UFC Fight Night 182: Santos vs Teixeira betting picks & odds

UFC Fight Night 182: Santos vs Teixeira betting preview

Jon Jones’ long reign as the UFC Light Heavyweight champion is over, as he has now moved up to the heavyweight division. Jan Blachowicz is the new light heavyweight champ after he defeated Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 for the vacant title. The winner of the UFC Fight Night 182 main event on Saturday night in Las Vegas between Thiago Santos (21-7-0) and Glover Teixeira (31-7-0) will in all likelihood be next in line to fight Blachowicz for the championship.

Santos became the first fighter in UFC history to win a judge’s scorecard against Jones when he lost to him by split decision at UFC 239 in July of 2019. Santos fought admirably in that title shot despite suffering major injuries to both of his legs during the fight. Before the loss, Santos was 8-1 with four straight wins including seven knockout wins over that stretch.

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At 40 years old, Teixeira pulled off an impressive upset win over Anthony Smith in the main event of UFC Fight Night 171 back in May. Now 41 years old, the Brazilian veteran knows that winning this fight is his last realistic shot at earning another championship fight. He has won each of his last four fights since going 2-3 in his previous five, and another win over a younger contender would have to move him to the front of the line.

This fight will really boil down to how healthy Thiago Santos is. Santos required double knee surgery after his fight with Jon Jones and has been out of action for over 15 months. If he returns as the same fighter that he was before, Santos shouldn’t have much trouble out-slugging Teixeira. But if there are any lingering effects from his knee injuries, the door could be open for Teixeira to pull off the upset.

Santos says that he is at 100% both physically and mentally; that he took both the time he needed for his legs to heal and for his mind to get back into the right headspace to fight. Teixeira won’t be a pushover as he is a capable striker and has a better ground game than Santos. But assuming this fight stays off of the mat, Santos should be able to grind his way to another knockout victory.