We should be in for a treat this evening as the UFC delivers their best card of the year so far on paper with UFC 298 taking place in Anaheim. The event has 12 scheduled bouts and will be headlined by one of the most highly anticipated fights in a while when Alexander Volkanovski looks to defend his UFC Featherweight championship against Ilia Topuria. While there weren’t any weight misses yesterday during the weigh-in event, we did see one change: Justin Tafa had to drop out of his fight due to an injury, but his brother Junior Tafa will be stepping in to face Marcos Rogerio de Lima on one day notice.

My favorite picks for tonight’s card are Merab Dvalishvili, Ian Garry, Amanda Lemos and Rinya Nakamura. Dvalishvili should have probably already received a title shot after his dismantling of Petr Yan last year, but he has the chance to solidify one here if he gets past Henry Cejudo. I think Dvalishvili’s relentless pressure will be more than enough to get a decision win in this fight. Garry will be facing his toughest test to date in Geoff Neal, but he has the tools to stay at range and dictate this fight. As long as Garry is patient and doesn’t get overly comfortable, I think he’ll cruise to a clear decision or late stoppage here. Lemos received a bit of a blessing in my opinion when Tatiana Suarez had to drop out of this spot and was replaced by McKenzie Dern. While Dern is a nasty submission artist, she doesn’t have the wrestling and takedown ability of Suarez to easily ground out Lemos. I think Lemos will keep this one on the feet, stay safe and eat Dern up in the striking exchanges for a late stop or decision. Rinya Nakamura is the biggest betting favorite of the card, and with good reason. Carlos Vera is taking this fight on short notice and has been subbed in two of his three losses. I think there’s a pretty good chance Nakamura gets this one done inside the distance and can add a third submission loss to Vera’s resume.

For the bets this weekend, I currently have nine plays out including 3 parlays and 6 prop bets. The parlays are as follows: Barlow ML + Lemos ML + Dvalishvili ML (+326 for .5 units), Lemos ML + Dvalishvili ML + Garry ML (+304 for .5 units) and Garry ML + Costa/Whittaker to Start R3 Yes + Volk/Topuria Fight Goes the Distance (+543 for .5 units with a boost on DraftKings, originally at +362 without the boost and still playable). Here are the prop bets for tonight: Maverick Inside the Distance (+320 for .25 units), Maverick by R2/3 Sub (+1000 for .25 units), Danny Barlow in R3/Dec (+200 for .5 units), Nakamura by Submission (+250 for .5 units), Lemos in R3/Dec (+270 for .5 units) and Volkanovski/Topuria to End in Split/Majority Decision (+600 for .25 units). That’s a total of 4 units out across this weekend’s plays. If you want to hear more of my thoughts on why I like these spots, as well as my picks and thoughts for each fight on the card, be sure to check out Friday Night Fight Talk with my co-host James and myself. I hope everyone enjoys the fights tonight and best of luck to everyone betting!

If you enjoy our website, please make sure to follow us on social media and tell other MMA fans about OddSmokerMMA so we can continue to grow! All of your continued love and support is very much appreciated!

Powered by WagerWire

My articles are now available on the WagerWire Community page, on the WagerWire app, and under the WagerWire tab at the top of our website for quick access! Be sure to check out all of the other amazing content creators that are part of the WagerWire community.

Make sure to download the new WagerWire app on your phone and get on the app that will change sports betting forever! Easily add all of your sportsbooks to one convenient dashboard and keep track of all your betting action with the best community in sports betting! You’ll also eventually have the ability to buy/sell bets straight through the app, so check it out now and use referral code “OddSmokerSteve”!