Calvin Kattar has never shied away from fighting in an opponent's hometown. Accordingly, he didn't hesitate to accept a fight in Russia, the home country of his opponent in Saturday's main event of UFC Fight Night 163. Kattar takes on Zabit Magomedsharipov to top the UFC Fight Night 163 card at CSKA Arena in Moscow. The main card is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET. Magomedsharipov, the fifth-ranked welterweight, will undoubtedly have the crowd support advantage as he goes for his sixth consecutive victory in the promotion. But Kattar, in his last fight, knocked out Ricardo Lamas in Chicago, his opponent's hometown. Magomedsharipov is a -300 favorite (risk $300 to win $100), while Kattar is priced at +250 in the latest Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar odds. In the co-main event, Alexander Volkov (-270) faces Greg Hardy (+230) in a heavyweight battle. Before locking in your UFC Fight Night 163 picks, make sure you hear what SportsLine MMA expert Kyle Marley has to say.
Marley won the first-ever "ToutMaster" UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and is in contention to win this year's contest. He also appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and DFS shows. Over the past year, $100 bettors who have followed Marley's picks are up more than $19,000.
For last week's much-anticipated UFC 244 card, Marley told SportsLine members that Jorge "Gamebred" Masvidal (-140) would defeat Nate Diaz in a welterweight clash for the "BMF" title in the main event. He argued that Masvidal's boxing skills and power would be too much for Diaz and predicted a stoppage win for Masvidal. The result: the bout was called after the third round because the doctor determined Diaz could not continue.
Marley also predicted that Darren Till (+175) would use his reach advantage and striking to upset Kelvin Gastelum (-210) in the middleweight co-main event, giving his followers a lucrative underdog winner. Those who have consistently followed Marley are way up.
Now, with UFC Fight Night 163 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 single fight. He's sharing those selections only over at SportsLine.
Marley knows Saturday's main event is widely expected to be an action-packed bout between two of the division's rising stars, and the winner should be well-positioned for a title bout in the near future. The Dagestan-born Magomedsharipov is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the UFC's more well-rounded fighters. The 28-year-old has won 13 straight professional bouts, with his lone defeat coming in the ProFC promotion in April 2013. Magomedsharipov has three submissions among his five UFC victories since joining the promotion in September 2017. His latest win came via unanimous decision against veteran contender Jeremy Stephens in March.
Magomedsharipov faces another dangerous opponent in Kattar, who is an accomplished wrestler but is also emerging as one of the division's most powerful strikers. The Methuen, Mass., native has seen his last three victories come by stoppage. He scored a technical knockout of Ricardo Lamas in June. You can get all of Marley's Zabit vs. Kattar predictions at SportsLine.
We'll share one of Marley's UFC Fight Night 163 predictions here: He is backing Zelim Imadaev (-210) to prevail against Danny Roberts (+175) in a welterweight clash on the main card.
Imadaev (8-1) is a 24-year-old Russian prospect who lost a close decision to UFC veteran Max Griffin his promotion debut in April. The bout was marked by trash talking from both combatants. Marley believes the UFC brass would like to see the Russian emerge as a top contender and gave him a favorable matchup on Saturday to that end. Meanwhile, the U.K.-based Roberts (16-5) looks to snap a two-fight losing streak in 2019. Both defeats came by stoppage.
"The UFC wants Imadaev to get a win, and he should get it. Roberts is dangerous, but this fight should stay standing, and I like Imadaev's striking and power more. Roberts has also been knocked out three times, including a brutal one in his last match," Marley told SportsLine.
Marley also has strong picks for Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar, Hardy vs. Volkov and every other bout on the UFC Fight Night 163 card. You can see each one only at SportsLine.
Who wins Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC Fight Night 163, all from the expert who's up more than $19,000 on MMA in the past year, and find out.