The second-to-last UFC card of the year is packed with goodie betting opportunities. We’ve plunked out the three top bets for UFC Fight Night — sticking to the main bouts most bettors care about. Keep reading if you want free betting advice for the weekend!
- What: UFC Fight Night
- When: Saturday, December 9
- Where: UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada
Yadong Song vs. Chris Guiterrez Betting Pick
Bantamweights who love — and we mean love — striking will go at it in the main event. Song is a big betting favorite (-355) on the moneyline, which leads us to betting the Song-Guiterrez over/under instead. Here’s how the odds shake out:
| Outcome |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Over 3.5 rounds | -185 | -185 | -185 |
| Under 3.5 rounds | +155 | +155 | +155 |
Expect a slugfest in this fight, which lends itself to an early stoppage. The favorite, Song, is not afraid to let go of his hands. His gameplan is always the same: attack and attack some more. Not only is it entertaining to watch, but effective too. Since entering the UFC, he’s 9-2-1. Six of those wins came via stoppage too.
Gutierrez has a lot of the same qualities. His fight style is kickboxing and he’s leveraged it into a 8-2-1 record since starting with the company on The Ultimate Fighter. Gutierrez lands more significant strikes than Song, averaging 5.04 per minute compared to 4.61.
Despite the similarities, Song is ranked significantly higher in the division ranks— No. 7 to Gutierrez’s No. 15. That’s partially because he’s fought tougher competition and been more active. Song barely turned 26 this month despite debuting in the UFC in 2017.
We’re confidently betting the under. Our belief is Song gets him out early, but an upset by Gutierrez isn’t unthinkable either. Song’s aggressive approach can leave him vulnerable to getting hit. Either way, an early KO feels imminent in this fight so the under makes sense.
Anthony Smith vs. Khalil Rountree
The original co-main event was slated to be Rountree and Azamat Murzakanov. However, a bout of pneumonia forced Murzakanov out and Smith in, on two weeks' notice. No surprise because of that, Rountree is the favorite to win, per the best-used UFC betting sites:
| Fighter | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Khalil Rountree | -230 | -230 | -230 |
| Anthony Smith | +190 | +190 | +190 |
Perhaps the skepticism around Smith (besides the short turnaround) is he’s seemingly planning for the next stage of his career already — commentating. When he’s not inside the octagon, he’s outside of it, doing radio and TV broadcasts. It feels like he’s only “half in” on fighting, but despite that, the light heavyweight just beat Ryan Spann.
Rountree is a striker and only striker. The southpaw is trained in Muy Thai, which he uses to great effect. After losing three of four fights, Rountree has gone on a run of four wins in a row — three by KO. Rountree hits fast and hard so the finish potential is always there. He’s never landed a takedown in his UFC career so Rountree is quite predictable.
We have a tough time seeing Smith winning. Taking this fight at this stage of his career (he’s 35 years old) feels like a payday-type decision. Good for Smith to rack up more money before retiring, but that mentality won’t win you fights. Not only are we backing Rountree here, but we’re putting a sizable bet on him. Slim chance that he doesn’t win.
Su Madaerji vs. Tim Elliott Betting Pick
Here again, we see a late change to the card. Originally, Madaerji was scheduled to duke it out with Allan Nascimento. That is off as of Monday and Elliott gets thrown into the fire. Despite this, the Madaerji-Elliott moneyline odds are quite close. Check it out:
| Fighter | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Su Mudaerji | +140 | +140 | +140 |
| Tim Elliott | -166 | -166 | -166 |
Oh, boy, this one’s gonna be fun. Elliott is a guy who’s won Fight of the Night bonuses three times and the last time we saw Madaerji, he had a Fight of the Year contender.
This will be a styles clash too. Madaerji is a high-level striker, landing 4.83 significant strikes per minute. His big thing is speed and precision. Madaerji’s hits rarely have power, but that just means his output stays high the full fight. Then there’s Elliott, who’s famously “awkward” in the ring when striking —shoulder rolls, a lot of bobbing and weaving, and just a sense of unpredictability.
If Elliott wasn’t 36 years old and fighting on a week’s notice, we’d strongly considered him to win. But the deck is too stacked against him under these conditions. Our prediction is that Madaerji guts out a decision victory here.
How To Bet On UFC Fight Night?
Moneyline, over/under, props, and every other type of bet you can think of for this card is available at one of the betting sites below. When you go through the entire card, that’s around 100 different bets or so. Hit one of the bookmakers below to get the full list of UFC Fight Night bets.
While we recommend all the bookies below you can read our latest sportsbook reviews to gauge where to bet. The reviews go in-depth, allowing you to compare and contrast the sites. Once you pick one, you’ll effectively have a one-stop shop for UFC betting even beyond this card.
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