Matthew Lowrimore
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UFC Fight Night 298 takes place on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London, England. This card features a heavyweight fight between Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall in the Main Event.
We are sharing our UFC Fight Night 298 best bets here, but head over to our main UFC Fight Night 298 predictions page for picks for each fight on the main and preliminary card. Let’s get into our best bets for Saturday’s card.
UFC Fight Night 298 Main Card Best Bets
Tom Aspinall ML (-140) over Curtis Blaydes
Tom Aspinall comes into this fight with an MMA record of 12-2. He is 5-0 in the UFC, most recently beating Alexander Volkov by submission back in March of this year. Aspinall is averaging 7.33 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 65%. He is absorbing 2.65 strikes and has a striking defense of 64%. His grappling is also very solid, averaging 4.07 takedowns per every 15 minutes and 2.0 submission attempts during the same time period. His takedown accuracy is 100% and his takedown defense is also 100%.
As good as Curtis Blaydes is and as much power as he has shown throughout his career, Aspinall has still been a step ahead. He has superior striking in terms of volume, he has never been knocked out, and he also an advantage in grappling due to his perfect takedown accuracy and defense. Add in the fact that Aspinall can win by submission and backing him looks to be a solid play.
Chris Curtis ML (-115) over Jack Hermansson
Chris Curtis comes into this fight with an MMA record of 29-8. He is 4-0 in the UFC, most recently beating Rodolfo Vieira by unanimous decision back in June of this year. Curtis is averaging 7.23 significant strikes and has a striking accuracy of 65%. He is absorbing 6.28 strikes and has a striking defense of 48%. He has yet to show any grappling ability but does have a takedown defense of 100%.
This fight is very evenly matched, however; seeing that Curtis is undefeated in the UFC makes him worth a look. Curtis has the superior striking and even though he absorbs far more strikes, he has only ever been knocked out once. His takedown defense has also been perfect so far in the UFC, which should negate the advantage Jack Hermansson has in grappling. For that reason, backing Curtis looks to be a solid play to remain undefeated in the UFC.
Make sure you also read our UFC Fight Night 298 four-fight parlay (+372 odds!)
Paul Craig ML (+130) vs Volkan Oezdemir
Paul Craig comes into this fight with an MMA record of 16-4-1. He is 8-4-1 in the UFC, most recently beating Nikita Krylov by submission back in March of this year. Craig is averaging 2.51 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 51%. He is absorbing 2.39 strikes and has a striking defense of 49%. Craig will likely want to grapple here, averaging 2.13 takedowns per every 15 minutes and 2.0 submission attempts during the same time period. He has a takedown accuracy of 26% and a takedown defense of 50%.
Volkan Oezdemir is the favorite in this fight, but has been inconsistent recently in the UFC. He has lost 5 of his last 7 fights, while Craig has won 5 of his last 6 UFC fights. Craig has mainly won by submission, but also has 2 KO/TKO wins in his last 4 fights, so for that reason, backing Craig to continue his good form looks to be worth a play.
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