UFC Nashville comes to you this week from the Bridgestone Arena and we’ve got a banger at the top. Divisional stalwart, Derrick Lewis, looks to maintain his place at heavyweight when he takes on Tallison Teixeira.
There’s plenty of other fights to like on this card, so we’ll hit that fight and dig through the rest of the card to give you our UFC Nashville best bets. Come check out these UFC Nashville picks for Saturday.
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UFC Nashville: Lewis vs Teixeira – Predictions & Best Bets
Lauren Murphy +3.5 (+150) vs. Eduarda Moura
This is one of the best values on the whole card. I already like Murphy’s moneyline – which currently sits at +460 – but even if you can’t get there on that, the spread should take care of itself. Moura is a fighter that relies on being physical and getting takedowns. Outside of Valentina Shevchenko in a title fight, nobody has really bodied Murphy that way. She should win at least one round by forcing Moura to box with her.
Derrick Lewis ML (+210) vs. Tallison Teixeira
Tallison Teixeira is the new hotness that everyone is hyped on, but he’s barely spend half a minute in the UFC. Sure, he has KO power, but what will he do when someone who is just as deadly is throwing back. Additionally, we’ve never seen Teixeira in a second round in his career. Lewis, on the other hand, is deadly until the last bell. I like Lewis’ chance to survive some of the early action and land the big KO late.
Fatima Kline – Wins Inside the Distance (-105)
Kline is a huge favorite in this fight and for good reason. She seems to be the whole package in terms of what you look for in a prospect. Her favorite way to win fights is to drag her opponents down and either ground and pound or look for submissions. We can get both of those ways here against Melissa Martinez, who has just a 25% takedown defense.
Chris Curtis vs Max Griffin – Goes to Decision (-200)
Chris Curtis is finally moving down to welterweight, where he likely should have been his whole UFC career. He gets a tough out standing across from his in Max Griffin. While I like Curtis to win this fight, the moneyline has spiralled out of control. As a result, we can get a much better line on this fight just getting deep. Take both of these guys to see the final bell.
Gabriel Bonfim -3.5 (-205) vs Stephen Thompson
Speaking of lines that have gotten out of control, Gabriel Bonfim gets a step up and a -400 moneyline. While I don’t love that, I do think if he wins it’ll be because his wrestling dominated the day. That may involve finding a submission, which would work for this line. However, even if it doesn’t he should be able to find some 30-27s on the judges’ scorecards.
Valter Walker – Wins via Submission (+650)
As you know, if you’ve followed this column, I like to end things with a bang. One big line that I like on this card is Valter Walker by submission. He recently became the first heavyweight to win two fights by heel hook. His jiu jitsu game is unquestionable, which makes him dangerous in this class. In addition, he fights Kennedy Nzechukwu, who has only fought twice at heavyweight and against poor competition. Walker may only need one takedown to welcome him to the division properly.
If you’d like even more UFC Nashville: Lewis vs Teixeira bets, be sure to check out the MMA Gambling Podcast. The guys are dropping weekly episodes to make you the smartest guy at the bar.
