MMA fans are in for a holiday treat this weekend with two big fight cards. Bellator 289 offered fans some tremendous action on Friday night with Raufeon Stots outpointing Danny Sabatello to retain the interim bantamweight title. Plus, Patchy Mix choked out Magomed Magomedov to set up an epic World Grand Prix final against Stots.
Now the action turns to Las Vegas and UFC 282 on Saturday night where a vacant UFC light heavyweight title tops the marquee with Jan Blachowicz against Magomed Ankalaev.
Big fights come with big interest at the sportsbooks. We dug through the UFC card to determine three of the best bets to make.
Take a look at our picks with odds provided by Caesars Sportsbook.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to remove the Bellator picks from Friday night
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Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev under 4.5 rounds (-160): The price to take the fight to not go the distance is -180, so we can get a better line by giving up the possibility of a finish in the final 2:30 of the fight. Both men are dangerous finishers and both have been finished. The recipe is there for a violent and sudden end to the fight, especially with the way the two styles mesh. It seems more than 22 minutes is plenty of time for someone to find a finish.
Jared Gordon (+210) vs. Paddy Pimblett: Pimblett should be the favorite entering this fight. But should he be a -260 favorite? Sometimes you have to make a play based on the implied odds not matching with your view of the fight. Pimblett is a dangerous fighter but he's not a perfect one. He found himself with a bit of trouble against Jordan Leavitt and Gordon is a better fighter than Leavitt, who applies really good pressure and is willing to go at it toe-to-toe. Gordon was submitted by Grant Dawson, but Dawson is a better offensive wrestler than Pimblett. The odds here and the styles of both men make it worth a small play on the underdog.
Darren Till vs. Driscus du Plessis to go the distance: No (-190): Till has not gone the distance in 65% of his bouts. That number is 95% for du Plessis. Both fighters have the ability to finish or be finished at any point in the fight. It's not unusual for du Plessis to run out of gas after being very dangerous in the opening round. That opens the door for Till to try to press. Of course, Till might not have that in him as he has lost four of his five previous bouts. This is a fight that either ends in a finish or gets incredibly ugly down the stretch.
Who wins Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC 282, all from the incomparable expert who's up more than $12,000 on MMA in the past three years, and find out.
