Rafael Fiziev was set to face former lightweight champion Rafael do Anjos on February 19th in the UFC Vegas 48 main event but unfortunately, that fight was pushed back to UFC 272.
As a result, we now have a fun light-heavyweight fight topping the card as Johnny Walker takes on Jamahal Hill in a battle between two of the best 205lb prospects.
UFC Vegas 48 boasts a sold undercard that will feature the likes of Parker Porter, Joaquin Buckley and Gabriel Benitez.
Join LowKickMMA as we preview, predict and hopefully win some money betting on this weekends’ card.
Johnny Walker vs. Jamahal Hill
It’s time for either Johnny Walker or Jamahal Hill to announce themselves as a serious player at 205lbs.
At UFC Vegas 48, one of these men will do just that while the other will have a ton of work to do in order to get back into contention.
According to Betway, Walker is a pretty significant 3.10 underdog heading into this fight. We can see why; the Brazilian KO artist has struggled every time he has stepped up his level of opposition. Last time out, he changed his style and fell short against Thiago Santos who in our opinion is way past his best.
Hill, who is the 1.36 favourite in this fight, looked sensational last time out as he quickly dispatched of Jimmy Crute to bounce back from his first career loss.
We believe ‘Sweet Dreams’ will make good on his favourite tag and probably finish Walker in the first few rounds. We’ll certainly be adding Hill to our UFC Vegas 48 parlay.
Parker Porter vs. Alan Baudot
Heavyweights will collide on the UFC Vegas 48 undercard, and we fancy Parker Porter will make it three wins in a row in Las Vegas this weekend.
Porter may not look like a top-tier athlete, but he has impressed since joining the UFC in 2022. The 36-year-old will never be an elite-level UFC heavyweight, but he’s got more than enough to get by Alan Baudot who has looked like a fish out of water since joining MMA’s premier promotion.
We’ll be adding Porter to our parlay, he’s priced at 1.40. If you fancy Baudot to get his first UFC win, he’s at odds of 3.00.
Joaquin Buckley vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
On paper, this may be one of the best matchups of 2022 so far.
Joaquin Buckley and Abdul Razak Alhassan are both known for their spectacular knockout power and highlight-reel finishes.
So surely we are in for a treat when these two men throw down at UFC Vegas 48, right?
For us, it’s a true 50/50 fight. Buckley is the 1.66 favourite over Alhassan who is priced at 2.20. We’ll tentatively add Buckley to our parlay as he has been active and winning as of late while Alhassan has struggled (for the most part) since returning for a lengthy period on the sidelines. In truth this fight really could go either way – don’t blink!
Gabriel Benitez vs. David Onama
A late notice loss against lightweight prospect Mason Jones told us everything we need to bet on David Onama as the 1.61 favourite against Gabriel Benitez.
Onama was up a weight class without a camp but gave the former Cage Warriors double champ all he could handle over three rounds. We are now excited to see how the 27-year-old does on a full camp at his normal weight class.
We are definitely not counting the 2.30 underdog Benitez out but do feel his days are perhaps behind him. The 33-year-old has lost three of his last four fights, albeit against really tough opposition.