An electric start at the UFC from a betting perspective and entertainment value.
This week, the promotion returns for UFC Fight Night Vegas 113 from the META APEX center, with 13 fights on the horizon, beginning at 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
Last week, we nailed the main event and co-main event to perfection, profiting a total of 8.55 units on the card, where we also crushed a +180 and +220 underdog.
It’s a hot start to the new year — and the Paramount era — and we hope this week will be no different.
Below, I dive into some of the best bets, picks, and predictions for UFC Fight Night on Saturday.
UFC Fight Night predictions
Mario Bautista vs. Vinicius Oliveira
A high-level matchup at the UFC bantamweight division as Mario Bautista faces off against the always entertaining Vinicius Oliveira.
Mario Bautista is a very good fighter; he’s gone the distance against arguably the best bantamweight fighter in the UFC, Umar Nurmagomedov.
He also embarrassed Patchy Mix in a unanimous decision victory before that.
He faces Vinicius Oliveira, who is a serious threat to get finishes with chokes and striking.
At face value, these two are the same height, but I suspect the underdog Oliveira to have a serious size advantage.
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Oliveira may have the upset and finishing upside to get a finish here, but Bautista is very durable, and Oliveira hasn’t fought five rounds before.
I suspect that Bautista grapples for five rounds, or at least is able to tire Oliveira out for the final three rounds en route to a boring decision win.
If the odds on Oliveira were +220-ish, I’d take a stab at him, but the most likely outcome is Bautista by decision.
PREDICTION: Bautista by decision (+250, FanDuel)
Amir Albazi vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
Two top 10-rated UFC flyweights face off in this one.
Kyoji Horiguchi is coming off the highest of highs in his career, after he smashed Tagir Ulanbekov in November last year, with a round three submission in a fight he won every second of.
Amir Albazi is coming off a rather poor performance against former champion Brandon Moreno, where he also lost just about every minute of that fight.
Prior to each of these two’s last fight, Albazi would probably be the favorite here, but Albazi looked so bad last time out, and Horiguchi looked so good that you have the latter as a -400 favorite.
Horiguchi is riding high and big for the division, a better striker and a submission threat.
If Albazi wins, he basically just grapples and tries to hold Horiguchi down for 15 minutes.
Horiguchi is too good for that; he’s training every day with Alexandre Pantoja every week (when he’s healthy).
Horiguchi wins this one inside the distance and makes a case for a title fight.
PREDICTION: Horiguchi wins inside the distance (+225, BetMGM)
UFC Fight Night full card picks
Mario Bautista vs. Vinicius Oliveira: Bautista by decision (+250, FanDuel)
Amir Albazi vs. Kyoji Horiguchi: Horiguchi wins inside the distance (+225, BetMGM)
Jailton Almeida vs. Rizvan Kuniev: Almeida by submission (+265, BetRivers)
Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Marc-Andre Barriault: Oleksiejczuk ML for parlays (-430, FanDuel)
Jean Matsumoto vs. Farid Basharat: Matsumoto by decision (+325, BetMGM)
Dustin Jacoby vs. Julius Walker: Jacoby ML for parlays
Alex Morono vs. Daniil Donchenko: Pass
Nikolay Veretennikov vs. Niko Price: Pass
Bruna Brasil vs. Ketlen Souza: Brasil ML (+145, Caesars Sportsbook) | Brasil by decision (+210, FanDuel)
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Javid Basharat: Nurmagomedov by submission (+700, FanDuel)
Wang Cong vs. Eduarda Moura: Cong ML for parlays | Cong wins in over 1.5 rounds (-120, DraftKings)
Muin Gafurov vs. Jakub Wiklacz: Wiklacz ML (+124, Kalshi)
Klaudia Sygula vs. Priscila Cachoeira: Fight goes to decision (+110, BetMGM)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.