UFC on Fox 31 Odds & Preview

On Saturday night, Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum will host UFC on Fox 31, with a rematch between lightweights Kevin Lee and Al Iaquinta serving as the main event. Iaquinta won the first bout between these two back at UFC 169, in February 2014, in a unanimous decision. Lightweights Edson Barboza and Dan Hooker will tangle in the co-main event. You can watch the main event starting at 8:00pm Eastern time on Fox. The early preliminary card starts at 3:30pm Eastern on UFC Fight Pass, and the preliminary card starts at 5:00pm Eastern on FS1. We have MMA betting predictions for the main event and co-main event in addition to the full card for your perusal.

UFC on Fox 31 Odds & Preview

This has fireworks written all over it!! 🔥@MoTownPhenom vs. @ALIAQUINTA at #UFCMilwaukee pic.twitter.com/ZGNOH40TW5

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) December 12, 2018

Main Card (8:00pm ET, FOX)

• Kevin Lee vs Al Iaquinta (lightweight)
• Edson Barboza vs Dan Hooker (lightweight)
• Rob Font vs Sergio Pettis (bantamweight)
• Jim Miller vs Charles Oliveira (lightweight)

Preliminary Card (5:00pm ET, FS1)

• Zak Ottow vs Dwight Grant (welterweight)
• Bobby Green vs Drakkar Klose (lightweight)
• Jared Gordon vs Joaquim Silva (lightweight)
• Gerald Meerschaert vs Jack Hermansson (middleweight)
• Dan Ige vs Jordan Griffin (featherweight)
• Jessica-Rose Clark vs Andrea Lee (women’s flyweight)

Early Preliminary Card (3:30pm ET, UFC Fight Pass)

• Adam Milstead vs Mike Rodriguez (light heavyweight)
• Trevor Smith vs Zak Cummings (middleweight)
• Chris de la Rocha vs Juan Adams (heavyweight)

Kevin Lee (17-3, -310) vs Al Iaquinta (13-4-1, +255) is a rematch of the first time Lee fought in the Octagon, against the already established Iaquinta. Lee fought well at that time but Went down. Since then, Lee has picked up wins over Edson Barboza and Michael Chiesa, the latter via submission, showing that he is one of the top wrestlers in his weight classification, perhaps right up there with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Iaquinta had some injuries at the start of his UFC career, but he put together a run of seven wins in eight bouts, including a split decision victory over Jorge Masvidal. After that run came some knee surgery and a brief period of retirement, but then he came back and knocked out Diego Sanchez in less than two minutes. He now comes back off an eight-month layoff, so it is difficult to tell what he will bring against Lee. Lee is vulnerable to big bombs, but he is the superior wrestler and will have less rust. UFC on Fox 31 Prediction: Lee wins via submission Edson Barboza (19-6, -105) vs Dan Hooker (17-7, -115) gives us a fighter likely on his downward trajectory, in Barboza, against the up-and-coming Hooker. Barboza started his career against some of the tougher veterans in the classification, but he responded, bringing a couple of stoppage wins thanks to his power kicking game. His wheel kick knockout of Terry Etim remains one of the iconic UFC highlights. He had an early reputation of giving up when he thought the fight was going against him, but he has developed more persistence over time. He took tough losses against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kevin Lee and now has a slightly easier opponent in Hooker. When Hooker first started fighting in UFC, he was knocking around, alternating wins and losses. When he moved up to lightweight, things improved as he was no longer a featherweight who lacked speed. The slower fighters he met in the lightweight division were easier for him to keep up with, and he showed in wins over Jim Miller and Gilbert Burns that he can use his striking games to bring quick finishes. If he can beat Barboza, he will enter the ranks of contenders in the lightweight division. Hooker will likely wear Barboza down, but he will need to avoid one of those highlight-reel kicks to prevail. UFC on Fox 31 Prediction: Hooker wins via decision