Daniel Cormier's final UFC fight will also be his 10th consecutive bout in which a championship is at stake. His opponent for Saturday's epic trilogy bout, Stipe Miocic, will be fighting for a belt for the seventh straight time. It's fair to say the championship pedigree runs deep for the combatants in the UFC 252 main event in Las Vegas. Their final meeting tops the UFC 252 fight card from the Apex facility, with the main card slated for 10 p.m. ET. The fighters have split two bouts, with each earning a stoppage victory.
Saturday's winner will be regarded as the most prolific heavyweight champion in UFC history. Cormier is a -115 favorite (risk $115 to win $100), while Miocic is priced at -105 in the latest UFC 252 odds from William Hill. In the co-main event, rising bantamweight prospect Sean O'Malley (-330) takes on Marlon Vera (+270). Before making any UFC 252 picks, make sure you see what SportsLine MMA analyst Kyle Marley has to say.
Marley won the first-ever "ToutMaster" UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and daily Fantasy shows. He watches every single fight for every single UFC card and does extensive research before each event.
Over the past 17 months, $100 bettors who have followed Marley's picks are up more than $20,000. The accomplished MMA analyst has been on fire and connected on 16 of his last 18 main-event selections, a stretch that included a streak of five straight underdogs. At UFC Fight Night last Saturday, Marley accurately predicted an early stoppage win for Derrick Lewis (-200) against Aleksei Oleinik (+170) in the heavyweight main event. He also correctly predicted a decision victory for Chris Weidman (-120) against Omari Akhmedov (+100) in the middleweight co-main event. Anyone who has consistently followed Marley is way up.
Now, with UFC 252 fast approaching, Marley has carefully studied every matchup on the card, identified the best value in the UFC odds and released his MMA picks for every fight. Those selections are only available at SportsLine.
Miocic vs. Cormier preview
Cormier (22-2-1) is a former two-division champion whose only career losses in the UFC have come to light heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones and Miocic. He fought Jones to a competitive decision loss, and a defeat in their second match was later overturned to a no-contest after Jones failed a drug test.
The 41-year-old became heavyweight champion with his upset of Miocic as a massive underdog in their first meeting. He connected with an uppercut that led to a first-round stoppage and stopped Miocic's record for heavyweight title defenses at three.
But Miocic (19-3), 37, pleaded for a rematch and made good on his vow to regain his belt. Cormier almost managed another early victory, but Miocic rebounded to score a fourth-round technical knockout that was the result of a flurry of body shots.
The fighters used to be on somewhat friendly terms, but their battles have created a rift. Both have said they already have proven to be the better fighter and will show it again by winning the rubber match. You can only see Marley's coveted Miocic vs. Cormier picks here.
Top UFC 252 predictions
We'll share one of Marley's UFC 252 predictions here: He is backing Junior Dos Santos (+135) to pull the upset of Jairzinho Rozenstruik (-155) in a heavyweight clash.
This is a battle of the old guard against a talented newcomer. The affable and popular Dos Santos (21-7) is one of the most decorated heavyweights in UFC history. He is a former champion who has faced practically all the division's biggest names in a UFC career that started in October 2018.
Dos Santos, 35, appeared headed towards perhaps another title shot with a three-win surge, but his momentum was stopped by losses to the heavy-hitting Francis Ngannou and Curtis Blaydes.
Rozenstruik (10-1) hopes to be the third straight opponent to send Dos Santos to a knockout loss. The 32-year-old slugger quickly climbed the UFC rankings behind four consecutive stoppage victories to begin his career, but he will be looking to rebound from his first professional loss, a 20-second knockout at the hands of Ngannou in May.
"I see Dos Santos going for takedowns and wearing Rozenstruik down, taking the power away from his big shots. If Dos Santos stays conscious, he'll get his hand raised," Marley told SportsLine.
How to make UFC 252 picks
Marley also has strong picks for Miocic vs. Cormier 3 and every other bout on the UFC 252 card. He's also backing one combatant who is the "more dangerous fighter and the better striker." You can see those UFC 252 picks only at SportsLine.
Who wins UFC 252? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight on Saturday's UFC 252 card, all from the accomplished expert who's up over $20,000 and has nailed 16 of the last 18 UFC main events, and find out.
UFC 252 odds (via William Hill)
Daniel Cormier (-115) vs. Stipe Miocic (-105)
Sean O'Malley (-330) vs. Marlon Vera (+270)
Jairzinho Rozenstruik (-155) vs. Junior Dos Santos (+135)
Merab Dvalishvili (-180) vs. John Dodson (+160)
Magomed Ankalaev (-300) vs. Ion Cutelaba (+250)
Vinc Pinchel (-115) vs. Jim Miller (-105)
Livia Souza (-150) vs. Ashley Yoder (+130)
Parker Porter (-125) vs. Chris Daukaus (+105)
Virna Jandriroba (-310) vs. Felice Herring (+255)
Herbert Burns (-260) vs. Daniel Pineda (+220)
Ike Villanueva (-115) vs. Jorge Gonzalez (-105)
Kai Kamaka (-245) vs. Tony Kelley (+210)
