UFC Vegas 71 Best Bets
UFC Vegas 71 is one of the best fight night cards of 2023. With a ton of fun fights, that gives us a lot of betting potential. Here are three of the best bets for UFC Vegas 71.
*All lines are taken from BetMGM and are accurate as of 2:00 p.m. ET on Friday, March 10.*
Alexandr Romanov -150
In the UFC Vegas 71 co-main event, Alexandr Romanov is a -150 favorite against Alexander Volkov who is lined as a +125 underdog. I am playing the favorite in this fight.
The concern with Romanov is that he is coming off the worst performance of his career. Romanov lost to Marcin Tybura after gassing out early in the fight. I am not going to let that affect my opinion of Romanov too much as that fight was at UFC 278 which took place in the altitude of Salt Lake City, Utah. Tybura is a tough stylistic matchup for Romanov as well since he is one of the best grapplers in the heavyweight division.
In this fight, I do not think Volkov will be as good of a defensive grappler as Tybura was. In the past, Volkov has struggled against elite grapplers. Volkov did not show the ability to get up once he was taken down against Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall was able to quickly submit him. I think Romanov will be able to utilize his elite grappling and get a win in this fight.
Ryan Spann +140
At UFC Vegas 70, Ryan Spann was supposed to fight Nikita Krylov, but the bout was canceled and eventually moved to UFC Vegas 71. The original bout was canceled after Krylov got sick. In addition, the bout dropped to three rounds instead of five.
In this fight, Spann sits as a +140 underdog while Krylov is a -165 favorite. I will take the shot on the underdog here.
Before I get into a fight breakdown, it is also important to note that Spann should benefit from the fight cancelation. First off, Krylov would have had a cardio advantage to assist him in the championship rounds, but that advantage is now gone. Plus, I can’t imagine that Krylov is in better shape after having to pull out of a fight with a sickness.
From a fight perspective, I like Spann because he has the higher potential to find a finish. In a light heavyweight fight between two fighters that rarely go the distance, that is important. On the feet, Spann has more power and speed. In a fight between two fighters with suspect striking defense, I like the guy with more power. Plus, Spann has submission upside if Krylov attempts a takedown.
Krylov does have a path to victory in this fight. Spann has shown durability issues in the UFC that could hurt him in this fight. Krylov also has a potential backup plan as he could look to wrestle in an attempt to avoid Spann’s lethal striking. Those concerns are not strong enough to get me off this line though.
Vitor Petrino -105
In the first fight of the UFC Vegas 71 main card, Vitor Petrino will fight Anton Turkalj. This fight is closely lined with Petrino as a -105 favorite with Turkalj just behind him at -115. I’m on Petrino’s side in this fight.
I like Petrino in this fight because he has far more finish upside. In the first round, Petrino has a ton of power. He throws a lot of powerful hooks and fights at a high pace. On the ground, he showed solid submission defense in his Dana White Contender Series bout. The issue with that is that he has been put in the position to demonstrate that submission defense. Still, I think Petrino will land a shot that ends this fight.
The only concern that I have with Petrino is his cardio. He fights at such a high pace early that he wears out by the second round. I think that issue will present itself later in his career, but I think he can get through a fighter of Turkalj’s caliber before that becomes an issue.
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