UFC Betting Sites – The Best MMA Online Bookies

UFC Vegas 91 returned to the infamous APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, this past weekend (Sat., April 27, 2024), leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Ryan Spann, who was knocked out by Bogdan Guskov (see it again here).

And Austen Lane, who was knocked out by Jhonata Diniz in the second round o their Heavyweight fight (see it again here). And let’s not forget about Tim Means, who was knocked out by Uros Medic in the first round (highlights here). But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?

Matheus Nicolau.

Coming into the event, Nicolau was preparing to face Manel Kape since the beginning of the year, but the fight was scrapped on two separate occasions. Therefore, a few weeks from fight night, Nicolau had to switch his focus over to Perez, who agreed to step in on short notice after Kape suffered a rib injury.

And while I am not saying Nicolau underestimated Perez, one might not blame him if he did. That’s because Perez had lost his last three fights, two via first round submission and was simply hadn’t looked good since his great run that earned him a title shot in 2020.

Unfortunately for Nicolau, Perez came in on his “A” game, eventually scoring a second round knockout win to get him back on track (see it again here). As for Nicolau. The loss is his second straight — both via knockout — after enjoying a six straight win streak, four inside the Octagon.

Currently ranked No. 5 in the Flyweight division, Nicolau will likely stumble a few spots, but he will still remain in the Top 10. As far as what could realistically be next for the Brazilian bruiser, perhaps a fight against Kai Kara France is in order because it may be the only one that makes sense.

Like Nicolau, France has lost his last two fights after getting knocked out by Brandon Moreno (watch highlights), and then losing a unanimous decision to Amir Albazi. Sure, France (and I’m not sure why) is still currently ranked No. 4 in the division, but since both men are struggling, let’s see who gets back on track and who suffers his third straight defeat.

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For complete UFC Vegas 91 results coverage and highlights click HERE.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight grapplers Caio Borralho and Paul Craig will throw down this weekend (Sat., May 4, 2024) inside Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for UFC 301

No. 14-ranked Caio Borralho has separated himself from the 185-pound pack for a very simple reason: he’s quite good, and most Middleweights are not. He may not always be a thrilling watch, but Borralho has a well-rounded skill set, great conditioning, and the ability to actually follow a game plan.

Craig makes for the perfect foil, because he is bad by several objective metrics. Of course, that hasn’t stopped him from defeating former and future champions like Jamahal Hill and Mauricio Rua! Craig is uniquely dangerous, and he can never be truly counted out of a fight despite his obvious flaws.

Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Caio Borralho vs. Paul Craig Betting Odds

• Caio Borralho victory: -540
• Caio Borralho via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Caio Borralho via submission: TBD
• Caio Borralho via decision: TBD
• Paul Craig victory: +340
• Paul Craig via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Paul Craig via submission: TBD
• Paul Craig via decision: TBD
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Photo by Pedro Vilela/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Borralho Wins

Caio Borralho is a smart and tactical fighter. He uses a karate-style stance and movement to maintain distance, scoring kicks and occasional counter punches. Most of the time, he’s waiting for a moment to time his athletic double leg, and he’s a black belt on the floor.

There’s a clear reason that Borralho is such a significant favorite: he’s just better. He’s the sharper kickboxer by a clear margin, the superior wrestler, and Borralho’s jiu-jitsu is very good in its own right. He has the skill to grapple with Craig and avoid the triangle, particularly since everyone knows that’s Craig’s ace in the hole.

In his last bout, Borralho let Abus Magomedov tire himself out a bit then really upped the pressure and volume in the second. A similar game plan seems wise here, in that Borralho can slowly beat up Craig then turn up the aggression as Craig starts to feel the punishment. Borralho needs finishes to climb the ladder quickly and shed his boring reputation — this is a good opponent for those goals.

Photo by George Tewkesbury/PA Images via Getty Images

How Craig Wins

I say this with love: Paul Craig is one of the wonkiest fighters on the roster. His kickboxing game is inconsistent, his defense isn’t great, he always falls to his knees when shooting double leg takedowns — yet he has a genuinely great resume and has worked into the Top 10 in two separate divisions.

Scottish magic, perhaps? Craig doesn’t quit, and he’ll turn a small opening into a broken arm real quick.

Match ups never look good for Craig on paper, but this isn’t an impossible fight for him. Borralho is not a fearsome puncher, so Craig can feel more comfortable in advancing behind combinations and kicks. We haven’t really seen Borralho’s takedown defense tested, so perhaps Craig can indeed muscle him to the floor.

If not, Craig hits reasonably hard. At worst, his aggression probably draws a takedown from Borralho, which at least gets Craig to the floor where he wants to be.

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Borralho vs. Craig Prediction

My prediction is probably fairly obvious at this point.

Barring a sudden Craig triangle choke — always possible! — Borralho should win this fight everywhere. He’s younger, better, and on the rise. He has the skills and smarts to keep himself out of trouble while still delivering an ass-kicking. Much like Brendan Allen did in Craig’s last fight, Borralho should be able to beat his opponent up wherever the fight goes, and the threat of the submission subsides after a certain amount of punches land.

The Brazilian should mind his P’s and Q’s, but this is a stylistic layup.

Prediction: Borralho victory (-540)

Pereira isn’t keeping score when it comes to how his resume stacks up to Adesanya’s.

Alex Pereira isn’t too worried about where he stands compared to his longtime rival Israel Adesanya in the minds of fans.

During a recent interview with Laerte Vian, “Poatan” was asked how he felt his legacy stacked up against “The Last Stylebender.” Pereira holds a 3-1 record over Adesanya in combat sports, but the Brazilian didn’t even bring that up when discussing their resumes.

“You have to see what criteria people are using,” he said. “Adesanya made several title defenses, you know? I couldn’t defend the middleweight belt. So how much is that worth? Let’s try to put that into a score, how much is it worth? Maybe it’s worth, I don’t know, ten points for him, and my championship run is worth two.”

“But there are things I did, like damn, I became a double champion. He tried [to become one], but didn’t. Maybe that’s worth ten points for me, two for him. Or maybe it’s worth, I don’t know, ten for me, eight for him. You have to see what the criteria are for this game.”

“But I don’t know, man,” he concluded. “Seriously. And I’m not worried about it because I think it doesn’t matter what classification they give you. What matters is what you do and how you inspire people. And I think I’m doing it very well.”

With his current run at light heavyweight, Alex Pereira shucked off his label as Israel Adesanya’s nemesis and has become one of the biggest stars in the UFC. Despite being one of the scariest looking dudes in the cage, he keeps surprising us with these extremely level-headed and ego-free positions during interviews.

He refuses to take the bait when it comes to discussing Adesanya, even when it involved Izzy insulting his children. That definitely earns him an extra ten points in our books.

BKFC president David Feldman detailed how a deal to make Conor McGregor a co-owner of the promotion came about, and how the UFC might feel about the move.

BKFC held its big annual KnuckleMania event on Saturday night in Los Angeles, and the event couldn’t have gone better. The event marked the promotion’s debut in California, where bare knuckle has finally been licensed by the state commission. Their top star “Platinum” Mike Perry notched another KO win — watch that highlight here. And Conor McGregor was announced as a new part-owner of the promotion.

Not bad for a bloody niche combat sport that spent the majority its first few years in Biloxi, Mississippi.

During the KnuckleMania 4 post-fight press conference, president David Feldman discussed McGregor’s buy-in of the company. No numbers were divulged, but both Feldman and McGregor are clearly excited to be working together.

“You’ve got the guy who has the most viewed movie in Amazon history, right?” Feldman said. “I mean, it wasn’t because of his acting — not that he was bad at acting, but it wasn’t because of his acting, it was because it was Conor McGregor. It wasn’t Jake Gyllenhaal that drove those views. It was Conor McGregor that drove those views.”

“He’s one of the most popular guys in the entire world. He’s one of the most popular and influential combat sports fighters of all time, or personalities of all time. I mean, you tell me. You get a guy like that, anything he touches turns to gold. I want that Midas touch for us, so we brought it over.”

The partnership started up a year ago when McGregor showed up in person to watch Mike Perry destroy Luke Rockhold’s teeth in the main event of BKFC 41.

“He jumped in the ring, he called out Mike Perry, you know, in fun,” Feldman recounted. “And one thing led to another. We partnered with his beer, Forged Irish Stout, and they became a sponsor of us. And he fell in love with this. We had some unbelievable conversations, some great ideas already exchanging.”

“It was funny. I was telling my wife, I was dying for Conor McGregor to call me. Now the guy won’t stop calling me. It’s unbelievable, he is so excited about this thing. I really think it just completely takes us to the next level.”

One member of the press asked what Feldman thought UFC CEO Dana White would think of the deal.

“Listen, Dana White has a juggernaut with the UFC,” Feldman said. “I mean, Conor McGregor certainly moves the needle for him, but he’s very, very successful without him. Not that he’s fighting for us, but him promoting our product … who knows? You’re probably a little mad. Your number one star is gonna talk about a different company, so you’re probably not very happy about it.”

“But he’s not worried about us. Not yet.”