UFC Vegas 36 main card preview & betting tips – 4/9/2021

Two up-and-coming heavyweights will have the chance to showcase their skills in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 36 on Saturday as Tom Aspinall takes on Sergey Spivak. We’ll preview that matchup as well as the other bouts on the main card leading up to the Darren Till vs Derek Brunson main event in Las Vegas.

Heavyweight: Tom Aspinall (-250) vs Sergey Spivak (+210)

Tom Aspinall (10-2-0) has won six straight fights including his first three fights in the UFC, knocking out Jake Collier and Alan Baudot and then submitting Andrei Arlovski. The win over Arlovski was an impressive one, considering that the veteran is 4-2 over his last six fights with his only losses coming against Aspinall and Jairzinho Rozenstruik over that stretch. Aspinall has earned a finish in all 10 of his professional wins with eight knockouts and two submissions.

Sergey Spivak (13-2-0) was 9-0 when he entered the UFC, but lost two of his first three fights to Walt Harris and Marcin Tybura. Spivak has since bounced back with wins over Carlos Felipe, Jared Vanderaa and Aleksei Oleinik. The 26-year-old has five knockout wins and six submission wins to date, but two of his last three wins have come by decision.

Aspinall is a legitimate heavyweight star in the making. Like current interim champion Ciryl Gane, he moves exceptionally well for his size and is a very versatile striker. He’s the clear pick in this one.

Welterweight: Alex Morono (-142) vs David Zawada (+122)

Alex Morono (19-7-0) bounced back nicely from his decision loss to Anthony Pettis with a first-round knockout win over Donald Cerrone that earned him a Performance of the Night bonus in May. Morono will look to carry the momentum of that win into this bout against David Zawada. Zawada entered the UFC with a 16-3 record in 2018 but has struggled in the promotion with a 1-3 record through his first four fights.

Both of these fighters are comfortable keeping the fight on their feet, so this could wind up being an entertaining slugfest. Zawada has been outstruck in all four of his UFC bouts to date and it’s hard to see that changing against an aggressive fighter like Morono. Look for Morono to land enough punches to earn the win on the cards here.

Light Heavyweight: Modestas Bukauskas (-155) vs Khalil Rountree Jr (+135)

Modestas Bukauskas (11-4-0) has lost each of his last two fights since winning his previous six fights by knockout. Khalil Rountree Jr (8-5-0) has had an underwhelming career in the UFC with a 4-5 record that includes a 1-3 record over his last four fights. This matchup will in all likelihood end in a knockout one way or the other; considering Bukauskas hasn’t shown us much at the UFC level, we’ll take a stab on Rountree Jr at these odds.

Lightweight: Paddy Pimblett (-150) vs Luigi Vendramini (+130)

Paddy Pimblett (16-3-0) will make his UFC debut this Saturday against Luigi Vendramini. Vendramini (9-2-0) was 8-0 with four knockout wins and four submission wins before joining the UFC and going 1-2 over his first three fights. Pimblett is a former Cage Warriors featherweight champion and is a respectable prospect, but the price on him is a bit too steep here. We do lean towards a Pimblett submission win, but the price is more reasonable on Vendramini.