Minneapolis will be the focus of the MMA world on Saturday, with the main card beginning at 9 p.m. ET. A stacked 13-fight UFC on ESPN 3 card features two big-time bouts in which the winners could eventually receive a title shot. Francis Ngannou is the second-ranked heavyweight in the world, and he'll take on third-ranked Junior dos Santos at UFC Minneapolis in the headlining bout. Ngannou responded from decision losses to Stipe Miocic and Derek Lewis with first-round knockouts of Curtis Blaydes and Cain Velasquez in his last two fights, while dos Santos has two straight knockouts of his own. Both have lethal power, but Ngannou is the -250 favorite (risk $250 to win $100), while dos Santos is the underdog at +210 (risk $100 to win $210) in the latest Ngannou vs. dos Santos odds. Meanwhile, No. 1 contender at flyweight Jussier Formiga takes on No. 2 Joseph Benavidez in the co-main event. The latter is the -175 favorite in the latest Formiga vs. Benavidez odds. Before you make your UFC on ESPN 3 picks, you need to listen to what SportsLine MMA expert Kyle Marley has to say.
Marley won the first-ever "ToutMaster" UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and is currently in first place in this year's competition. Marley also 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 year, $100 bettors who have followed Marley's picks are up more than $22,000. It's an astonishing cash rate that shows the depth of Marley's knowledge. Just last week at UFC Fight Night 154, Marley posted a 9-2 record to return a profit of nearly $900 in one night. His winning selections included big underdog winners on Randy Brown (+230) against Bryan Barberena (-270) and he also accurately predicted Molly McCann (+240) upsetting Ariane Lipski (-280). Anyone who has followed Marley's advice is up huge.
Now, with UFC on ESPN 3 fast approaching, Marley has carefully studied every matchup on the 12-fight UFC Minneapolis card, identified the best values in the UFC odds and released his MMA picks for every single fight. He's sharing those selections only over at SportsLine.
Marley knows the bout represents a turning point in the careers of both heavyweights, who are aiming to return to title contention. Both came up short in title bouts against Miocic, the former champ who has since lost the belt to Daniel Cormier.
Ngannou, 32, is considered perhaps the hardest puncher in UFC history. The knockout artist was widely viewed as a superstar in the making before he was outclassed by Miocic in their January 2018 fight. He suffered another setback against Derrick Lewis, but has since won two bouts by knockout. He stopped former champion Cain Velasquez in February.
Dos Santos, 35, has one of the most well-rounded skill sets in the heavyweight division. He won the UFC heavyweight belt by stopping Velasquez in November 2011, but lost in a rematch the following year. He was stopped by Miocic in their May 2017 title bout, but has since won three straight. He scored a technical knockout of Lewis in March. You can only see Marley's dos Santos vs. Ngannou picks at SportsLine.
One of the UFC Minneapolis picks we can share: Marley is backing Dalcha Lungiambula to come though as a -250 favorite in his highly-anticipated UFC debut against Dequan Townsend.
Townsend is also making his UFC debut and took this fight on a week's notice after Justin Ledet backed out earlier in the week. Townsend has won his last four fights, but he's bumping up from welterweight to light heavyweight in addition to fighting on short notice. He'll be giving up strength to Lungiambula, who is 9-1 and was the EFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion. "Lungiambula has heavy power and can knock guys out with one punch. He also has an aggressive double-leg and solid wrestling," Marley told SportsLine. "Lungiambula will be able to get this fight to the ground any time he wants, and once there, he will just have to avoid triangle attempts and sweeps."
Marley also has strong picks for Dos Santos vs. Ngannou, Benavidez vs. Formiga and every other bout on the stacked UFC on ESPN 3 card. You can see them exclusively at SportsLine.
Who wins Dos Santos vs. Ngannou? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks for every fight at UFC on ESPN 3, all from the incomparable expert who's up more than $22,000 on MMA in the past year, and find out.