One of the biggest MMA PPV events of the year is nearly here. UFC 266 is just a day away with a trio of intriguing bouts topping the marquee including two title fights. It all goes down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night when featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will put his title on the line against Brian Ortega.
The Aussie enters on an incredible 19-fight win streak that includes nine inside the UFC Octagon. He’s beaten some of the biggest names in the sport — Max Holloway twice as well as Jose Aldo — en route to capturing the 145-pound title. Now, he takes on the latest challenger in Ortega after seeing some bad blood spill over from their duties as coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter”. Ortega enters red hot after bouncing back from a loss to Holloway in a title challenge in 2018 thanks to a dominant win over the Korean Zombie.
Plus, women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is back to defend her crown when she takes on Lauren Murphy in the co-main event. A pair of legends meet in a featured contest at middleweight when Nick Diaz returns from a long hiatus to take on former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. Heavyweights also meet on the PPV card when Curtis Blaydes and Jairzinho Rozenstruik look to keep their place in the rankings to earn a title shot. And another pair of women’s flyweights open the card when former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade takes on Cynthia Calvillo.
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.
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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.
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.
