Saturday brings us the UFC’s pay-per-view offering for the month – UFC 307, going down in the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. And it’s a solid one, with two title fights up top and quality fights throughout the card. Here are your UFC 307 Predictions & Best Bets so you can make Saturday night a profitable one.
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UFC 307 Predictions & Best Bets
Alex Pereira (-470) vs Khalil ROuntree Jr
The UFC’s most active champion is back in action on Saturday for the third time since April. And it’s a favorable matchup awaiting UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira in the cage in Utah.
Khalil Rountree Jr is strictly a kickboxer, which plays right into Pereira’s strengths. In fact, the champ is probably a better grappler than Rountree, also. This is going to be a striking battle and next to no one beats Pereira in one of those.
raquel Pennington (-165) vs Julianna Pena
Well, technically, we do have two title fights on this card but, unfortunately, the second one is in the UFC’s weakest division – women’s bantamweight. And the challenger, Julianna Pena, lost her last fight and looked horrible in the process and hasn’t fought in the two years since.
While Raquel Pennington is an unlikely UFC champion, I think she successfully defends her title against the former champ Pena on Saturday. She’ll make it ugly and grind out a victory like she normally does.
Jose Aldo (+124) vs Mario Bautista
No title fight third from the top, but a former UFC champion is in it – Jose Aldo. Against the odds and common sense, the 38-year-old Aldo has excelled down a weight class, and he has won four of his last five fights.
Yet we are still getting him for dog money on Saturday. Eventually, Aldo is going to fall off – Father Time is undefeated – but I don’t think Mario Bautista is the one to get the job done. Aldo’s defense is still elite, and he carries an aura into the cage that intimidates younger opponents.
Joaquin Buckley (-210) vs Stephen Thompson
You’ve got yourself a solid fight card when you get a legend like Stephen Thompson facing another ranked fighter, Joaquin Buckley, on the prelims. And like the fight I’m talking about below, this is a fight between the new and the old.
And youth is the name of the game – Buckley, who is 11 years younger than Thompson, is the pick here. He’s been leaning heavily on his very strong wrestling skills lately in fights, and that will be the recipe to beat kickboxing wizard Thompson.
Iasmin Lucindo (-180) vs Marina Rodriguez
The past and the future of the women’s strawweight division match up on the prelims, as 22-year-old Iasmin Lucindo faces former top contender Marina Rodriguez, who is 15 years her senior. And, as the stats state to do, I’m going with the youth.
Rodriguez was pretty much untouchable until she wasn’t – and now she’s lost three of her last four fights. Once fighters start the slide down the other side of the mountain, there’s no stopping them. And it helps that Lucindo is a really promising prospect who has won three straight fights and 10 of her last 11.
If you’d like even more UFC 307 picks, be sure to check out the MMA Gambling Podcast. The guys are dropping five episodes a week to make you the smartest guy at the bar.
