UFC Vegas 17 preliminary card betting tips & odds

UFC Vegas 17 prelims betting preview

When a former UFC champion is on the preliminary card of a non-PPV event, that’s a pretty good indicator of how strong the bill is. Anthony Pettis highlights a solid set of prelims this Saturday night at UFC Vegas 17.

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Welterweight: Anthony Pettis (-230) vs Alex Morono (+195)

Anthony Pettis (23-10) was 18-2 and the UFC Lightweight champion back in 2014, but he is just 5-8 since. He did snap a two-fight losing streak with his win over Donald Cerrone at UFC 249 in May, and he’ll have a chance to win consecutive fights for the first time since 2014 when he takes on Alex Morono this Saturday.

Morono (18-6-0) has won four of his last five fights, including a decision win over Rhys McKee last month. He has a path to an upset in this bout if he can commit to wrestling early and often to take Pettis out of his comfort zone. But historically we’ve see Morono trying to push the pace on his feet, and that strategy will work right into his opponent’s hands. Pettis isn’t the fighter he once was, but he’s still good enough to win here.

Women’s Bantamweight: Sijara Eubanks (-155) vs Pannie Kianzad (+135)

Sijara Eubanks (6-5-0) is 4-3 in the UFC, most recently dropping a fight to Ketlen Vieira at UFC 253 in September. Pannie Kianzad (13-5-0) is 5-2 over her last seven fights, including a 2-0 record over her last two. Kianzad’s strong takedown defense makes her an excellent upset pick in this one; if she can keep this fight off of the mat, her long-range striking should lead her to a third straight win.

Catchweight: Antonio Arroyo (-156) vs Deron Winn (+136)

Antonio Arroyo (9-3-0) had a five-fight winning streak snapped against Andre Muniz in his UFC debut last November. Deron Winn (6-2-0) improved to 6-0 with a win in his UFC debut but has since dropped back-to-back fights to Darren Stewart and Gerald Meerschaert. Arroyo enters this fight with a massive nine-inch height advantage and 3.5-inch reach advantage. Winn has not lived up to expectations in the octagon thus far and gets a tough matchup to turn things around in here.

Middleweight: Tafon Nchukwi (-285) vs Jamie Pickett (+245)

Tafon Nchukwi (4-0-0) is undefeated as a professional with four straight knockout wins. Jamie Pickett (11-4-0) has won four of his last five fights. Both fighters will make their UFC debuts in this one. While Nchukwi is extremely raw and could use some time to develop, he is still a very talented striker that shouldn’t have much trouble controlling the tempo of this fight and eventually landing the finishing blow.

Lightweight: Rick Glenn (-300) vs Carlton Minus (+250)

Rick Glenn (21-6-1) is an unlikely candidate to be the biggest favorite on the card, as he is 1-2 in his last three fights and his one win was a controversial split decision over Dennis Bermudez. He also hasn’t fought in 24 months. Carlton Minus (10-2-0) just looked so bad in his last fight against Matthew Semelsberger that he’s an extremely tough sell against a talented veteran like Glenn. Taking Minus at these long odds and hoping for Glenn to succumb to ring rust may not be the worst idea, but it seems too likely that the favorite will have no trouble controlling the tempo en route to an easy decision win in his return.