UFC 253 early prelims betting odds & picks

UFC 253 early prelims preview

UFC 253 kicks off in the wee hours of Sunday morning in Abu Dhabi with two early preliminary bouts. Both of these fights should get UFC bettors fired up for the rest of the card as neither is favored to make it to the judges’ scorecards. Here’s a closer look at these two fights.

Juan Espino (-290) vs Jeff Hughes (+245)

Juan Espino (9-1-0) has won each of his last seven professional fights. Most recently, he was seen defeating Ben Sosoli, Maurice Greene, and Justin Frazier in the heavyweight bracket during the Ultimate Fighter 28. But that came all the way back in November of 2018; will Espino still be in top form as a 39-year-old this weekend?

Jeff Hughes (10-3-0) looked like a solid heavyweight prospect when he entered the UFC with a 9-1 record as a professional. But in three bouts in 2019 he went 0-2 with one no contest, losing by decision to Greene and Raphael Pessoa. Bettors could certainly justify taking a stab on Hughes at this price, but they’d be banking on him having taken a step forward and Espino having taken a step backward over the last calendar year. Handicapping based on what we’ve seen, Espino is the clear play.

Khadis Ibragimov (-155) vs Danilo Marques (+135)

Khadis Ibragimov (8-3-0) started his career with an 8-0 run before entering the UFC and being humbled with three straight losses to Da Un Jung, Ed Herman, and Roman Dolidze. The 25-year-old will try to get in the win column against Danilo Marques (9-2), who has won each of his last two professional fights but will be making his UFC debut off a 31-month layoff.

Similar to the other fight on the UFC 253 early preliminary card, we have one fighter returning from a long layoff and another that has struggled badly in the octagon. And once again we’re going with the fighter we haven’t seen in a while, this time to pull off the upset.