In a welterweight bout on the main card, Michel Pereira and Khaos Williams meet at UFC Vegas 17 at the UFC’s APEX facility in Las Vegas. The event is also known as UFC Fight Night 183. The prelims kick off at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by the main card on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET.
Pereira (24-11) snapped a two-bout skid last time out with a third-round submission win over Zelim Imadaev, helping to get back on track. So far in four fights at the UFC level, he has won two and lost two.
It’s usually interesting when Pereira hits the octagon, as he has a submission win, a disqualification, a unanimous decision loss and a KO/TKO win. “Demolidor” has 35 career professional fights, with 11 endings by way of KO/TKO (10-1), with eight endings via submission (7-1).
Williams (11-1) is a punching machine, and he will look to use his four-inch reach advantage to keep Pereira at a distance. Williams has a 15.79 significant strikes landed per minute since arriving at the UFC level, but that’s a little misleading.
He knocked out Alex Morono at UFC 247 just 27 seconds into his company debut, and he followed that up with a knockout in just 30 seconds on the Felder-Dos Anjos card against Abdul Razak Alhassan on Nov. 14, 2010, thus the quick turnaround.
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Michel Pereira vs. Khaos Williams: Betting odds, predictions and picks
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:40 a.m. ET.
WILLIAMS (+100) will face his stiffest competition since arriving at the UFC level. Pereira (-120) will be able to dodge Williams and avoid the early blast which Morono and Alhassan were unable to avoid.
Still, Williams has amazing power, and his reach advantage will keep Pereira from being able to get in close and get him to the ground, which is a bit of an unknown for Williams and how he might react.
It’s going a little bit against the grain, as both fights for Williams at the UFC level haven’t even lasted a minute, but Pereira is a veteran. Look for this one to go well into Round 2, so OVER 1.5 ROUNDS (-130) is worth a play.
Still, I am not looking for this one to go the distance. Play WILLIAMS BY KO/TKO, DQ OR SUBMISSION (+155), and if you play WILLIAMS IN ROUND 2 (+650) and WILLIAMS IN ROUND 3 (+1400), it could pay off huge. Yes, you’ll lose one end, but if Khaos wins in either the second or third round you will be well ahead.
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