Matthew Lowrimore
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What a week in store for UFC fans as we just finished up UFC 251 this past weekend. We jump right into the next event on Fight Island with a Main Event featuring two top 10 contenders in the Featherweight division. Other than the Main Event, there are a few other bets that offer value and should be on your radar for this mid-week event.
We’ll share our UFC Fight Island 1 best bets here but head over to our main UFC Fight Island 1 predictions homepage, if you want, picks for every fight on the main and preliminary card. Please gamble responsibly when following our MMA picks and predictions.
UFC Fight Island 1 best bets
Main Card
Molly McCann (-118) Over Taila Santos
Molly McCann will look to build her case for a Flyweight title shot when she takes on Taila Santos at UFC Fight Island 1. McCann enters this fight with an MMA record of 10-2. She is 3-1 in the UFC and is the #15 contender in the division. Since losing her UFC debut back in 2018, McCann has won three fights in a row. All three of these wins have come by unanimous decision. One of McCann’s biggest strengths is her striking. She averages 6.49 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy of 49%. Her takedowns are also a huge part of her fighting style as she averages 2.59 per every 15 minutes. In her most recent fight, she landed 5 takedowns against her opponent, a big reason why she was able to control the fight.
Santos has a takedown defense of 75%, however McCann is going to exploit this and find a way to take her down to the mat. Then add in the striking ability of McCann and I believe we have an obvious mismatch in this fight. There is nothing that stands out in Santos’ game, so I like McCann to get another win.
Cody Stamann (+110) Over Jimmie Rivera
Cody Stamann will look to extend his winning streak on Wednesday as he takes on Jimmie Rivera at UFC Fight Island 1. Stamann is the #10 contender in the Featherweight division and Rivera is the #9 contender, so a win could see Stamann shoot up the rankings. He is 19-2-1 in the MMA and 5-1-1 in the UFC. In his last fight, he beat Brian Kelleher at UFC 250 by unanimous decision. This was a pretty lopsided affair as Stamann had 2 takedowns and out-struck Kelleher 89 to 57. He is now averaging 4.51 significant strikes per minute and landing them at an accuracy of 49%. His takedowns are just as impressive, where he averages 3.34 per every 15 minutes. Plus his takedown defense is 84%, so we should not expect Stamann to be the one slamming the canvas.
One thing Rivera has going for him is his takedown defense, which comes in at 95%. However, when Rivera lost to Petr Yan, he was taken down once which ultimately decided the fight. Regardless of how good Rivera’s takedown defense actually is, I expect the balanced fighting from Stamann to be too much. Therefore I like Stamann in his fight to get another huge win in his hunt for the Featherweight belt.
