As the typical UFC schedule goes, following a big pay-per-view event, the Ultimate Fighting Championships is back at UFC Apex with Vegas 65 on November 19. Last week saw two titles change hands and several other outstanding fights.
While UFC Vegas 65 isn’t as loaded as UFC 281, Saturday’s 12-card main event between heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Serghei Spivac is pretty intriguing. Other things to watch are up-and-comers — Waldo Cortes Acosta, Jack Della Medallena, and Natalia Silva — as they attempt to increase their stock with the promotion. ESPN+ will stream the preliminaries (1 p.m. ET) and the main card (4 p.m.).
Natalia Silva vs. Teresa Bleda, Flyweight
Silva and Bleda are young fighters looking to climb the women’s flyweight ladder. Silva (13-5), 25, extended her win streak to seven straight with a unanimous decision over Jasmine Jasudavicius in her UFC debut after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus. The 20-year-old Bleda (6-0) defeated Nayara Maia via unanimous decision in a Dana White Contender Series bout the last time out to earn a UFC contract.
I like Silva here despite being much shorter and giving up six inches of reach. However, Silva has a pretty big advantage in experience. Her punches and kicks are very aggressive and quick, which should cause problems for Bleda, whose defense is a major weakness.
Pick: Natalia Sivia To Win (-165)
Jack Della Maddalena vs. Danny Roberts, Welterweight
Della Maddalena (12-2) enters the octagon this weekend as a true blue chipper. The 26-year-old Aussie has won 12 straight bouts after beginning his career with consecutive losses as an 18-year-old. He looks to improve 3-0 in the UFC, previously earning knockout victories over Pete Rodriguez and Ramazan Emeev earlier this year.
Roberts (18-6) is a cagey veteran who has struggled during his time with the UFC. The 35-year-old Englishman lost to Francisco Trinaldo via unanimous decision in his lone fight this year to drop to 7-5 with the promotion. He has lost three of his last five outings.
I like Della Maddalena in what could be an explosive firefight between heavy hitters. Della Maddalena has looked flawless in his first two fights, while Roberts has been very inconsistent. As long as Della Maddalena can keep off the mat, he should be able to finish Roberts inside the distance – all but one of his 14 fights have ended before the final bell.
Prediction: Jack Della Maddalena To Win (-560)
Best Bet: Della Maddalena To Win By Finish (-250)
Serghei Spivac vs. Derrick Lewis, Heavyweight
Prediction: Serghei Spivac To Win (-200)
Best Bet: Spivac To Win by DQ/KO/TKO (+140)
Ricky Turcios vs. Kevin Natividad, Bantamweight
Prediction: Ricky Turcios To Win
Best Bet: Fight To Go Distance (-175)
Maryna Moroz vs. Jennifer Maia
Best Bet: Fight To Go Distanceight To Go Distance (-300)
Ion Cutebala vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
Best Bet: Fight To Not Go Distance (-330)
Parlay Special: Della Maddalena, Spivac, and Silva
I like this 3-leg win parlay since there is no value in betting Della Maddalena (-560) on the money line. So, I will parlay his money line with my other money bets on Spivac (-200) and Silva (-165). The three-leg parlay equates to odds of +182, or handicappers will get $282 back on a bet of $100.
3-leg Money line parlay: +182
