At the onset of this week is a massive early UFC Betting handle for the lightweight championship. Fight Island from Abu Dhabi will host UFC 254 Saturday. There are five bouts currently on the main card. Of course, that can change as the week progresses. Most important of all is the lightweight championship bout. Defending champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will face Justin Gaethje. But the entire main card is appointment viewing. UFC President Dana White has overloaded the main card with quality fights. Owing to opening betting lines does action look even. Bargain hunters have a buffet to pick from.
UFC 254
| Date and Time: | Saturday, October 24, 2020, 2 p.m. ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates |
| UFC 254 TV Coverage: | ESPN+ |
UFC 254 Main Card Lineup
Lightweight Championship Bout
| FightER | Odds |
|---|---|
| Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov | -330 |
| Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje | +270 |
Khabib Nurmagomedov has a sportsbook record of 28-0. The Russian is the defending lightweight champion. By contrast, Justin Gaethje has a record of 22-2. Public betting has been strong on “The Eagle.” It is difficult for casual gamblers to ignore undefeated records. As well as defending champions. Counter to that is Justin Gaethje’s appeal to price conscience gamblers. Gaethje epitomizes the term “quality dog.”
Middleweight Bout
| FightER | Odds |
|---|---|
| Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker | -105 |
| Jared “The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier | -115 |
Of course, Robert Whittaker is best known as a former UFC middleweight champion. The last time out for Whittaker was a unanimous decision win over Darren Till. Previously Whittaker had lost the UFC middleweight championship to Israel Adesanya. Whittaker now stands at 22-5. Counter to that is Jared Cannonier with a record of 13-4. Cannonier has won three fights in a row. He is coming off a second-round technical knockout win over Jack Hermansson.
Heavyweight Bout
| FightER | Odds |
|---|---|
| Alexander “Drago” Volkov | -160 |
| Walt “The Big Ticket” Harris | +140 |
Alexander Volkov has a 31-8 record with the UFC Betting odds. Of great concern is that Volkov has lost two of his last three fights. The last time out was a five-round unanimous decision loss to Curtis Blaydes. Previously Volkov was a heavyweight champion of Bellator MMA and M1 Global. Walt Harris has a career record of 13-8. Late on Harris has been wildly inconsistent. He has just three wins in his last seven bouts. Harris is coming off a second-round technical knockout loss to
Alistair Overeem.
Light Heavyweight Bout
| FightER | Odds |
|---|---|
| Magomed Ankalaev | -275 |
| Ion “The Hulk” Cutelaba | +235 |
Concurrently Magomed Ankalaev has a career record of 13-1. Ankalaev is a former light heavyweight champion for World Fighting Championship Akhmat. Ankalaev is riding a four-bout winning streak. By contrast, Ion Cutelaba is 15-5 for his career. Cutelaba is has split his last eight bouts 4-4. This is a rematch of a February 29 bout held in Norfolk. Ankalaev won in a controversial first-round technical knockout.
Middleweight Bout
| FightER | Odds |
|---|---|
| Jacob Malkoun | +220 |
| Phillip “Megatron” Hawes | -260 |
Specifically, this is Jacob Malkoun’s UFC debut. Phillip Hawes has a career record of 8-2.
UFC 254 SBG Free Picks
On this occasion, we have some good choices but the best of the bunch is the rematch of Ankalaev and Cutelaba. To show, Ankalaev is in superior form. So too did he get the win in the last meeting of this rivalry.
UFC 254 Best Bets: Magomed Ankalaev