UFC Vegas 93 takes place this weekend on Saturday, 6/15. The Apex will play host to top Flyweights Alex Perez and Tatsuro Taira in the main event.
Check out our best bet for their clash, along with 3 other bets to place before the fights kick off at 7 PM EST. Best of luck and enjoy the action!
Top Prop: Jeka Saragih vs. Westin Wilson to Start Rd. 2 (+158)
Both fighters' records won't support this play, with Wilson not seeing a second round since 2019 and Saragih having KO power. However, I'm willing to take the gamble on this plus number for two reasons.
For one, a little bit of positive regression has to be coming for Wilson in terms of octagon time. Not seeing a second round in so long means Wilson should prioritize a longer fight, especially since his two UFC showings have ended in the first round TKOs. Avoiding Saragih's power early has to be in the gameplan for him.
Secondly, both of these fighters have shown that they will wrestle when needed. 11 of Wilson's 16 wins have come by sub, and Saragih has been on both ends of grappling exchanges in his time with the UFC. Add that we have a smaller Apex cage this week, and we could see some early grappling to slow the fight down.
We'll have to hope that Saragih's power doesn't find Wilson's questionable chin here, but I like getting a big plus number with the many ways we can get to a second.
Best Moneyline: Josh Quinlan (-120)
Quinlan will look to bounce back after dropping two straight to long rangy strikers Danny Barlow and Trey Waters. Before that, Quinlan had won 6 consecutive fights by stoppage and had another TKO win wiped off his record after he tested positive for a banned substance.
To get back in the win column, he'll have to beat Adam Fugitt, who is 1-2 in his three fights with the UFC. Fugitt has shown that he prefers to grapple, going 5/15 on takedown attempts in those three. When on the feet, his hand speed negates the reach advantage he has on most Welterweights. He's been TKO'd once and was rocked before Mike Malott locked in a sub in their fight last year (Fugitt's last showing).
With Quinlan showing some grappling promise, I see him avoiding the ground game of Fugitt to take advantage of his opponent's poor striking. Quinlan has shown one-punch power and even has 2 subs on his record thus far. I believe he has all the finish and damage upside, so he should be in a good spot to get back in the win column on Saturday.
Garrett Armfield by Points (+200)
I've really liked what I've seen from Armfield in his two showings at Bantamweight. He has good boxing and is in and out on his strikes, scoring and using his defense to avoid being scored on. He's also shown good takedown defense, holding his opponents to 6/17 on attempts for limited control time.
Takedown defense will be needed against Brady Hiestand on Saturday. The least number of takedowns Hiestand has shot in his fights is 7, so his game plan is no secret. Similar to Fugitt mentioned above, his striking lacks behind his wrestling as he's often wide open in his stance and has been dropped because of it.
Armfield is too good of a striker not to take advantage of Hiestand on the feet. The main concern with Armfield will be his gas tank. He puts out a lot of movement, especially at the beginning of fights, and could gas in the later rounds if Hiestand is able to make him work.
Still, I see Armfield scoring too often and banking rounds because of it. By the time he slows down, he may have already won the fight. I think he cruises on the back half of this one to earn back-to-back decision wins.
Tatsuro Taira By Finish (+100)
For our main event play, I'm going to put stock in the undefeated Japanese prospect Tatsuro Taira. Taira is known for his top-tier grappling and has stopped 11 of his 15 opponents. 7 of those by submission, and he already has 5 UFC bouts in his young career.
Alex Perez is quite the opposite fighter, being a UFC vet who has faced top names at 125. After an almost two-year lay-off, he returned to test Muhammad Mokaev to a close decision loss and then turned around a month later to TKO Matheus Nicolau.
Perez has shown good takedown defense at times, but he's been put in bad spots once his opponents were able to get him the ground. He's been subbed 5 times in his career, with 2 of his last 3 losses coming by such. Granted, those 2 were against former champs at Flyweight, but Taira has at least shown the grappling potential to be elite at 125.
The books favor another sub-win for Taira, and I'll have to agree since he'll have 5 rounds to find one. Look for Perez to eventually give in to Taira's grappling pressure for a mid to late-round stoppage here.
