UFC 254 Prelim & Early Prelim Fight Betting Preview & Tips
- By: Dave Consolazio
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UFC 254 Fight Island Preliminary & Early Prelim FightsLatest Odds & Fight Info |
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| When | Saturday, October 23 2020 – Prelims 12pm ET / 9am PT | Early Prelims 11am ET / 8am PT |
| Where | Flash Forum, Fight Island – Yas, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| Watch Live | ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass, UFC.com |
UFC 254 Preliminary Card UFC Betting Preview
The UFC 254 card in Abu Dhabi this Saturday is loaded from top to bottom. The main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje sits at the top, but an exciting preliminary card will set the table for the main card bouts leading up to that UFC Lightweight Championship fight.
Tai Tuivasa vs Stefan Struve |
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| UFC Betting Odds | Tai Tuivasa -123.46 at Bovada | Stefan Struve +100 at Bovada |
| UFC Weight Division | Heavyweight: Minimum 205 lb (93.0 kg; 14.6 st) | Maximum 265 lb (120.2 kg; 18.9 st) |
Stefan Struve (29-12-0) has lost four of his last five fights, most recently being knocked out by Ben Rothwell at UFC on ESPN 7 on December 7. Tai Tuivasa (9-3-0) has lost each of his last three fights since opening his professional career with a 9-0 record that included a 3-0 start in the UFC. Something has to give when these two slumping heavyweights meet in the octagon.
Eight of Tuivasa’s nine professional wins have come by way of knockout, and the 7-feet-tall Struve is known to have a fairly weak chin with eight knockout losses in his career. But on the other hand, Tuivasa has a very weak ground game and 18 of Struve’s 29 career wins have come by way of submission. This will be a race to the finish on whether Struve gets this fight to the mat for a submission or Tuivasa knocks Struve out; it really could go either way, so we’ll take the underdog odds here.
UFC 254 Tuivasa vs Struve UFC Betting Picks
Stefan Struve by Submission
Casey Kenney vs Nathaniel Wood |
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| UFC Betting Odds | Casey Kenney -175.44 at Bovada | Nathaniel Wood +141 at Bovada |
| UFC Weight Division | Catchweight |
Casey Kenney (15-2-1) and Nathaniel Wood (17-4-0) are both off to impressive 4-1 starts to their UFC careers. This looks to be a fairly evenly matched fight on paper, with Wood having the slight advantage in significant striking and Kenney having the advantage in durability having never been stopped in his MMA career. In what could be one of the best fights on the card, we’ll take the underdog here as he isn’t getting quite enough respect at this price.
UFC 254 Kenney vs Wood UFC Betting Picks
Nathaniel Wood by Decision
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Alex Oliveira |
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| UFC Betting Odds | Shavkat Rakhmonov -117.65 at Bovada | Alex Oliveira -104.17 at Bovada |
| UFC Weight Division | Catchweight |
Shavkat Rakhmonov (12-0-0) makes his UFC debut with a perfect 12-0 record and all 12 of his wins coming via stoppage (seven knockouts and five submissions). Rakhmonov faces a tough test in Alex Oliveira (22-8-0), who has bounced back from three straight losses to win two matches over Max Griffin and Peter Sobotta in 2020. While Oliveira is the more proven commodity at the UFC level, Rakhmonov has looked strong enough with other promotions to take a shot on here.
UFC 254 Rakhmonov vs Oliveira UFC Betting Picks
Shavkat Rakhmonov by KO/TKO
Da Un Jung vs Sam Alvey |
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| UFC Betting Odds | Da Un Jung -117.65 at Bovada | Sam Alvey -104.17 at Bovada |
| UFC Weight Division | Light Heavyweight: Minimum 185 lb (83.9 kg; 13.2 st) | Maximum 205 lb (93.0 kg; 14.6 st) |
The UFC tends to book fights between two fighters trending in the same direction. But here, Da Un Jung (13-2-0) carries a 12-fight winning streak into this bout against Sam Alvey (33-14-0), who has lost each of his last four fights with the promotion. There just isn’t anything here to suggest that this isn’t an easy win for Jung.
UFC 254 Jung vs Alvey UFC Betting Picks
Da Un Jung by KO/TKO
Miranda Maverick vs Liana Jojua |
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| UFC Betting Odds | Miranda Maverick -400 at Bovada | Liana Jojua +300 at Bovada |
| UFC Weight Division | Women’s Flyweight: Minimum 115 lb (52.2 kg; 8.2 st) | Maximum 125 lb (56.7 kg; 8.9 st) |
Miranda Maverick (7-2-0) brings a three-fight winning streak into her UFC debut against Liana Jojua (8-3-0), who is 6-1 over her last seven fights with a 1-1 record in the UFC. Maverick is correctly listed as a the big favorite as she is both a stronger striker and a stronger wrestler than Jojua. But Jojua is a capable wrestler in her own right with five of her last six wins coming by way of submission, and the price is right to take a shot on her stealing this one with a well-timed submission maneuver.
UFC 254 Maverick vs Jojua UFC Betting Picks
Liana Jojua by Submission
Joel Alvarez vs Alexander Yakovlev |
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| UFC Betting Odds | Joel Alvarez -163.93 at Bovada | Alexander Yakovlev +133 at Bovada |
| UFC Weight Division | Lightweight: Minimum 145 lb (65.8 kg; 10.4 st) | Maximum 155 lb (70.3 kg; 11.1 st) |
Joel Alvarez (17-2-0) lost in his UFC debut to Damir Ismagulov but has since bounced back with two straight impressive wins over Danilo Belluardo and Joseph Duffy. Alvarez faces Alexander Yakovlev (25-10-1) on Saturday. Yakovlev is an underwhelming 3-5 across eight career UFC bouts and is likely to suffer another loss at the hands of the up-and-coming Alvarez.
UFC 254 Alvarez vs Yakovlev UFC Betting Picks
Joel Alvarez by Submission
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