Best UFC On ABC 5 Bets: Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria Picks

Eric Uribe
By , Updated on: Dec 19, 2023 07:00 PM
Best UFC On ABC 5 Bets: Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria Picks

Need to make some money this weekend? Then you need to have your attention on UFC betting for Saturday's card. We’ve picked out three bets that we’re confident will have bettors cashing out by the end of ‘em. Keep reading to get our expert advice!

  • What: UFC on ABC 5
  • When: Saturday, June 25
  • Where: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena I. Jacksonville, Florida
  • How to watch: ABC (not ESPN like usual)

Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria Betting Pick

This should be a barn burner of a fight featuring two featherweights that have a lot of overlap in their fighting style. We’ll get to that soon, but first, let’s take a hard look at the Emmett-Topuria betting odds. At the best betting sites for the UFC, they’ve pegged Topuria as the runaway betting favorite to win:

FighterBovadaBetOnlineGTBets
Ilia Topuria-330-330-330
Josh Emmett+250+250+250

Here’s where the two are strikingly similar: at their core, each is a wrestler. Yet, they’ve gone away from that style in favor of striking. Let’s begin with the betting favorite, Topuria. Only 26 years old, he’s 13-0 and is being primed for a title chance sooner than later. He’s up to No. 9 in the rankings thanks to four straight finishes (three by KO and one by submission). Topuria doesn’t attempt takedowns as much, but he can still defend them well having gone down only once while in the UFC.

And then there’s Emmett, who lost an interim title fight the last time we saw him, which ended a five-fight winning streak. Emmett is a deceptively strong hitter too. Only six of his 18 career wins have come by KO, but you see his power when fighting. He can stagger his opponents with one blow at will.

The big difference between the two, however, is age. The 38-year-old Emmett is 12 years the senior of Topuria, who is in his athletic prime. Even with similar skill sets, we expect Topuria to be just a little crisper because of his youth. That’s why we’re confidently betting on Topuria’s moneyline. He’s a rising star that you should strap yourself to because Topuria has a real shot in this division.

Ilia Topuria to beat Josh Emmett
-330
GTBets

Maycee Barber vs. Amanda Ribas Betting Pick

A women’s featherweight clash slots in the night’s semi-main event. As it stands, Ribas is a very comfortable -200 favorite to win straight up. Though, we’ll be skipping the moneyline bet in favor of the Barber-Robas over/under, which is set at 2.5 rounds. Here’s how the odds shake out there:

OutcomeBovadaBetOnlineGTBets
Over 2.5 rounds-220-220-220
Under 2.5 rounds+175+175+175

We’re quite convinced Ribas will win this one. She’s had an up-and-down few years — only 2-2 since 2021 — but Ribas is a very balanced fighter. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert, she’s extremely good at fighting on the ground. But Ribas has really developed her striking skills as of late. Get this, she lands just under five strikes her minute while in the UFC.

Barber is a solid fighter, especially when standing up. But here’s where she’s going to struggle against Ribas: defending the takedown. Barber’s takedown defense is a very pedestrian 47 percent. We could see this fight being a boring grind where Ribas outwrestles Barber. If so, this could easily go to a decision so we’re betting the over 2.5 rounds.

Over 2.5 rounds in Ribas vs. Barber fight
-220
GTBets

Cody Brundage vs. Sedriques Dumas

Here’s a last-minute middleweight fight. Dumas was originally scheduled to face Punahele Soriano, but he had to pull out due to undisclosed reasons. Because of that, the Brundage-Dumas odds are pretty even, though the late addition is favored slightly:

FighterBovadaBetOnlineGTBets
Cody Brundage-180-180-180
Sedriques Dumas+150+150+150

Both fighters are admittedly trending downward. Brundage has lost back-to-back bouts. The 30-year-old Dumas has only fought once in the UFC, losing back in March. Dumas has shades of Jorge Masvidal because he comes from the world of street fighting. Still, outside of punching and kicking, Dumas doesn’t have much else to offer in this sport. In his debut fight, he had zero takedown defense to show for.

That’s going to hurt him again in this one. Why? Because Brundage is a pretty solid wrestler. He averages 2.6 takedowns per UFC fight. Though, Brundage can strike too so it’s not like he’s a one-trick pony. The short notice does give us pause, but we’re picking Brundage nonetheless. The MMA learning curve is still too big for Dumas, which makes him fade material.

Cody Brundage to beat Sedriques Dumas
-180
GTBets

How To Bet On UFC On ABC?

UFC betting for this ABC card is best done at one of the bookmakers found below. At any one of them, you’ll find every type of bet imaginable for this card — moneylines, over/under, and props. When accounting for the prelims, there are a dozen or so fights to bet on so options are plentiful.

In case you need extra spending money to chase all these bets, consider leveraging a promotional bonus. These are offered by every site (some better than others) and reward hundreds to thousands of dollars in free play. With that type of money, you can bet on this UFC card plus the next one completely free! Take a look at the top deals in the table below.

Meet the author

Eric Uribe

Eric has been passionate about sports since he was 10 years old. He brings over 10 years of sports journalism experience to his expert coverage of sports betting. Hailing from the US, Eric leverages his diverse expertise covering sports at all levels – from high sch...

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