UFC Fight Night at Apex Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday is headlined by a middleweight bout between No. 3 Marvin Vettori and No. 4 Jared Cannonier.
Vettori (19-5-1) is coming off a win over Roman Dolidze at UFC 286 in March, and is the -125 favorite at BetMGM as the Italian seeks another shot at the title. However, Cannonier (16-6-0) has been backed by the public with 54 percent of the bets and 69 percent of the money wagered on the winner.
Cannonier has only fought once since last summer — a split decision victory over Sean Strickland at Fight Night 216 in December. Cannonier is an inch shorter and 10 years older than Vettori, but does have a 3.5-inch reach advantage.
“There’s no one that’s ever going to finish me,” Vettori said this week. “So, yes, let’s go Jared. Bring it out the first round.”
This is the first meeting between the two.
“It was the one missing, basically, in the top five,” Vettori said. “I said I want to do it. And also it excites me because he’s a good fighter and he’s going to bring the best out of me, so that’s what I want. A good opportunity to just show how good I am.”
There are six fights on the main card, which is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. ET.
Arman Tsarukyan (19-3-0) vs. Joaquim Silva (12-3-0): Tsarukyan has won six of his past seven fights and is the massive -1100 favorite. He has received 73 percent of the fight money since opening at -775. Silva has drawn 89 percent of the total bets at +675, but at far smaller amounts. He has lost three of his past five fights, including being knocked out twice. Tsarukyan has a 3.5-inch reach advantage.
Christian Leroy Duncan (6-0-0) vs. Armen Petrosyan (8-2-0): Duncan won his UFC debut when he was credited with a first-round TKO of Dusko Todorovic, who suffered a knee injury. His second fight in the octagon will come against the kickboxing expert Petrosyan. Duncan has been backed by only 24 percent of the bets and 34 percent of the bets as the -165 favorite against Petrosyan (+135), an experienced fighter who is 3-1 in the UFC and coming off a unanimous decision victory over AJ Dobson in October.
Pat Sabatini (17-4-0) vs. Lucas Almeida (12-1-0): Almeida is 1-1 in the UFC, and will step back in the octagon for the first time in a year. Sabatini, 32, hasn’t fought since September, when he lost a verbal submission to Damon Jackson to break a six-fight win streak. Sabatini is the -200 favorite and has been backed by 54 percent of the bets and 78 percent of the money.
Nikolas Motta (13-4-0) vs. Manuel Torres (13-2-0): Torres is one of the biggest favorites on the card, drawing 55 percent of the money at -185 as he fights for the first time since a knockout over Frank Camacho in May 2022. Motta (+150) has fought in the octagon only once in the past 16 months — a first-round TKO of Cameron VanCamp at Fight Night 210 in September.
Muslim Salikhov (19-3-0) vs. Nicolas Dalby (21-4-1): Two veteran fighters meet, with the 38-year-old Dalby the +160 underdog against the 39-year-old Salikhov (-190). Salikhov, the “King of Kung Fu,” has won seven of his past eight fights, but Dalby has been backed by 64 percent of the bets and 76 percent of the fight money.
–Field Level Media
