The UFC hits Texas on Saturday when UFC 277 goes down from the American Airlines Center in Dallas.. The card is anchored by a pair of championship contenders, including Amanda Nunes looking to regain the Women’s Bantamweight Championship from Juliana Pena in the night’s main event.
Also, interim flyweight gold is on the line when former champion Brandon Moreno takes on Kai Cara-France in the co-main event. Moreno previously defeated Cara France by unanimous decision in 2019 before taking on current titleholder Davison Figueredo three times in a row.
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The undercard also features some heavy hitters in the biggest weight classes. Texas native and former title challenger Derrick Lewis is back as he welcomes the latest rising heavyweight contender in Sergey Pavlovich. Also, another former title challenger is set to make his return when light heavyweight Anthony Smith takes on rising contender Magomed Ankalife in what could determine the next challenger for the 205-pound title.
The 13-fight card is packed with exciting fights, making it the type of event that can draw a lot of interest from bettors. Luckily for those looking to put a little money on the fights, Caesars Sportsbook has almost every angle of UFC 277 covered to get you in on the action. We’re going to give you a few options to consider with this card from our favorite moneyline play, prop play and parlay play. Now let’s take a closer look at these picks.
Best choice of money line
Donatl Mayes (-180) vs. Hamdi Abdul Wahab
A lot of things are coming into the fight against Abdul Wahab. First, he’s debuting at short notice, stepping in to replace Justin Tufa. Initially, this did not matter to the oddsmakers as Abdul Wahab opened as a slight favorite in many sportsbooks. Those lines flipped pretty quickly and Mace moved into a narrow favorite and then into the current line. There is still value here because Mayes, while not elite, is the more experienced fighter with 13 fights, four in the Octagon. Abdul Wahab has three pro MMA fights and two bare-knuckle MMA bouts, winning four of them in less than 35 seconds against lower-level competition, including two knockouts of the same guy. Including beating the bar. Abdul Wahab has a very solid background in strength and wrestling, but it’s hard to bet on a guy with no meaningful experience fighting on short notice against a veteran and dangerous fighter coming through a full training camp. .
Excellent prop pick
Drew Duber vs Rafael Alves under 2.5 rounds (-170)
Duber vs. Alves is an interesting fight in many ways. Not the least of which is that both men are solid finishers while being susceptible to finishing themselves. 61% of Duber’s fights have not gone to the judges while Alves has seen 80% of his fights end within the distance. Duber has the overall advantage and with his hard charging but technical striking, he is unlikely to put Alves out anytime soon. Alves, meanwhile, throws everything behind wild hay makers and very effective guards too. This is a recipe to finish before the fight reaches the final 2:30.
Excellent parle chin
Drew Duber (-210) vs. Rafael Alves
Brandon Moreno (-210) vs. Kai Cara-France
Amanda Nunes (-270) vs. Juliana Pena
Parlay Total (+209)
We have already stated that we believe that Duber Vs. Elvis ended up going less than 2.5 rounds, but when it comes down to the direct question of who walks out as the winner, Duber feels like the clear choice. He’s simply too good and unlikely to make the kind of mistakes that Elvis relies on at his best. Cara France is getting the big fight he deserves when he battles Moreno for the interim flyweight belt. Unfortunately for Cara-France, Mourinho is operating at a very high level at this point in his career. He is 1-1-1 against Davison Figueiredo and has proven that he can hang with the best flyweights in the world, if not win the title himself. Cara-France will need a career-best performance and Moreno will need to push for this fight against the odds — and against the way their last meeting went. Pena had a bit of a spell in Cara France when she defeated Nunes in their first meeting. It’s hard to imagine that this time everything breaks the drinking path. Instead, Nunes is expected to return to his dominant self.
Who Wins UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2? And what other picks do you need? Visit Sportsline now for detailed top picks on UFC fight night.Ask all the insiders who have taken more than $10,000 on MMA over the past two years, and find out.
