UFC Fight Night 138 Betting Preview & Picks

MMA goes north of the border to the Moncton Events Centre in New Brunswick, Canada, on Saturday night, with UFC Fight Night 138 set for broadcast on Fight Pass and Fox Sports 1. The main event features Volkan Oezdemir and Anthony Smith, and the rest of the main card features five other bouts. The two preliminary cards feature a total of seven bouts. We’ve put together a UFC betting preview of the main event as well as several of the other tilts for you to consider as you put together your wagering strategy for the weekend.

UFC Fight Night 138 Betting Preview & Picks

Main Event (FS1)

• 205 lbs: Volkan Oezdemir vs Anthony Smith

Main Card (10pm ET, FS1)

• 145 lbs: Artem Lobov vs Michael Johnson
• 205 lbs.: Misha Cirkunov vs. Patrick Cummins
• 145 lbs.: Jonathan Martinez vs. Andre Soukhamthath
• 205 lbs.: Gian Villante vs. Ed Herman
• 170 lbs.: Alex Garcia vs. Court McGee

Prelims on FS1 (8pm ET)

• 170 lbs.: Nordine Taleb vs. Sean Strickland
• 145 lbs.: Thibault Gouti vs. Nasrat Haqparast
• 145 lbs.: Calvin Kattar vs. Chris Fishgold
• 135 lbs.: Sarah Moras vs. Talita Bernardo

Prelims on Fight Pass (6:30pm ET)

• 155 lbs.: Te Edwards vs. Don Madge
• 265 lbs.: Arjan Bhullar vs. Marcelo Golm
• 155 lbs.: Stevie Ray vs. Jessin Ayari

Volkan Oezdemir vs Anthony Smith features a look for redemption for Oezdemir, who hasn’t fought in more than nine months since a TKO loss in the second round against Daniel Cormier. Injuries and issues with his visa have kept him from being able to fight. He meets Anthony Smith, who has three total bouts. He moved to the light heavyweight classification by picking up some terrific knockouts against Mauricio Rua and Rashad Evans. Smith has terrific fighting form, but Oezdemir has only lost twice in his entire career. Between the two of them, they have combined for 28 knockouts. Smith has the reach advantage although he is coming up from middleweight. He’ll need that reach to avoid Oezdemir’s power advantage. UFC Fight Night 138 Prediction: Oezdemir wins via knockout The co-main event is Artem Lobov vs Michael Johnson, which was originally supposed to feature Lobov and Zubaira Tukhugov. However, Tukhugov was involved in the melee that erupted after the fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Tukhugov’s decision to jump into the cage and go after McGregor has led to him being yanked for this fight. Johnson has taken the fight on short notice. Johnson is a terrific all-around fighter and brings striking power. Lobov is a stand-and-strike kind of fighter as well, and because Lobov doesn’t have a lot of patience in his style, he should walk right into Johnson’s hands. UFC Fight Night 138 Prediction: Johnson wins via decision Gian Villante vs Ed Herman gives us a seasoned fighter in Villante who is strong and has solid cardio for a man of his size. However, he has never been able to build on those basics, and his technical skills are not that impressive. If he can’t deliver a knockout, he usually ends up losing via decision. He has decent takedown defense and can eat punches. He faces a fighter in Herman who has always been known as someone who is easy to hit because of a lack of speed. He can deliver submissions out of nowhere, and his strikes can have unexpected power. Herman is 38, so his stamina is not what it once was, but if he can do some clinching and get some kicks to the body, Herman could prevail. UFC Fight Night 138 Prediction: Herman wins via decision Te Edwards vs Don Madge features a huge bomber in Edwards, who delivered five knockouts in the first round of five wins before delivering a sixth against Austin Tweedy in just the 28th second of the bout. He does give up four inches of height to Don Madge, who has won four bouts in a row in MMA, most recently delivering a rear-naked choke submission against Dave Mazany. He makes his UFC debut against Edwards, and the tension will be between Edwards’ desire to come forward and strike and Madge’s attempt to deliver the takedown. UFC Fight Night 138 Prediction: Edwards wins via knockout