UFC

UFC 276: Best bets for Saturday night in Paradise

UFC fighter Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya backed to successfully defend his title

"Adesanya is 1.241/4 for another victory, but we’ll take a third points win at 2.3211/8 on the Betfair Exchange."

MMA fans enjoy a competitive card from Las Vegas and Betfair's Frankie Monkhouse offers his best bets of the evening...

Return to Paradise

Adesanya v Cannonier
Sunday, 05:30
Live on BT Sport

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Paradise, Nevada, this weekend with UFC 276 staged at the T-Mobile Arena. Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier face off in a bout to decide the UFC middleweight championship, and a competitive battle is expected.

Adesanya is the current champion and ruler of the middleweight division. He risks his hard-earned title against an ambitious and talented fighter, but the pre-fight betting odds available on the Betfair Exchange make the Nigerian the hot favourite to defend his strap. Will he live up to expectations?

Champ has lost only once

Adesanya brings a 22-1 MMA record into this contest, with 15 of his wins coming by knockout and the other seven on points. Jan Blachowicz inflicted his only defeat on points in Las Vegas in the main attraction of UFC 259.

Since losing to Blachowicz, the champion bounced back with impressive wins, beating Marvin Vettori on UFC 263 and Robert Whittaker at UFC 271, both coming on the scorecards. Adesanya is 1.241/4 for another victory, but we'll take a third points win at 2.3211/8 on the Betfair Exchange.

Cannonier has won 15 and lost five fights already, with three defeats by decision. Two of the American's last three have tested the judges, although Jared did KO Derek Brunson in round two on UFC 271 last time, so he shouldn't be taken lightly.

Alexander the Great

Volkanovski v Holloway
Sunday, 05:00
Live on BT Sport

The chief support pairs two experienced and popular fighters in, Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. This bout has the potential to overshadow the main event, but it's Alexander the Great who will carry our support.

Volkanovski is a 33-year-old Australian with a professional MMA record showing 24 wins against one defeat, so it's no surprise to see him marked up as the 1.548/15 favourite to claim another victory. He stopped Chan Sung Jung in round four in his most recent clash, but his four wins before that were all on points. Follow that trend and back another points win at 2.35/4 in the method of victory.

Holloway - 2.89/5 in the fight winner market - has been over course and distance many times during his career, and he knows what it takes to compete at this level. He has won 23 of his previous 29 matches, and it's worth noting that five of those six losses have been on the judges' cards. These men have fought twice already, with Alexander winning both on points.

Sweet success for Sugar

Munhoz v O'Malley
Sunday, 04:00
Live on BT Sport

A bout from the undercard that caught our eye was Pedro Munhoz vs Sean O'Malley, which goes ahead in the bantamweight category and could provide us with the next challenger of note to the UFC title.

Sugar O'Malley is a Montana native who has competed at flyweight and bantamweight. He is currently ranked number 13 in the division and knows an eye-catching performance would shunt him up the pecking order. He has won 15 of his 16 bouts, claiming each of his last three by knockout. A fight involving O'Malley hasn't gone the distance since March 2018, a run of five KO wins and one defeat inside the distance. O'Malley is 2.829/5 for another KO/TKO.

The Young Punisher Munhoz steps into the octagon with a 19-7 record, and you'll find all seven of his defeats have come on the scorecards. He has lost four of his last five, so it's expected he has been brought in to try and drag his opponent into the later rounds and test his fitness. A win for Munhoz won't attract too much attention, even at odds of 3.65.

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