Matthew Lowrimore
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UFC Fight Night 217 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. This card features a middleweight fight between Nassourdine Imavov and Sean Strickland as the Main Event.
We are sharing our UFC Fight Night 217 best bets here, but head over to our main UFC Fight Night 217 predictions for picks on every Main Card fight. Let’s get into our best bets for Saturday’s card.
UFC Fight Night 217 Main Card best bets
Nassourdine Imavov ML over Sean Strickland (-115)
Nassourdine Imavov comes into this fight with an MMA record of 12-3. He is 4-1 in the UFC, most recently beating Joaquin Buckley by unanimous decision back in September of 2021. Imavov is averaging 4.08 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 54%. He is absorbing 2.43 strikes and has a striking defense of 62%. His grappling has been improving, averaging 0.95 takedowns per every 15 minutes and 2.4 submission attempts during the same time period. His takedown accuracy is 23%, but his takedown defense is 76%.
This fight is basically even with Imavov as a slight favorite. It is worth noting that Sean Strickland just fought about a month ago, so he has had far less time to prepare compared to his opponent. Strickland does have a slight advantage in striking, but Imavov has been far better in preventing damage. Imavov also has the advantage in terms of submission ability, s0 backing him looks to be worth a play.
Damon Jackson ML over Dan Ige (+105)
Damon Jackson registers with an MMA record of 22-4-1. He is 5-2-1 in the UFC, most recently beating Pat Sabatini by KO/TKO back in September of 2022. Jackson is averaging 2.65 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 41%. He is absorbing 2.83 strikes and has a striking defense of 50%. His grappling has been very good, averaging 2.62 takedowns per every 15 minutes and 2.1 submission attempts during the same time period. He has a takedown accuracy of 40% and a takedown defense of 42%.
Dan Ige is the slight favorite in this fight, however; his recent form would suggest he is not worth backing here. He has lost 3 UFC fights in a row, while Jackson has won 4 UFC fights in a row. Jackson does not have the better striking, but he has superior grappling — therefore backing him to beat an inconsistent Ige will be the play.
Ketlen Vieira ML over Raquel Pennington (-120)
Ketlen Vieira boasts an MMA record of 13-2. She is 7-2 in the UFC, most recently beating Holly Holm by split decision back in May of 2022. Vieira is averaging 3.13 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 41%. She is absorbing 4.03 strikes and has a striking defense of 52%. Her grappling is also solid, averaging 1.51 takedowns per every 15 minutes. She has a takedown accuracy of 40% and her takedown defense is 92%.
This fight is very evenly matched, with Vieira as the small favorite. Her striking is slightly worse than Raquel Pennington’s, but Vieira has the better grappling — including a near-perfect takedown defense. For that reason backing Vieira to win and continue her solid UFC form will be the play.
Make sure you also read our UFC Fight Night 217 four-fight parlay (+713 odds!)
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