UFC in the APEX is back again this weekend following a historic UFC 289 event in Vancouver, Canada, last week. This weekend we get a great matchup of two top-5 middleweights, Marvin Vettori and Jared Cannonier.

Both Vettori and Cannonier have had their shot at the title, but Adesanya proved to be too much for their level of fighting, and it was clear. So it’s an interesting dynamic for this fight when both of them are in, what seems to be, a limbo between fighting contenders and earning a title fight.

If you are an MMA fan, you know Vettori has an arguably delusional sense of confidence that he should have won both of those fights against Adesanya. Cannonier knows he struggled against him, and his mindset might have shifted to just wanted to win fights and make money for his family. 

Let’s break down this main event fight, and find the best bets for multiple fights on this UFC Fight Night card.

Main Event – Marvin Vettori vs. Jared Cannonier

On paper, this fight should be an awesome experience for MMA fans all over the world. Unfortunately, we think that it will be a slightly boring viewing experience. Both of these guys are very tactical in their fighting abilities. 

Vettori will gladly get in a 25-minute chess match of a fight with someone just to come out with the ‘W’ in the winning column. Cannonier seems like he struggles with turning on the offense when he isn’t comfortable in the cage.

The betting favorite for this main event is Vettori at -115, basically being a pick ‘em line with Cannonier’s -105 odds. This honestly should be a pick ‘em odds fight because these two are very evenly matched.

The best thing about an evenly-matched MMA fight is that the odds won’t sway you one way or the other. Both fighters have value and are worthy of a pick.

On the technical side of things, Cannonier is a better striker and more dangerous in the kickboxing range. Vettori will probably have issues finding his range between spamming his low kicks and then closing the distance for a level change.

Our best bet for this main event bout is the -105 ML for Cannonier. He has more ability to hurt Vettori, maybe to the body from kicks, and will have a good gameplan after studying Vettori’s very vanilla-like style.

Co-Main Event – Arman Tsarukyan vs. Joaquim Silva

This co-main event is very surprising when looking at it on paper. Yeah, Tsarukyan is a very high-level fighter and one of the best prospects in the UFC, but Silva is no slouch. 

BetOnline has Silva as the +700 underdog and that might be too crazy to pass up on. If you are a fan of MMA, how many times have you seen something unpredictable happen in the octagon? Just about every single event. 

With no value in a pick for Tsarukyan, we think it’s more than justifiable to lay some money down on a +700 Silva pick in this one. They have 4-ounce gloves and it only takes one clean shot to change the game plan that Tsarukyan had for this fight.

If you can’t bet against Tsarukyan this weekend, go for the fight going the distance at +250 or Tsarukyan winning by decision at +315. 

Sleeper Pick

The BANGTHEBOOK sleeper pick of the weekend is Zhalgas Zhumagulov to win inside the distance at +375.

This kid has came out of retirement after giving up on MMA because of multiple awful judges’ decisions in the UFC. He has been robbed of half his money multiple times because of bad judging on fights he clearly should have won on the scorecards.

What better reason to prove a point and finish the fight before letting it get into the judges’ hands?