UFC 221 Betting Preview, Picks & Predictions

On Saturday night, MMA heads down under for UFC 221, from Perth, Australia. The headline bout between Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold, for the interim middleweight title, will take place at 10:00pm Eastern time (available on pay-per-view). The undercard fights will be televised earlier on UFC Fight Pass or on FS1. Let’s take a look at some of the most attractive bouts on the cards from an online betting perspective. While the card does not have the star power of UFC 220, there are some sound UFC 221 betting picks for you to consider.

UFC 221 Betting Preview, Picks & Predictions

Preliminary Card (FS1)

• Damien Brown vs Dong Hyun Kim
• Rob Wilkinson vs Israel Adesanya
• Jeremy Kennedy vs Alexander Volkanovski
• Jussier Formiga vs Ben Nguyen

Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)

• Ross Pearson vs Mizuto Hirota
• Teruto Ishihara vs Jose Alberto Quinonez
• Luke Jumeau vs Daichi Abe

Main Card (PPV)

• Yoel Romero vs Luke Rockhold
• Mark Hunt vs Curtis Blaydes
• Tai Tuivasa vs Cyril Asker
• Jake Matthews vs Li Jingliang
• Tyson Pedro vs Saparbek Safarov

Pearson vs Hirota features Hirota’s debut in the lightweight division. He faces Ross Pearson, who has dropped four fights in a row and has only won four fights since 2014. I don’t like Pearson’s odds against Hirota, who has looked dominant in previous divisions. Ishihara vs Quinonez gives us Ishihara’s attempt to win two in a row after his demolition of Rolando Dy. However, Quinonez was the runner-up at TUF: Latin Americas and has elevated his fight in the last few years. Jumeau vs Abe gives us a pair of comparative unknowns. From a wagering perspective, this is hard to call because their records are so bare to this point. Abe looks like the favorite on most books, but I’d lean toward one of the bouts that has more data to consider. Brown vs Kim gives us a fighter who is still looking for a signature victory in Brown, against Kim, who has won two in a row since falling to Marco Polo Reyes two years ago. Wilkinson vs Adesanya features a UFC newcomer in Adesanya, who has succeeded in both MMA and kickboxing. His first matchup is a favorable one, as Wilkinson took a big knockout in his last time in the ring. Volkanovski vs Kennedy both have started their UFC careers with identical 3-0 marks. Volkanovski is slightly better at stopping opponents, but this will be a razor-thin margin between the two competitors. Da Silva vs Nguyen features one of the best flyweight competitors in da Silva, but he will have his hands full with Nguyen, who took apart Tim Elliott his last time out, and who should be considered the favorite here. Tuivasa vs Asker will show us whether Tuivasa can maintain that high-flying form that he showed in his debut, delivering a knockout with a flying knee. Now he gets to take on Asker, who has served as a punching bag in his last two bouts, taking big knockouts against opponents who are not particularly strong. Expect Tuivasa to make it two wins in two UFC starts. Matthews vs Jingliang features a funny nickname (in Li “The Leech” Jingliang”) against Jake Matthews. Jingliang became one of the best MMA fighters on China but has added punching power that has elevated his finishing significantly. He takes on Matthews who took a year off for much of 2017 after going just 2-3 in 2015 and 2016. While he won in his return, his opponent was not strong, and he will struggle against The Leech. Pedro vs Safarov features two large combatants who have a combined 2-2 UFC record so far. I don’t know that I’d put up the moneyline that you have to to take Pedro, given his status as a heavy favorite, but I do like him to take down Safarov. Hunt vs Blaydes has an up-and-coming UFC fighter in Curtis Blaydes, who made his mark wrestling in the NJCAA. So far, he is 3-1 in UFC, with three knockout victories. He also beat Aleksei Oleink, albeit not as impressively, and he can make a big jump in UFC by taking down the veteran )and fan favorite) Hunt. Hunt can stop the takedown — and he is hard to beat standing on your feet. He deserves to be the favorite, either by a TKO or by decision. Rockhold vs Romero was supposed to give us the middleweight title until the champ, Robert Whittaker, had to pull out for an injury — which has turned into a staph infection that will keep him on the shelf. We have a terrific finisher in Rockhold and one of the strongest punchers and tireless cardio fighters in Romero — who has also picked up an Olympic medal in wrestling. I like Rockhold to win by decision, but this will be intriguing to watch.