This article is part of our UFC Picks series.
The UFC heads to Abu Dhabi, Dubai for a stacked UFC 294 card on Saturday, Oct. 21 -- one that got even better less than two weeks out with the addition of some new fights. The main event sees Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski rematching for the lightweight title.
Below, I'll share my favorite play, an underdog, a prop and a two-fighter parlay. All odds are via the DraftKings Sportsbook and are accurate as of the post date of this article.
Weight Class: Lightweight
Trevor Peek (8-1) vs. Mohammad Yahya (12-3)
Trevor Peek vs. Mohammea Yahya should be a fun fight for however long it lasts, but I like Peek to get the job done as a slight favorite.
Peek is a fan-favorite fighter who marches forward and will throw down. Although he did lose his last fight, he has looked good in the UFC. Yahya, meanwhile, is from the United Arab Emirates, so he will have the crowd on his side, but I don't think he is UFC-caliber.
The level of competition is not there for Yahya, and when he has fought some better competition, he has lost and got finished.
Peek's aggressiveness should be too much for Yahya, and he will find the chin in the second round to get the TKO win.
UFC 294 Best Bet: Trevor Peek (-162)
Weight Class: Middleweight
Bruno Silva (23-9) vs. Sharaputdin Magomedov (11-0)
Sharaputdin Magomedov has been hyped up for quite some time, but he hasn't fought anyone of note, and the odds are too high for me to not take a shot on Bruno Silva.
The majority of Magomedov's wins are by first-round knockout, so I have some concerns over his cardio and whether or not he can go three hard rounds. We have seen Silva go all three rounds with former champion Alex Pereira. Furthermore, the way to beat the Brazilian has been via submission, but that isn't Magomedov's game at all.
There is a very real chance Magomedov does catch Silva early and KO him. But, I'll bank on Silva being able to survive and then take over in the second and third rounds as Magomedov fades.
UFC 294 Best Bet: Bruno Silva (+210)
Weight Class: Middleweight
Ikram Aliskerov (14-1) vs. Warlley Alves (14-6)
Ikram Aliskerov was supposed to fight Nassourdine Imavov and will now face Warlley Alves, who is moving up to middleweight, in a very favorable matchup.
Alves has had a durability issue his whole career and now moves up on short notice to face Aliskerov, who is known for his power. In his UFC debut, Aliskerov KO'd Phil Hawes, and that is what I expect to happen here as well.
The Russian should be able to catch Alves on the feet and finish him off with ground-and-pound. For Alves, of his last three stoppage losses in the UFC, two have come by knockout, and he now faces a legitimate one-punch KO artist in Aliskerov.
UFC 294 Best Bet: Ikram Aliskerov by KO/TKO/DQ (+120)
Weight Classes: Lightweight & Strawweight
Anshul Jubli (7-0) vs. Mike Breeden (10-6)
Viktoriia Dudakova (7-0) vs. Jinh Yu Frey (11-9)
For my parlay, I'm backing Anshul Jubli and Viktoriia Dudakova to get their hands raised at UFC 294.
Dudakova is set to face Jinh Yu Frey, who's 2-5 in the UFC and on a three-fight losing skid. I'm surprised she is still in the UFC, but she's getting thrown to the wolves here with a matchup against Dudakova, who looks like a very good prospect. Dudakova's UFC debut ended due to injury from her opponent. However, she has a major wrestling and grappling advantage in this fight. The Russian should be able to get Frey down at will and eventually sink in a choke to get the win in the first or second round.
In the other leg of the parlay, I'm backing Anshul Jubli in his UFC debut against Mike Breeden, who is also someone I don't think is UFC-caliber. Breeden is 0-3 in the UFC and also lost on the Contender Series, and two of the three losses came by a quick KO, so his durability is a concern.
Jubli, meanwhile, looks like the real deal, and I expect the Indian fighter to blitz Breeden early and get a first-round TKO. The way to beat Breeden is by getting after him early, as we saw Terrance McKinney and Alexander Hernandez do, and that is what I expect to happen here.
UFC 294 Best Bet: Anshul Jubli & Viktoriia Dudakova parlay (-167)
UFC 294 Best Bets
Here is a recap of this weekend's UFC 294 best bets:
- Trevor Peek (-162)
- Bruno Silva (+210)
- Ikram Aliskerov by KO/TKO/DQ (+120)
- Anshul Jubli & Viktoriia Dudakova parlay (-167)
For up-to-date information on the latest odds and props from multiple sportsbooks, check out the UFC odds page on RotoWire.
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