Hill vs Saint Preux UFC Vegas 16 betting tips & odds

Hill vs Saint Preux UFC betting preview

Jamahal Hill (7-0-0) is undefeated through his first eight professional fights. He’ll get his toughest test to date this Saturday night when he takes on Ovince Saint Preux (25-14) in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 16.

Hill has hit the ground running in the UFC. He won his promotion debut against Darko Stosic back in January and knocked out Klidson Abreu in his follow-up fight back in May. While that win over Abreu was later overturned to a no-contest due to a positive marijuana test, it is still etched in the memories of fight fans who have seen Hill dominate in each of his first two bouts.

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Saint Preux moved up to heavyweight in May and suffered a disappointing split-decision loss to Ben Rothwell. He had a successful return to light heavyweight in September when he defeated Alonzo Menifield with a second-round knockout win. The veteran has now won each of his last two fights at light heavyweight since dropping three of his previous four fights in the division.

Saint Preux is 6-3 over his last nine light heavyweight fights with each of his last five victories coming via stoppage and earning him Performance of the Night bonuses. He has only been knocked out twice in his professional career. Can the hard-hitting young Hill become just the third fighter to knock out Saint Preux?

It’s possible, but we like the underdog here. Hill is a dynamic striker that is certainly capable of ending this fight with a well-timed flurry of blows. But his takedown defense was quite weak against Darko Stosic, and it’s the type of hole in his game that a veteran like Saint Preux could feast on. Look for Saint Preux to weather the early storm and eventually take the fight to the mat, where he will either grind out a decision win or find a submission manoeuvre to close it out.