- The main event of UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev will feature two ranked light heavyweight contenders when Magomed Ankalaev takes on former title challenger Thiago Santos in Las Vegas on Saturday. At 7 p.m. ET, the main UFC bout card will be shown live. After losing his UFC debut, Ankalaev has gone on to win seven straight bouts. A new level of competitiveness awaits him for his maiden UFC main event appearance against Santos, who fought Jon Jones in July 2019 but lost a split decision after a hard-fought battle.
- The latest UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev odds from Caesars Sportsbook have Ankalaev as a -450 favourite (risk $450 to win $100), while Santos is set at +370. The No. 14-ranked Yadong Song (-240) will face former title challenger Marlon Moraes (+200) in the co-main event at bantamweight. For UFC Fight Night: Santos against Ankalaev, SportsLine’s MMA analyst Andrew Gombas has put up his predictions and betting tips.
- Gombas, a former NCAA wrestler, brings a unique perspective to MMA matchup analysis by drawing on his wrestling background. In 2018, he launched the MMA Knockout Bets handicapping business, and he’s been profitable every year since.
- Six percent return on investment has been revealed for his followers by third-party monitoring agency Bet MMA, which has monitored more than 1,400 of his picks. More than $10,000 has been made by his followers in the last two years.
- Giga Chikadze (-240) will face Calvin Kattar (+200) in the main event of UFC 2022, which Gombas said will be a duel of rated featherweight contenders. Kattar was the clear winner for Gombas’ supporters, dominating from start to finish. Anyone who has previously invested in him has reaped enormous rewards.
- Gombas has examined the UFC UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev event from every aspect and has delivered his best MMA choices. SportsLine has those UFC expert choices.
UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev predictions
- Here’s one of Gombas’ picks for UFC Fight Night: When it comes to middleweight prospects, he’s backing Bruno Silva (+150) over Alex Pereira (-170).
- In part because of his two victories against current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, Pereira (4-1) is a former world-class kickboxer who has built a name for himself in the sport. In November, he made his UFC debut by knocking out Andreas Michailidis in the second round.
- His first three UFC bouts were all stoppages, and he is a powerful puncher and grappler. When they met in a December exhibition, he defeated Jordan Wright in the first round.
- The route to success for Silva is via grappling. We witnessed Pereira be taken down and dominated by a less skilled grappler than Silva in his most recent battle. Gombas told SPORTSLIne. SportsLine that the underdog has the most value.
