Matthew Lowrimore
UFC on ESPN 66 takes place on Saturday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. This card features a UFC Welterweight fight between Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates as the Main Event.
Here are our best bets for this UFC card, which will include 3 fights on the Main Card. Be sure to also check out the rest of our UFC predictions for all of the UFC on ESPN 66 Main Card fights.
UFC on ESPN 66 Main Card Best Bets
Carlos Prates ML over Ian Machado Garry (+110)
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook at the time of publishing.
The Main Event at UFC on ESPN 66 will see Ian Machado Garry take on Carlos Prates in the UFC Welterweight division. Prates enters this fight with an MMA record of 21-6 and 5-0 in the UFC. He is averaging 4.39 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 57%. Prates is absorbing 4.60 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 48%. He has shown little grappling ability, averaging just 0.44 takedowns every 15 minutes. That said, he has a takedown accuracy of 100% and a takedown defense of 91% as a takedown defense of 91%.
Garry is the small favorite, but Prates looks to be a solid option to pull the upset. Prates has won all 5 of his UFC fights by KO/TKO and has incredibly powerful punches, whereas Garry is coming off his first loss and does not finish many of his opponents. Garry does have the edge in striking volume, but this is likely because Prates has yet to see any of his UFC fights go past the second round. Because of the power Prates has shown in the UFC, backing him to win will be our best bet.
Read our full Ian Machado Garry vs. Carlos Prates prediction
Anthony Smith vs. Zhang Mingyang- Fight to Start Round 2 (+100)
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook at the time of publishing
The Co-Main Event at UFC on ESPN 66 will see Anthony Smith take on Zhang Mingyang in the UFC Light Heavyweight division. Mingyang is the huge favorite, so we will look for this fight to start Round 2 instead. Smith, while having been inconsistent recently, has seen 5 of his last 6 UFC fights start Round 2. Of course, Mingyang has won all of his UFC fights in Round 1, but Smith is arguably his toughest opponent so far and certainly will not make it easy for him. For that reason, backing this fight to start Round 2 will be our best bet.
Read our full Anthony Smith vs. Zhang Mingyang prediction
Abus Magomedov ML over Michel Pereira (+120)
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
The third fight on the Main Card at UFC on ESPN 66 will see Michel Pereira take on Abus Magomedov in the UFC Middleweight division. Magomedov enters this fight with an MMA record of 27-6-1 and 3-2 in the UFC. He averages 2.65 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 44%. Magomedov absorbs 3.35 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 55%. His grappling has been elite, averaging 3.12 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 64% and a takedown defense of 100%.
Pereira is the slight favorite, but Magomedov looks to be a solid betting option to pull off the upset. Magomedov may not have a great UFC record thus far, but he is an elite grappler. This proved to be Pereira’s weakness in his most recent fight, as he was taken down 10 times by Anthony Hernandez in a fight he ended up losing. Because of this, Magomedov should have some success on the mat, which is why we are backing Magomedov to win.
Read our full Michel Pereira vs. Abus Magomedov prediction
