Middleweights Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum top the card at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Gastelum on Saturday. The main UFC fight card is set for 10 p.m. ET from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Cannonier will appear in the Octagon for the first time since last October, when he lost to Robert Whittaker by unanimous decision. Gastelum is also coming off a loss to Whittaker, losing by unanimous decision in April.
Cannonier is a -155 favorite (risk $155 to win $100), while Gastelum is a +130 underdog (risk $100 to win $130) in the latest Cannonier vs. Gastelum odds at Caesars Sportsbook. Before you lock in any Gastelum vs. Cannonier picks or make any UFC Fight Night predictions, you need to see what SportsLine MMA analyst Kyle Marley has to say.
Marley won the first-ever “ToutMaster” UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and daily Fantasy shows. He watches every single fight for every professional MMA card and does extensive research before each event.
Over the past 30 months, $100 bettors who have followed Marley’s picks are up more than $14,000. The accomplished MMA analyst has now connected on 34 of his last UFC main-event selections, a stretch that includes a streak of five straight underdogs.
Last month at UFC Fight Night, Marley told SportsLine members to expect a dominant performance from middleweight contender Sean Strickland (-210) against veteran Uriah Hall (+190) in the main event. Strickland controlled the action to win a runaway unanimous decision to give Marley’s followers another winner. He also accurately called a breakthrough win for prospect Cheyanne Buys (-180) against Gloria De Paula (+160) in the strawweight co-main event. Anyone who has consistently followed Marley is way up.
Now, with UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Gastelum fast approaching, Marley has studied the matchups from every angle and released his MMA picks and predictions for the full fight card. His expert UFC Fight Night picks are only available at SportsLine.
Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum expert preview
Marley knows these fighters are fairly evenly matched and expects a battle. Prior to the Whittaker fight and COVID-19, Cannonier had been on a roll, winning three straight bouts. He knocked out David Branch in his middleweight debut in November 2018 and followed that up with a knockout win over Anderson Silva at UFC 237 on May 11, 2019. In September of that year, he defeated Jack Hermansson by knockout, earning Performance of the Night.
He joined UFC in October 2014. Cannonier likes to strike early and has registered nine of his 13 wins via knockout. The 37-year-old began his MMA career in 2011 and went four years before suffering his first loss, a knockout to Shawn Jordan at UFC 182. He has gone 6-4 since and is third in the UFC middleweight rankings.
Gastelum has had a long and successful career, compiling a 16-7-1 record since his first fight in December 2010. Like Cannonier, he started his career with plenty of success, winning his first 10 bouts. In April 2013, he defeated Uriah Hall by split decision to win the Ultimate Fighter 17 middleweight tournament. He has also fought at welterweight and catchweight.
In April 2019, Gastelum fought Israel Adesanya for the interim UFC middleweight championship, losing by unanimous decision at UFC 236. Since then, however, he has dropped three of four fights, and his only win in that time frame was a unanimous decision over Ian Heinisch at UFC 258 in February. You can see which Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum picks to make for UFC Fight Night at SportsLine.
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Gastelum predictions
We’ll share one of Marley’s UFC Fight Night selections here: He is going with Josiane Nunes (+125) to win by TKO over Bea Malecki (-150) in a matchup of women’s bantamweight prospects. Nunes has compiled a 7-1 MMA record, winning her last six fights. She won by knockout over Quezia Zbonik 2:31 into the second round at Forze FC 1 on Nov. 28, 2020. Her only loss was in her second fight in November 2013, losing to Taila Santos at Copa Striker’s House.
Malecki (2-0) is off to a fast start to her MMA career, which began in June 2019. She won all three of her amateur bouts before losing an exhibition bout to Leah Letson in July 2018. After turning pro, she stopped Duda Santana and Veronica Macedo. Her last two bouts, however, have been cancelled, so she has not seen action in well over a year.
“Malecki is going to have a seven-inch height and reach advantage in this matchup,” Marley told SportsLine. “She is going to be the more technical striker and can rack up volume as well. She is very hittable and sloppy at times, though, and Nunes throws heat. I do think this is a KO or bust type fight for Nunes, but I think she gets it.”
How to make UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Gastelum picks
Marley has additional strong picks for Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum and every other fight on the UFC Fight Night card. He’s also backing one fighter to “dominate the early rounds” and pull off a submission victory. You can only get those UFC Fight Night picks at SportsLine.
Who wins Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC Fight Night, all from the expert who’s up more than $14,000 on MMA in the past 30 months, and find out.
UFC Fight Night odds, fight card
Jared Cannonier (-155) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (+130)
Mark Madsen (-170) vs. Clay Guida (+145)
Chase Sherman (-190) vs. Parker Porter (+160)
Vinc Pichel (-115) vs. Austin Hubbard (-105)
Alexandre Pantoja (-175) vs. Brandon Royval (+150)
Luis Saldana (-120) vs. Austin Lingo (+100)
Brian Kelleher (-175) vs. Domingo Pilarte (+150)
Bea Malecki (-150) vs. Josiane Nunes (+125)
William Knight (-180) vs. Fabio Cherant (+155)
Roosevelt Roberts (-150) vs. Ignacio Bahamones (+125)
Ramiz Brahimaj (-140) vs. Sasha Palatnikov (+120)
