Dustin Poirier faces Justin Gaethje in UFC 291 in what many are calling the fight of the year. These two dangerous strikers last met in 2018 when Poirier came away victorious in a thriller.
Poirier is a slight favorite in this sequel, which will take place on Saturday, July 29. The overall card is completely packed, as Alex Pereira will take on Jan Blachowicz in what should be another highly entertaining match.
If you need help betting UFC 291, we've got your back! Here are 6 best bets for this iconic event.
Prelim Top Play: Derrick Lewis vs Marcos Rogerio De Lima Total Min UNDER 4.5
Between both Lewis and Rogerio De Lima, over the combined last 8 fights, only 3 went over the 4.5-minute mark. Lewis has lost 4 of his last 5 fights with 3 of them coming prior to the 4-minute mark.
We believe De Lima will take care of business but if he does not, it will likely be from Lewis getting an early KO/TKO. This will prevent us from taking the loss by taking just a side.
Prelim Card Underdog Play: Claudio Ribeiro
Ribeiro has some serious boxing skills and that should serve him well in this matchup. He is facing Roman Kopylov who is a striker by nature and very rarely gets his opponents to the mat.
Ribeiro will have a small 2-inch reach advantage but combined with his superior boxing, this could be the difference. We love the price we are getting here and believe this could easily be an even matchup.
Prelim Card Top Parlay: Miranda Maverick & Vergara/Salvador OVER 1.5 Rds
Maverick is a heavy favorite and rightfully so. She has a 7-0 record when it comes to submission finishes while her opponent, Cachoeira is 0-2 in that scenario.
Also, like Gaethje, Maverick trains with Elevation Fight Team and will have the better cardio for if this fight goes into the 3rd round.
Main Event Play: Justin Gaethje
Dustin got the better of Gaethje in their previous meeting. Poirier threw over 100 more strikes than Gaethje and ultimately knocked him out early in the 4th round. That fight took place in Glendale, Arizona.
This fight is in Salt Lake City, Utah; where we saw fighters get extremely gassed earlier than normal in the last event here. Dustin does most of his training at a normal altitude, whereas Gaethje trains with Elevation Fight Team which does their work high above sea level.
We believe this will play a major factor in this matchup. Take Gaethje at this underdog price to get some sweet revenge against Poirier.
Main Card Top Play: Jan Blachowicz
Jan has not fought since last December but has been at several events and taken in multiple Pereira fights and should have the right game plan in place to defeat him.
Pereira has enormous power in his fists and legs with his kickboxing background. That being said, Blachowicz will be too much for Pereira in this one. We'll go with the slight favorite.
Main Card Top Underdog: Michel Pereira
Michel Pereira has been running through the competition recently. He is 5-0 in his last 5 fights and is seemingly a different fighter from the one he was earlier in his career.
He faces Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in this matchup who is coming off a win over Kevin Holland. The Holland fight was an odd one as they both decided they would not grapple or wrestle and instead just stand and strike.
Previous to that, Thompson had lost to Belal and Burns, and we believe Pereira is on his way to the same status of those 2 names.
