The UFC really expects people to pay money for Saturday’s fight card?!! UFC 318, taking place in the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, is not up to the standards the UFC usually meets when putting on pay-per-views. But that doesn’t matter to us – we’re going to win money off it, regardless. Here are your UFC 318 predictions & best bets to make Saturday night profitable.
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UFC 318 Predictions & Best Bets
Dustin Poirier (+121) vs Max Holloway
What makes this event even worse is that there are few, if any, fights where I find the odds playable. But the main event is one of them, as I expect Dustin Poirier to complete the sweep against Max Holloway in their trilogy fight.
Styles make fights, they say, and Poirier has proven twice already that he has the style to beat Holloway. He’ll be the bigger, stronger man on Saturday and the one who will be landing the harder shots.
Roman Kopylov (-224) vs Paulo Costa
You can often gauge the strength of a UFC fight card by its co-main event, and that’s the case here also. This is a stinky co-main event on a stinky PPV fight card.
Paulo Costa peaked about five years ago and has shown no interest in fighting any longer. Roman Kopylov will blister him on the feet and make him look for an exit strategy. The line for this fight is playable as well.
Kevin Holland (-494) vs Daniel Rodriguez
Kevin Holland at welterweight is a different animal than Kevin Holland at middleweight, so Daniel Rodriguez is in trouble here since this fight is at 170 pounds.
Holland is way bigger and longer than Rodriguez, and he’ll use this length to piece him up on the feet. I don’t see a path to victory for D-Rod, which I guess explains the -494 line on Holland.
Francisco Prado (-133) vs Nikolay Veretennikov
Both Francisco Prado and Nikolay Veretennikov have dropped back-to-back fights, so this could be a loser-leaves-town match at welterweight on Saturday. And I like Prado to keep his job.
Prado is a finisher – and well-rounded at that – with six knockouts and six submission victories in 12 pro wins. He’s also 13 years younger than Veretennikov – a massive advantage. On the feet – and especially on the mat – Prado should have the edge this weekend.
Carli Judice (-307) vs Nicolle Caliari
In Saturday’s curtain-jerker, we get a striker vs grappler matchup at women’s flyweight. And, as per usual, I’m backing the striker, in this case Carli Judice, who will be fighting in her home state of Louisiana.
Nicolle Caliari is very small for flyweight, while Judice is huge, so the Brazilian grappler will have a hard time closing the distance to get a hold of the American. I expect Judice to make a mess of her on the feet (Judice via T/KO at +417 if you’re feeling frisky).
Check out the MMA Gambling Podcast if you’d like even more UFC 318 picks. The guys are dropping five episodes a week to make you the smartest guy at the bar.
