UFC 266 goes down from Las Vegas on Saturday night and the card is stacked with intriguing fights. That includes two title fights on the top of the card with Alexander Volkanovski defending the featherweight title against Brian Ortega and Valentina Shevchenko putting her women’s flyweight belt on the line against Lauren Murphy.
For many, there’s no better way to add a little extra spice to a big night of fights than having a little money on the line. With so many intriguing fights on the card and so many close fights, it’s a great card to get in on some of the action.
Caesars Sportsbook has you covered with every angle of UFC 266 to get in on the action. We’re going to give you a few options to consider with this card from our favorite moneyline play, prop play and parlay play. Let’s take a closer look at those picks now.
Best moneyline pick
Dan Hooker -150 vs. Nasrat Haqparast
This is a very odd fight after both men hit late issues with their visas that almost prevented their participation in the bout. With both men able to work the situation out, the fight now moves ahead as planned and without either gaining an edge from the situation. Hooker is on a two-fight losing skid but those losses have come against Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler, two of the best lightweights in the world. Haqparast isn’t quite in that company and also holds no wins over fighters of Hooker’s caliber. Hooker should have an edge in pace and in working inside the clinch, even if his pace falls off a bit as the fight wears on. By the third round, Hooker will likely have a solid lead on the scorecards if he hasn’t already scored a stoppage. There’s good value on Hooker at the current -150 line.
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Best prop pick
Curtis Blaydes via KO/TKO/DQ +120 vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Rozenstruik is a dangerous man with big one-shot knockout power. Blaydes is coming off a loss to a similar opponent in Derrick Lewis, but Lewis has had much better success against elite competition than Rozenstruik. Blaydes is a big, strong heavyweight who is going to be looking to get inside and put Rozenstruik on the floor to take away that power. Rozenstruik has had issues with looking for the perfect shot in recent fights, sometimes it comes but sometimes he’s stuck in neutral for far too long. Blaydes putting Rozenstruik on the ground and going to work for the finish is as likely an outcome as there is in this fight.
Best parlay pick
Nick Maximov -170, Uros Medic -125, Dan Hooker -150 (+376)
Maximov is an undefeated fighter who won his fight on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn his shot in the UFC. He’s facing Cody Brundage, who lost in the first round of his own DWCS bout and had to pick up another win on the regional scene to get his UFC opportunity. Medic should be a much larger favorite against Jalin Turner, a fighter who is better than his 10-5 record implies but who has no discernible advantage over Medic in any area of the fight game. We covered why we like Hooker above and he’s a good third leg in a parlay featuring favorites who have a lot of value.
Who will win Volkanovski vs. Ortega? And how exactly does each UFC 266 fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks from Kyle Marley, who’s up over $14,000 on MMA picks in the past 31 months, and find out.
