UFC Fight Night 171 betting odds, tips & predictions

UFC Fight Night 171 betting preview

Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira were originally scheduled to headline a UFC Fight Night event in Nebraska on April 25, 2020, but that card was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two light heavyweights will instead get the chance to meet up in the octagon this Wednesday night in Jacksonville, Florida, on a brand new card for UFC Fight Night 171. Here are BP’s free picks and predictions, with odds from the top-rated UFC betting sites.

Light Heavyweight: Anthony Smith (-185) vs Glover Teixeira (+160)

Anthony Smith (33-14-0) is 4-1 since making the switch to light heavyweight with two knockout wins, two submission wins, and three Performance of the Night awards. His only loss over this five-fight stretch came by decision to Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Glover Teixeira (30-7-0) has won each of his last three fights, overcoming early trouble in his wins against Karl Roberson and Ion Cutelaba. He’s still got something left in the tank, but can the 40-year-old take down a recent title contender in his prime? It seems like an awfully tall task.

Heavyweight: Ovince Saint Preux (-135) vs Ben Rothwell (+115)

Both of these fighters snapped losing streaks in their last bouts. Ovince Saint Preux (24-13-0) defeated Michal Oleksiejczuk to end a two-fight losing streak, while Ben Rothwell (37-12-0) earned a TKO win over Stefan Struve to break a three-fight losing streak.

The big question in this fight is how Saint Preux will look in his heavyweight debut. There is no doubt that he will be the better athlete with more speed facing Rothwell. But will he be able to withstand the power difference from light heavyweight to heavyweight? Under normal circumstances we’d say yes, but in an unprecedented time in which coronavirus quarantines are affecting everyday training regiments, this could be a good spot to lean towards the established heavyweight.

Lightweight: Drew Dober (-120) vs Alexander Hernandez (+100)

Alexander Hernandez (11-2-0) returned from a TKO loss against Donald Cerrone with an underwhelming decision win over Francisco Trinaldo last July. In that fight, he lacked the aggression that had led him to eight straight wins before the Cerrone loss.

Drew Dober (22-9-0) has good knockout power and will have no trouble taking the fight to Hernandez if the youngster is as timid as he was in his last fight. This should be a great fight that could go either way, but our guess is that Hernandez will get back on track with a strong performance here.

Bantamweight: Ricky Simon (--100) vs Ray Borg (+135)

Ray Borg’s struggles to make the cut at flyweight have forced him to move up to bantamweight. Borg (13-4-0) is the cleaner wrestler in this fight, which could propel him to an upset, but Ricky Simon (15-3-0) should be hungry for a win after suffering two straight losses. The undersized Borg could be just the ticket for Simon as he looks to get back on track.

Middleweight: Marvin Vettori (-200) vs Karl Roberson (+170)

Karl Roberson (9-2-0) is the superior striker in this matchup, but Marvin Vettori (14-4-1) is the more polished fighter. Both enter this fight with two straight wins, but look for Vettori to be the one to extend his winning streak to three.

UFC Fight Night 171 preliminary card

Heavyweight: Philipe Lins (-170) vs Andrei Arlovski (+150)

Lightweight: Thiago Moisés (-120) vs Michael Johnson (+100)

Women’s Bantamweight: Sijara Eubanks (-365) vs Sarah Moras (+305)

Lightweight: Omar Morales (-175) vs Gabriel Benítez (+155)

Featherweight: Hunter Azure (-200) vs Brian Kelleher (+170)

Heavyweight: Chase Sherman (-157) vs Ike Villanueva (+137)