Still on the road, the UFC heads to Vancouver for a loaded card.
On tap are 13 fights after another solid program in Rio de Janeiro, where we correctly predicted last week’s main event as Charles Oliveira easily won by submission.
The action on ESPN+ begins with the prelims at 4 p.m. ET.
Here are my predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: de Ridder vs. Allen.
Reinier de Ridder vs. Brendan Allen
De Ridder is so awkward that fighters have had fits trying to figure him out. What helps is that the star middleweight isn’t just a size monster at 185 pounds (6-foot-4, 78-inch reach); he has proved that he wants it more than almost anyone.
His finishes against Kevin Holland and Bo Nickal are highly impressive at this point, and I am bullish on the Dutch fighter in general to compete for a championship.
He’s a bona fide finisher who loves getting into the clinch to land elbows and knees, something I don’t suspect Allen will deal with particularly well.
I don’t really see the road map for an Allen win here. I don’t think he has de Ridder beat anywhere, whether it’s striking or grappling.
I think de Ridder gets it done, but his price of -200 is too high for my liking.
The Pick: I’ll take de Ridder wins and the fight to start Round 2 (+100, DraftKings)
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Kevin Holland vs. Mike Malott
Here’s a tricky fight in the welterweight division as all 6-foot-3 inches of Holland cuts down to 170 pounds against the Canadian Malott in the co-main event.
Malott’s main strategy has to be offensive grappling, aiming to take Holland to the mat and rain down elbows and ground strikes to secure a big victory.
Despite getting a ton of flak from UFC fans, Malott would be undefeated in the octagon if he had not made a tactical error against Neil Magny and gotten TKO’d in Round 3 of a fight he dominated for 12 minutes last January.
Malott is confusing to fight on the feet. He sets traps, throws low leg kicks, and should have the grappling advantage if he can land takedowns consistently.
Holland is a thorny character in his own right. He certainly should have the power advantage in the striking, and if Malott does a poor job technically with his takedown attempts, he easily could be submitted via front headlock choke against a savant such as Holland.
It’s extremely difficult to bet on Holland fights. Sometimes, he looks like a world champion-level fighter; other times, he looks ready to retire.
That last fight (a loss) against Daniel Rodriguez was concerning on so many levels that I can’t put my money on him.
I’ll go with Malott here. I think he’s the improving and elevating fighter, while Holland just lost a war to Rodriguez in July.
The Pick: Malott moneyline (-108, Kalshi)
Rest of the card
Marlon Vera vs. Aiemann Zahabi: Zahabi moneyline (-125, Caesars).
Manon Fiorot vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius: Fiorot by decision (-150, bet365).
Cody Gibson vs. Aoriqileng: Gibson moneyline (-163, ESPN Bet).
Kyle Nelson vs. Matt Frevola: Frevola by decision (+420, FanDuel).
Charles Jourdain vs. Davey Grant: Jourdain by submission (+800, BetRivers).
Bruno Silva vs. HyunSung Park: Silva by decision (+500, BetRivers).
Danny Barlow vs. Djorden Santos: Barlow by KO/TKO (+132, BetRivers).
Kyle Prepolec vs. Drew Dober: Pass.
Stephanie Luciano vs. Ravena Oliveira: Oliveira by decision (+480, FanDuel).
Azamat Bekoev vs. Yousri Belgaroui: Belgaroui by KO/TKO (+420, FanDuel).
Melissa Croden vs. Tainara Lisboa: Fight goes the distance (-172, DraftKings).
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
