UFC 293 is set to take place this weekend in Sydney, Australia, with a card full of great talent and fan-favorites from all parts of the world–especially down under. With five athletes from the same City Kickboxing gym, there will be a home-team feeling to this event for most of the fights.
Let’s take a closer look at some key fights on this card and find the best bets to make this weekend. Make sure to take the extra time to read this and do research of your own on these fights to make it easier to win money betting.
Check out the full UFC 293 odds over on Bookmaker
Main Event – Adesanya vs. Strickland
In what might be the most one-sided main event of the year in terms of skill, Israel Adesanya is looking to make his first defense of his second title reign in the middleweight division as he is set to face the #5 middleweight, Sean Strickland.
Strickland is receiving this title shot seemingly because Dricus Du Plessis couldn’t make it to Australia this weekend due to injury, so the UFC had their hands tied. Strickland has been doing it for a long time and is a very good fighter.
The leadup to this fight might be a circus with Strickland doing what he does on the mic and Adesanya awkwardly navigating the immaturity of it all, but the focus shouldn’t stray from Adesanya.
Strickland has been loud in the leadup to this fight, and when Adesanya is looking for revenge or to prove something personal to himself or the world, he is very difficult to beat.
The prediction for this main event is Adesnaya winning in any way he wants. He won’t be able to wrestle his way to a victory, but it’s very tough to imagine Strickland has anything that will give Adesanya legit trouble.
People might be trying to pain this fight a certain way, so there is more hype around it, but if you look at this matchup on paper AND on tape, Adesanya blows Strickland away inside three rounds. Since the money line isn’t at a place where it’s worth a bet, taking Adesanya to win inside the distance at -140 is just fine.
Other Key Fight Picks
Going straight down on the main card, the next big fight to bet on is the co-main event, Tai Tuivasa vs. Alexander Volkov. This is a tough fight to pick because heavyweight MMA in the UFC is basically a completely different sport than the other fights.
The under 1.5-round total is a great spot to be for this one. These two are going to open up early and often, and someone is going to wake up on the canvas.
The other key fight to bet on is Carlos Ulberg vs. Da Woon Jung. Ulberg is the next big thing out of City Kickboxing in New Zealand. He gets a front-row seat to watch people like Israel Adesanya, Alex Volkanovski, and Dan Hooker work every day and go through fight camps and even fight weeks.
Taking Ulberg to win by TKO/KO will always be a great pick to make until he starts fighting the best of the best. But he really has a chance to become the next champion from down under and will always help you bang the book on the weekends he fights.
