Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will be back in the octagon to face Sean Strickland on Saturday, September 9. Adesanya will enjoy a large 4 inch reach advantage, which is probably why he's a gigantic -680 favorite at DraftKings.
Strickland, however, is no push-over, as he's a respectable 27-5 in his UFC career. He has the skillset to give the champ a run for his money in this matchup. Here are the live odds and best bets for UFC 293. Good luck!
Prelim/Main Card Top Play: Charlie Radtke/Nasrat Haqparast Parlay (-160) (DraftKings)
Radtke is facing Blood Diamond who has lost his last 2 fights which came back in 2022. These were his only 2 fights in the UFC to date and this will be Radtke’s debut.
We are going to continue to fade Blood Diamond until he is out of the UFC, which is likely to be relatively soon. Nasrat is the largest favorite on the card and rightfully so.
He is going to welcome Landon Quinones to the UFC as he makes his debut. His experience and power will be his advantages and he should make short work of Quinones.
Prelim Card Underdog Play: Gabriel Miranda (+145) (Caesars)
Miranda lost his UFC debut back in September of last year to Benoit Saint Denis. He gets his opportunity to bounce back in this matchup with Shane Young.
Young is on a 3-fight losing streak with the last 2 coming via unanimous decision. Young is a striker while Miranda can pick up takedowns.
His loss to Saint Denis was because he tried to stand and strike with him, and we expect him to make the adjustment in this one as he knows Young will want to do the same.
Prelim Card Top Parlay: Carlos Ulberg/Jamie Mullarkey (-115) (FanDuel)
Ulberg has been on an absolute tear with 4 straight victories and 3 straight KO victories. All 3 Kos came in the 1st round. He is facing Da Woon Jung who will test Ulberg’s power as he has been KO’d only once in his career.
It did come recently when he lost to Dusten Jacoby in the 1st via KO. We like Ulberg to continue his winning streak but the KO finish might be tough.
Mullarkey is probably a bit overpriced here and is coming off a KO loss to Naimov back in June. He is going to have a 6-inch reach advantage over John Makdessi here and should have a grappling advantage. Adding Ulberg to this play will give us a better price.
Main Event Play: Adesanya/Strickland Over 4.5 Rounds (-105) (Fanatics)
Israel has the reach advantage, the experience advantage, and speed advantage in this matchup. He is fresh off his win over rival Alex Pereira to regain his title.
Strickland has won his last 2-fights over Magomedov and Imavov. He has also gone the distance in 3 of his last 5 fights proving he has the cardio to go 5 rounds.
Israel should be able to use his superior technical skills to outscore Strickland in this one relatively easy. Our only real fear is he tries to KO him to prove that he is capable of finishing Strickland like his rival Pereira did back in July of 2022.
Main Card Top Play: Volkov/Tuivasa Under 1.5 Rounds (-115)
Volkov is on a 2-fight winning streak with both wins coming via KO in the 1st round. Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alexandr Romanov were his victims.
He is facing Tai Tuivasa who has lost his last 2 fights via KO. Gane picked up his in the 3rd round while Pavlovich was able to take care of business in under 1 minute.
That type of KO is tough to overcome and with Volkov having a 5-inch reach advantage and proving his power is still superior despite being 34 years of age. We expect Volk to put our Tai early in the 1st round.
Main Card Top Underdog: Austen Lane (+200) (BetMGM)
Lane is facing Justin Tafa here and will have a 6-inch reach advantage. Neither of these guys are going to look for a takedown and will be happy to stand and strike with each other until one of them goes down.
This matchup ended in a no decision back in June when Lane caught Tafa’s eye with a finger and caused the doctor to stop the fight.
In the 30 seconds that they were exchanging, Lane felt the power of Tafa and will be smart to keep his distance. The value here is on Lane and we are going to take a stab on him.
