UFC Fight Night 197 main card preview & top betting picks

A heavyweight matchup between Ben Rothwell and Marcos Rogerio de Lima will serve as the co-main event of this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 197 card. Here’s a breakdown of that match and the others leading up to the main event of Max Holloway vs Yair Rodriguez in Las Vegas.

Heavyweight: Ben Rothwell (-153) vs Marcos Rogério de Lima (+123)

Ben Rothwell (39-13-0) is enjoying a late-career resurgence with three wins over his last four fights. This Saturday he will face Marcos Rogerio de Lima (18-7-1), who since opening his career with a 13-2-1 record has alternated wins and losses in every fight since 2015. Rogerio de Lima is 5-5-0 over his last 10 fights with no winning streaks or losing streaks over that stretch.

Those who believe the trend will continue should take Rothwell in this fight as Rogerio de Lima is coming off of a win against Maurice Greene in his last fight. Interestingly, all five of those losses have come by way of submission. We are tempted to take a stab on the underdog at this price, but he seems destined to fall into the guillotine choke that Rothwell has picked up three of his last five wins with.

Women’s Featherweight: Felicia Spencer (-315) vs Leah Letson (+255)

Felicia Spencer (8-3-0) has lost three of her last four fights since opening her professional career on a 7-0 run. Two of those losses came against all-time greats in Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes, while her most recent loss to Norma Dumont has aged well as Dumont recently defeated Aspen Ladd as well.

Leah Letson (5-1-0) will be making her first professional appearance since November of 2018 in this bout. This feels like a good opportunity for Spencer to get back on track with a victory, so long as she can get this fight to the ground to take advantage of her excellent grappling skills.

Middleweight: Kyle Daukaus (-210) vs Roman Dolidze (+180)

Kyle Daukaus (10-2-0) entered the UFC with a perfect 9-0 record as a professional. Since then, however, he has gone 1-2 and had his last match with Kevin Holland end in a no contest due to an accidental headbutt. Roman Dolidze (9-1-0) is off to a 3-1 start with the promotion including a win over Laureano Starpoli in his last fight.

These betting odds don’t accurately reflect how evenly matched these two appear to be on paper. Both are strong wrestlers, and while Daukaus may have the edge in conditioning, Dolidze is more effective in securing takedowns. In what should be a competitive fight that could go either way, we’ll happily take Dolidze as an underdog at a great value.

Bantamweight: Song Yadong (-130) vs Julio Arce (+110)

Song Yadong (17-5-1) bounced back from his first loss in over four years to Kyler Phillips with a split decision win over Casey Kenney at UFC 265 in August. Yadong is 9-1-1 over his last 11 fights including a 6-1-1 record in the UFC. Julio Acre (17-4-0) is 2-2 over his last four fights since going 7-0 over his previous seven.

Neither of these fighters attempts many takedowns, so this should be a fun fight that includes plenty of striking and counter-striking. Yadong’s speed and instincts should give him the slight edge in a bout that will very likely go to the cards and be a tough one to call.