We had a week off in between that amazing UFC 314 card and this one, but we have a fun night of fights ahead of us in Kansas City. Two rising stars in the Welterweight division will go head-to-head with Machado Gary and Prates capping this card off. But we have some other exciting ones as well.
Today, I will break down my 3 favorite bets for this weekend’s fight card. Let’s get into it!
This should be a good fight between two guys who are UFC veterans. Brown comes into this fight with a 13-6 UFC record, but lost his last fight via split decision. Dalby is on his second stint in the UFC and owns a 7-4-1 record, but now sitting at 40, it could be his last run.
Brown is a big favorite heading into this fight, currently sitting at -290 on the moneyline. I agree with the odds; I think Brown has all the skills to handle this fight. Brown is huge for 170, standing 6’3 with a 78” reach.
Like most of his fights, I think he will win it from a distance, picking Dalby apart from a distance. Brown has won over half of his UFC fights by decision, and I think it will happen again. Also, Dalby has never finished in his career, so I love these odds.
MY PICK: Randy Brown By Decision +100
I am very interested in this fight because of how erratic Anthony Smith’s performances have been recently. Smith, as you can tell by his record, has been around forever and fought just about anyone you can imagine. Now, he stands as the first big test for rising prospect Mingyang.
Mingyang comes into this fight off of back-to-back first-round finishes. He is 2-0 in his young UFC career and looks like a problem for the Light Heavyweight division. Now, he will face his toughest test yet in Anthony Smith.
Smith hasn’t been great recently, but he is still as tough as they come. He has so much fight experience at a high level, I think he can last in this fight. I still think Smith will lose, but I don’t think he will get finished in the first round. I also can’t believe we are getting even odds for this.
MY PICK: Fight to Start Round 2 +100
Here. We. Go. This fight is going to be awesome. Prates has emerged as one of the scariest fighters in the Welterweight division, and Gary is looking to avoid the dreaded back-to-back losses. Both of these guys are very high-level strikers, so this should be an exciting fight mainly on the feet.
Gary is coming into this fight after his first loss in a welterweight title eliminator against Shavkat Rakhmonov. Now, he faces another tough test in Carlos Prates, who has a 100% KO rate in his 4 UFC fights. Prates is part of the “Fighting Nerds” team, who’s 4 fighters are currently undefeated in their UFC careers.
I think that streak will live on this weekend. Prates is an absolutely brutal striker, and while Gary is as slick as they come, I don’t think he will be able to survive the onslaught that Prates will bring. I think Gary will struggle to keep his distance and avoid Prates’ big shots. Give me the underdog to continue his incredible run.
MY PICK: Carlos Prates +120