After a rare week off, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is back in action. The UFC is at the Accor Arena in Paris for their first endeavor in France. French native Ciryl Gane‘s heavyweight match vs. Australian Tai Tuivasa headlines the 12-bout card.
I expect there to be a lot of great fights as this is an elevated fight night card. Therefore, there should be are a lot of good betting options. ESPN will stream all the matches, with the preliminaries getting underway at noon (ET) while the main card starts at 3 p.m. (ET). The following are my best bets.
Parlay Play: Ciryl Gane, and Abus Magomedov, and Marvin Vettori vs. Robert Whitaker Over 2.5 Rounds
I like the pairing of Gane, Magomedov, and over 2.5 Rounds in the Vettori versus Whitaker match for a three-lay parlay. Gane (10-1) needs a win after finding himself on the wrong side of the scorecard in a unification championship fight against Francis Ngannou the last time out. He should be able to outlast Tuivasa in this battle of heavyweights.
While Tuivasa (15-3) is a big puncher and enters the cage, having won five straight matches, this appears to be a bad matchup for him. Gane has a considerable reach advantage, is an excellent athlete, and is an elite striker. “Bon Gamin” – who plans on utilizing a “hit, avoid getting hit strategy” – movement and defense give him the edge here.
However, Gane’s price tag at -540 provides no value, which is why I am pairing him with Magomedov. Magomedov (24-4-1) is a dynamic finisher – having won 79% of his matches before the final bell – and should be able to handle Dustin Stoltzfus in his UFC debut. Stoltzfus, a late fight replacement, had lost his first three UFC fights before defeating Dwight Grant on July 16.
This middleweight between Vettori and Whitaker should be an excellent fight as both combatants are looking to get back into contention for title contention. Each fighter has lost to champion Israel Adesanya twice.
I like Vettori to pull up the upset in this long overdue match against Whitaker. Vettori is slightly the better striker and grappler. However, since there is not much difference between the two, it figures that the fight will go to the judges.
Prediction Gane (-560) To win, Abus Magomedov (-265) to win, and Vettori vs. Whitaker to go over 2.5 Rounds (-285)
Three-Leg Parlay: +119
Michal Figlak vs. Fares Ziam
I like Figlak (8-0) to remain undefeated as a professional with a victory over Ziam (12-4) in his UFC debut. Ziam is coming off a submission loss to Terrence McKinney in February and is 2-2 in the UFC. Figlak’s aggressive style, striking ability, agility, and technical soundness, are just too much for Ziam to handle in this light weight match.
Best Bet: Figlak (-200) To Win
Other Best Bets
Nassourdine Imavov vs. Joaquin Buckley over 1.5 rounds (-185)
Benoit Saint-Denis (-285) To defeat Gabriel Miranda