Odds, Best Bets for UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Figueiredo, Song vs. Salikhov and More

Should Petr Yan be such a big favorite against Deiveon Figueiredo in a bantamweight title eliminator?

Should Petr Yan be such a big favorite against Deiveon Figueiredo in a bantamweight title eliminator? / USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC

UFC Fight Night takes place on Saturday night, and there are several bets to consider for a loaded card.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Petr Yan (-310) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (+250)

On a fight card that doesn’t necessarily provide enough intrigue for the casual MMA fan to wake up at 6am on the East Coast, fanatics and casuals alike should set their alarms for around 8:30 am to watch what will be a fantastic scrap in what is being viewed as a title eliminator bout in the 135lb division. 

Yan remains one of my favorite fighters to watch. His boxing is some of the best I have seen in the UFC and while by no means a submission specialist, he is more than competent if the fight gets to the ground. 

Figuieredo is also very well rounded and probably holds the edge in grappling and submission abilities. He has been on a tear since stepping up to the bantamweight division and has dismantled some very capable opponents in Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt and Chito Vera.

Yan is on another level than the aforementioned and while it appeared that Yan was potentially being slept on, I believe the oddsmakers have this line set pretty accurately with No Mercy coming in as a 3 to 1 favorite. If you look closely at the odds, you will also see that Vegas likes this fight to get into the later rounds offering the Over 4.5 rounds prop at -180 odds which I also believe is an accurate price. 

This fight should remain very close and while Figueiredo does have a few paths to victory, I think Yan’s relentless pressure and cardio will give him the edge. 

One of the holes in Yan’s game is that he can sometimes lose his cool and walk into unnecessary fire. When I spoke to Yan this week (full interview on Sports Illustrated YouTube) he appeared to be very calm and focused and has been very respectful when speaking about his opponent and I hope that carries over into the fight so ‘No Mercy’ can get one step closer to reclaiming the bantamweight throne. 

Pick: Yan via DEC +110

Xionan Yan (-185) vs. Tabatha Ricci (+154)

I expect the crowd in Macau to be pretty electric for this fight as Yan will have a lot of home country support. This fight is very intriguing to me and a very important one in the women’s strawweight division, as both fighters have the opportunity to show that they belong in the title discussion. 

Yan is extremely tough as proven in her last fight against Zheilii Wang where while losing a lopsided decision, she proved her resilience.

This fight really comes down to a clash of styles, as Yan, while clearly the better striker has shown that she can be taken down fairly easily with just a 63% takedown defense rate. Ricci can definitely win this fight and her clearest path to victory is making it as grimy as possible.She needs to stay in Yan’s face and control the distance inside with phone booth boxing and takedown attempts. 

While I don’t have a particularly strong lean on this fight, I will go with the hometown fighter here in a very close fight.

Pick: Yan via DEC -120

Kenan Song (+150) vs. Muslim Salikhov (-180)

This fight is about as mid as it gets. Salikhov is the favorite here but recent history has shown the Russian has approached dusk when it comes to his MMA career. He is coming off a split decision win against Ponzinhibio and before that he had lost 3 of 4, getting finished via KO twice.

At 40 years old and with over 200 professional kickboxing and MMA fights, without a convincing victory here, it may be time to start thinking about retirement. 

Song also is struggling to remain a UFC caliber fighter. He is 2-3 in his last five and does not have a UFC win against any fighter that is still competent. Don’t really love any wager here but for the purpose of this column I have scoured the odds to find the best value. 

With both fighters having some extra motivation to keep their careers alive, I could realistically see either one of them securing a KO/TKO finish. Both have a decent amount of power and neither one possesses an iron clad defense. Take the plus money on one of these guys going to sleep.

Pick: Fight to end via KO +120

Cong Wang (-950) vs. Gabriella Fernandes (+625)

Wang has developed somewhat of a cult following with her “Joker” inspired makeup and the UFC is clearly counting on her being a star as they continue to invest in the Asian and international markets. 

They are pretty obviously giving her a layup opponent in front of her home crowd as Gabriella Fernandes is a +625 underdog. Fernandes is tough and fairly well rounded but the writing is on the wall here for a finish for Wang.  With a signature win here, we could start hearing more about a Valentina Shevchenko fight in the UFC. 

Wang defeated Valentina in kickboxing back in October of 2015 and somewhat parallels the Israel Adensanya-Alex Pereira storyline. I’m just going to close my eyes here and take the plus money of the fighting ending inside the distance.

Pick: Fight to end ITD +110

Volkan Oezdemir (+200) vs. Carlos Ulberg (-245)

Oezdemir is the veteran of the division and was pretty highly touted coming into the UFC, but his career has been pretty lackluster. He showed some flashes of power early is on a two fight win streak with two finishes, but his opponents weren’t necessarily world beaters. Ulberg on the other hand is one of the fighters who is right on the cusp of breaking into the top five and entering the title conversation, or continuing to finish mediocre opponents and become a journeyman at 205. 

Ulberg’s potential is pretty high and I am hoping that this could be a breakout performance for him and securing a finish. 

Pick: Ulberg via KO +130

Zhang Mingyang (-340) vs. Ozzy Diaz (+270)

This fight is similar to the Wang vs. Fernandes bout, as it appears it is giving Mingyang an opponent that he should be able to finish in front of the hometown crowd and boost his profile. Mingyang is a Road to the UFC alum and the promotion loves to see stars come out of their in-house productions. 

All of Mingyang’s professional wins have come via finish. Ozzy Diaz can be slightly dangerous on the feet but I don’t see him staying conscious through the first round. 

Pick: Mingyang via 1st RD KO -110

UFC Parlay of the Week (+227 Odds)

• Cong Wang
• Xionan Yan
• Carlos Ulberg
• Petr Yan

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Last Week:

• Predictions: 3-2
• Wagers 2-3
• -0.65 Units

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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