UFC 291 sure was special, as Justin Gaethje took down Dustin Poirier with a ferocious knockout. This week's UFC Fight Night won't get as much buzz, but the card is still pretty good.
Are you ready for Sandhagen vs Font? We've got all you need to cash some tickets! Here are 6 Best Bets for UFC Fight Night on Saturday, August 5. Good luck!
Prelim Top Play: Assu Almabayev
Assu is making his UFC debut after compiling a 17-2 career record. Of those 17 wins, he finished 8 of his opponents via submission. The 29-year-old will face Ode’ Osbourne who has won 3 of his last 5 fights.
The Jamaican southpaw is just 12-5 in his career and has an advantage with 3 inches in height. However, Assu has a strong BJJ background that we believe will be the difference in this matchup.
Ode’ has been saying how he wants to finish Assu and then get a ranked opponent. It almost seems like he is overlooking Assu here and that is going to be a problem for him.
Prelim Card Underdog Play: Carlston Harris
Harris has won 4 of his last 5 which includes a 3-1 record since joining the UFC. That loss was to the undefeated 17-0 Shavkat Rakhmonov.
He faces a dangerous Jeremiah Wells out of Philly here. Wells will be served best to get this turned into a grappling/wrestling match. His superior BJJ skills would put Harris in a tough spot.
However, we believe Harris will be able to defend the takedowns and keep this as a stand-up fight where he will excel. Harris’s boxing background should be the difference here.
Prelim Card Top Parlay: Billy Quarantillo & Kyler Phillips
Billy has yet to be submitted in his 22-fight career. He faces Damon Jackson here who loves to get finishes via submissions. He has picked up 15 of his 22 wins by submission.
However, Billy will be able to defend any takedowns from the smaller Jackson and tee off on him with his boxing skills. Kyler Phillips faces Raoni Barcelos who has lost 3 of his last 4 fights.
Phillips will have the advantage on the ground and has been averaging over 3.5 takedown attempts per round. He has won 4 of his last 5 and is looking to follow up his impressive submission win over Marcelo Rojo with another win here over Raoni.
Main Event Play: Corey Sandhagen by Decision
Corey looked strong in his split decision victory over Chito Vera in his last fight. He is in search of another title shot after losing to Petr Yan back in October of 2021.
He faces Rob Font here who has lost 2 of his last 3 including 1 against Chita Vera and the other against a past his prime, Jose Aldo. We believe Sandhagen’s style and cardio will be too much for Font.
With Font only being finished 1 time in his career and Sandhagen finishing just 1 of his last 4 opponents, the value here on the decision is much better than laying the -300+ money line.
Main Card Top Parlay: Nzechukwu & Sandhagen/Font OVER 1 Round
Kennedy has won 3 straight fights and seems to be getting better each fight. After knocking out both Karl Roberson and Ion Cutelaba, he finished Devin Clark with a guillotine.
He does not have many holes in his approach and gets Dustin Jacoby here who has lost his last 2 fights. Kennedy will continue his slow rise in the division.
The Sandhagen/Font fight should most certainly get to the 2nd round and will serve to just lower the juice on this play.
Main Card Top Play: Tanner Boser
Tanner has lost 4 of his last 5 fights, including 2 straight. There is not much to like with the way he has been fighting recently but that intrigues us more.
He has slowly grown to almost a -200 favorite in some shops which piqued our interest. He faces Aleksa Camur here who has lost back-to-back fights as well.
We expect Tanner to come out hot and look to end things early against Camur. This may be a mistake, but something just smells fishy about Boser being this big of a favorite.
