adesanya tabbed because the headliner for the Australian-hosted occasion, Strickland was the following man up and accepted the battle.
The remainder of the undercard options extra fighters from the Oceanic area trying to make an announcement. Knockout artist Justin Tafa is again when he takes on Austen Lane in a rematch from earlier this 12 months. The 2 met in April, however a brutal eye poke from Lane moments into the battle resulted in a no contest as Tafa couldn’t see. Elsewhere, fan favourite Tyson Pedro is again in a light-weight heavyweight contest reverse Anton Turkalj. And rising mild heavyweight contender Carlos Ulberg takes on Da Woon Jung within the preliminary important occasion.
The remainder of the cardboard is unusually weak for a UFC pay-per-view however ought to nonetheless present a superb quantity of motion by way of fights that every one have a excessive likelihood of being completed earlier than the ultimate bell.
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As with each UFC pay-per-view occasion, there shall be loads of motion at sportsbooks across the nation. As at all times, we’re every important card battle to determine the “finest wager” for every bout. After a 3-2 consequence at UFC 292, our report for the 12 months now stands at 24-23.
Let’s check out what we have recognized as our decisions for one of the best bets on the UFC 293 pay-per-view important card.
Tyson Pedro vs. Anton Turkalj
Tyson Pedro to win through KO/TKO/DQ (+275)
This isn’t an important mild heavyweight pairing and neither man is all that dependable. That mentioned, the standout stat right here is that Turkalj absorbs extra strikes per minute than he lands in his UFC profession. Pedro is not an elite mild heavyweight by any means however he can harm and end opponents on the ft. There’s some temptation to simply take the Pedro moneyline at -105, however let’s take an enormous swing and assume that he’ll have the ability to catch an enormous shot that hurts Turkalj, benefiting from Turkalj’s skill to be hit. The likelihood exists that Turkalj simply tries to take Pedro down and grind out a win on the bottom. Even with Pedro being considerably restricted, he falls nearer to the extent of opposition that Turkalj has struggled in opposition to than the lads he has defeated.
Justin Tafa vs. Austen Lane
Justin Tafa to win through KO/TKO/DQ (-160)
This battle is working again a battle that ended as a consequence of eye poke in simply 29 seconds. Tafa additionally has that nasty “extra strikes absorbed than landed per minute” tag however that’s solely a product of a battle with Jared Vanderaa wherein Vanderaa landed 121 strikes to Tafa’s 74. Tafa is the higher fighter heading into this battle and Lane has been stopped by strikes 3 times on the regional scene. Preventing in entrance of his Australian countrymen, Tafa ought to have just a little further motivation to land some good pictures and end the battle. The one query is that if Tafa can shut the space in opposition to Lane, who’s taller and longer.
Manel Kape vs. Felipe dos Santos
Manel Kape to win through KO/TKO/DQ (-135)
Are we noticing a pattern in these picks? That is all a product of a weird card that includes substandard pay-per-view fights. What is the extra fascinating decide? Kape’s moneyline is -400. The battle to not go the space is -230. Kape has heavy fingers and dos Santos tends to stroll ahead swinging, which performs into Kape with the ability to catch him clear. It is a large step up as dos Santos makes his UFC debut as a substitute opponent. He is by no means been stopped — and even misplaced — however the circumstances and elegance matchup do not favor him so let’s take one of the best accessible line on Kape profitable.
Tai Tuivasa vs. Alexander Volkov
Alexander Volkov to win through KO/TKO/DQ (-105)
It is official. That is the primary themed version of Greatest Bets. Knockouts for everybody. Once more, there aren’t a ton of interesting choices accessible for this battle. Tuivasa has backslid with two nasty knockout losses in a row. Volkov has solely been stopped as soon as in his pretty prolonged run with the UFC. Tuivasa does have sufficient energy to cease any battle, however Volkov’s size and approach current a number of difficult points for Tuivasa to unravel. Volkov additionally might be able to gasoline Tuivasa out earlier than discovering the end.
Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland
Israel Adesanya to win through KO/TKO/DQ (+100)
Adesanya does sometimes go into cruise management in title defenses in opposition to overmatched opponents. There is definitely a risk of that occuring in opposition to Strickland, however Strickland is not going to sit down again and anticipate rounds to tick away. That type of face-first type is what results in Strickland getting flattened by guys like Alex Pereira. There’s virtually definitely part of Adesanya that wishes to show he can do to Strickland what his greatest rival was in a position to do. By the best way, parlaying these 5 knockout picks will get you to +4042 in the event you’re feeling frisky.