We have a very fun card this weekend as UFC 312 will take place at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. Today, I will break down my 4 favorite bets for this weekend’s fight card. Let’s get into it!
This will be the final fight on the prelims, and it should be a very entertaining one. Jenkins has the home-field advantage, hailing from Australia. Both of these fighters are up-and-coming prospects looking to make their mark and begin moving into the Featherweight rankings.
This fight is a bit of a toss-up in my eyes. Santos has the upper hand in the grappling department, but Jenkins is scrappy. Jenkins has an extremely high fight IQ and shows some of the best leg kicks in the UFC.
I think he will have to stay aware of the takedown since Santos will be the bigger man, but he should be able to pick Santos apart. I love Jenkins' odds as the underdog here.
MY PICK: Jack Jenkins +190
To kick off the main card, we have a pretty fun matchup. Jake Matthews is a 10-year UFC vet who has faced a ton of ups and downs throughout his career. He holds a UFC record of 13-7 and has beaten some tough opponents in his day.
Now, he takes on a 22-year-old Prado who is fighting to stay relevant in the UFC. He is 1-2 in his young UFC career and will face a tough test against Matthews.
Matthews isn’t old by any means, at only 30 years old he has more experience than a lot of fighters. He will need to utilize that experience against a young and hungry fighter who poses a serious threat to finish this fight at any point.
Prado has finished his opponent in each of his 12 career wins, but both of his losses have come via decision. I think that Prado will face his 3rd loss via decision this weekend at the hands of a savvy vet.
MY PICK: Jake Matthews by Decision +110
This is an extremely exciting fight between two of the most dominant female fighters we have seen in a while. Apart from her two losses to Rose Namajunas, Weili has been incredible. She has fought in 7 championship fights in her UFC career and won 5, and that should be an advantage against Suarez who only has 7 total UFC fights under her belt.
However, Suarez has been dominant since winning the Ultimate Fighter 23 back in 2016. She has finished 5 of her 7 fights and has yet to lose as a pro.
To me, this fight comes down to Weili’s ability to defend an early grappling barrage and use her experience in the later rounds. Suarez is a dangerous grappler with 6 submission victories under her belt.
However, as I mentioned earlier, a 5 round fight is nothing to Weili. Suarez has never shown her ability to go the distance, and I think her inactivity (7 fights in 9 years) will be her downfall.
MY PICK: Weili Zhang +100
I am super excited about this rematch. In their first fight, DDP won an extremely close, and somewhat questionable, decision to win the middleweight title. Now, after two extremely impressive performances from both sides, we will see the highly anticipated rematch.
In the first matchup, we saw classic Strickland with high pressure and a ton of punches thrown. On the other hand, DDP was throwing less but landing the big shots as he does. Both of these guys fight at an extremely high pace, but Dricus packs the power.
I think he is going to prove he is the champion and get Strickland out of the way for good in this one. His versatility and ability to adapt throughout the fight is going to fuel him to a dominant win.
MY PICK: Dricus Du Plessis by KO/TKO/DQ or Sub +215