The UFC is heading to Seattle this weekend with a solid Fight Night card for you. Headlined by former Champ Henry Cejudo and rising contender Song Yadong, there is upcoming talent from start to finish.
Today, I will break down my 4 favorite bets for this weekend’s fight card. Let’s get into it!
I am very excited to see how this fight goes down. Those of you who are tapped into the MMA world may know Vanderford as the husband of former UFC fighter Paige VanZant. Vanderford is a former title challenger from Bellator, but his last 2 fights in Bellator ended in him being finished.
He did face stiff competition, but after those two losses, he took a 2-year hiatus and made his return in LFA not long ago. He will face off against Veretennikov, who lost his UFC debut last summer to Danny Barlow via split decision.
I think this fight should be very interesting. Vanderford, at one point, was seen as one of the hottest prospects in MMA. He was 11-0 going into his title fight against Gerard Mausasi.
Now in the UFC, we will see if he can get his career back on track. 75% of Veretennikov’s wins have come by KO/TKO. Vanderford is a very good grappler, however, which I think will give him the upper hand.
MY PICK: Austin Vanderford +110
Silva is a huge favorite in this fight, coming in at -550 at the time of my writing this. It is well deserved though. Silva comes into this fight on a 10-fight win streak and has dominated his last 3 fights, winning by KO/TKO, including wins over Charles Jourdain and Drew Dober. He takes on Baghdasaryan who has been good, but not so exciting, having just one stoppage in his 3 UFC victories.
I think Silva is going to dominate this fight. He has seemed almost unstoppable in his last 3 UFC fights and his team, The Fighting Nerds, is the hottest upcoming team in MMA.
Baghdasaryan hasn’t fought anybody of stature in his UFC career so far and Silva’s last 2 have been against UFC Vets. I think Silva wins by finish, but we will take the under for better odds.
MY PICK: Under 2.5 Rounds -125
This is an exciting one in my eyes, mostly because of Hernandez. He comes into this fight on a 6-fight win streak and has finished 5 of those fights. He hasn’t lost since a TKO loss to Kevin Holland in 2020.
He faces a tough fighter now in Allen, who was on a 7 fight-winning streak of his own until he ran into Nassourdine Imavov in September. Both of these guys are proven UFC vets, so this will surely be fun.
In my eyes, Hernandez has a good advantage. He is better on his feet and has shown he can grapple with anyone by submitting 5-time BJJ world champion Rodolfo Viera.
Allen is a skilled grappler himself with 5 submission wins in his 7 fight win streak dating from 2022. I’m taking Hernandez by the points here so we can cover a decision win or a finish.
MY PICK: Anthony Hernandez -3.5 -125
It hasn’t been great for Cejudo since he made his return to the octagon in 2023. He lost to Aljamain Sterling and Merab, both champions in their own right, and now at 38 years old is on contender duty.
Yadong is 11 years younger than Cejudo and is still on the rise in his career. However, he has faltered against the top competition so far in his career with losses to Cory Sandhagen and Petr Yan.
I am very interested to see how this fight pans out. Being a lifelong wrestler, I want to see Cejudo go out on a win, but Yadon is going to be a tough matchup for him. He is big, strong, and most importantly young.
However, Yadong has never faced a wrestler that is the caliber of Cejudo, and he has faltered against top-tier talent. I also think it is hard to pass up on Cejudo as a +220 dog, so I am riding with the veteran to use his experience and get this thing done.
MY PICK: Henry Cejudo +220