It's UFC PPV time and the UFC has lined us up with a fantastic card. One of the biggest title matches of 2025 will happen Saturday night, as this is a matchup fans have been waiting for.
As the weeks have gotten closer, the steam seems to be picking up between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev and you won’t want to miss it! Get our top picks for Saturday, March 8th below. Good luck, folks!
Mauricia Ruffy is a huge favorite and while I do my best to leave these types of lines out of parlays, I believe he is a good pick in this matchup. King Green and Ruffy will exchange strikes in this match as Green lands 6.4 and Ruffy lands 4.7 per minute. They both absorb around 4 per minute with striking defense around 60% for both.
The problem is Green has a ton of wear and tear on his body, and at 38, I just don’t believe he can take damage for 3 rounds, especially from Ruffy. Ruffy looked to have a solid gas tank in his previous fight, and if Green tries to take this to the ground I believe Ruffy will be too strong and too quick. Ruffy has a good chance to finish Green in this fight and if he doesn’t he should find a decision by damage.
Joshua Van is in a tricky spot vs a talented, and undefeated Japanese fighter Rei Tsuruya. Rei will 100% look to grapple and get this fight to the mat, and he may be successful at doing that, but I trust Van here. I can see Van stuffing a ton of takedowns and landing too many violent strikes that will eventually cause Rei to change his game plan.
Van lands an absurd 8.8 strikes per minute, and while he takes that wild approach, in return he absorbs a lot. Absorbing 5 strikes per minute could be worrisome against other opponents, but with Rei, the striking threat is not there. If Van can keep Rei off him for 3 rounds, he should win by volume and damage.
Mauricio Ruffy has a good chance to win this fight by some type of finish. With how Green fights, I expect a brawl and Ruffy will find his shot for a standing KO, or a ground and pound.
Jalin Turner and Ignacio Bahamondes are two of the tallest fighters in the lightweight division. With this length, I believe they will keep a lot of distance between themselves, looking for entry points to find the kill shot, or the slick takedown. With each knowing how dangerous the other can be, I do think we will see more action in the later rounds.
Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev Part 2 is going to be one of the best fights of the night, perhaps one of the more electric fights we will see in 2025. Both fighters coming into this bout off of losses and with Gaethje, a brutal KO loss.
This makes me believe, there will be a feeling out process and both fighters will be strategic in their attacks. This fight went to a decision the first time around, and if we get a finish, I believe it will be in the 3rd round in this one.
Top Parlay:
3% Joshua Van ML + Mauricio Ruffy ML (-104)
Underdog Slip:
Mauricio Ruffy Higher 0.5 Finishes
Jalin Turner Higher 10.0 Fight Minutes
Rafael Fiziev Higher 10.0 Fight Minutes