This weekend two top Bantamweight contenders battle it out as Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili go head-to-head in the main event. In the co-main, rising Heavyweight phenom Alexander Romanov faces Alexander Volkov and a rescheduled catchweight fight between Nikita Krylov and Ryan Spann joins the main card and is sure to be fireworks.
We take a look at this weekend’s best UFC bets below.
UFC Fight Night Preview & Betting Tips
Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili
There is so much going on in the UFC’s Bantamweight division and this fight pits a former champion against an up-and-coming wrestling machine who has slowly built a reputation for his relentless takedowns and smothering his opponents. Yan comes into this fight on a two-fight skid, losing to champion Aljamain Sterling and a losing a razor tight decision to Sean O’Malley.
Merab Dvalishvili is the primary training partner of Sterling who recently beat former champion Jose Aldo by decision and is riding an eight-fight winning streak. While he is on quite a streak I don’t think he can get down and control Yan like Sterling did. While the Russian may be on a bit of a skid, neither were one-sided blowouts and I would back either man to dispatch Dvalishvili. Yan gets back into the win column here, likely with a devastating knockout.
Value Bet: Yan by KO/TKO/DQ/Submission - $3.30 (2 Units)
Petr Yan to Win
$1.55 (4 Units)
Alexander Romanov vs. Alexander Volkov
Alexander Romanov is an exciting heavyweight prospect who gets his first real test to date here in Alexander Volkov. Volkov is the known quantity, he is a rangy striker who uses distance well. He has suffered losses to the likes of Ciryl Gane and Curtis Blaydes but has however, turned away fighters such as Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum.
If this fight occurred before I watched Romanov completely gas after round 1 in his last fight, I would have been very confident to back him. Stylistically this fight is perfect, Volkov has always been vulnerable in the wrestling department and Romanov has brutal ground and pound and submissions in his arsenal. I see it going very much like the Volkov and Tom Aspinall fight, where Volkov just gets beat down and stopped. Romanov likely gets this down early and unleashes on Volkov until the ref steps in. That Marcin Tybura fight has scared me off going hard but still worth a bit on Romanov to secure the win and enter the title picture.
Alexander Romanov to Win
$1.72 (2 Units)
Nikita Krylov vs. Ryan Spann
This bout was a main event on a Fight Night card a few weeks back, only to fall apart on the night after Krylov had to pull out with illness. I am really glad it has been rebooked as it is a great fight and one I see is there to profit off. Both Nikita Krylov and Ryan Spann come into this weekend’s bout on two fight winning streaks and are likely two or three wins away from a title shot. Krylov is in the midst of his second stint in the UFC after going 5-2 the first time round before asking for a release to gain some more experience after he lost to Misha Cirkunov. He then racked up four wins on the regional scene before returning to the Octagon where he has since beaten former title challengers Alexander Gustafsson and Volkan Oezdemir.
Ryan Spann is a bang or bust type of fighter who has reeled off multiple impressive finishes including knockouts of former title challenger Dominick Reyes and Antonio Nogueira. The likelihood is this fight is a war and neither man is overly durable which makes the chances of the bout going the distance extremely unlikely. Realistically Krylov is the more well-rounded on the feet and is also likely to get the better of any scrambling exchanges. Therefore, I am backing the Ukrainian to secure the stoppage victory.
Nikita Krylov to Win by KO/TKO
$3.75 (3 Units)
