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In a 5-round welterweight bout in the main event, Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley battle Saturday at UFC on ESPN 63 at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s UFC odds around the UFC on ESPN 63: Covington vs. Buckley odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.
The prelims begin at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2/ESPN+. The main card begins at 10 p.m. ET, also on ESPN2/ESPN+.
Records: Covington (17-4-0) | Buckley (20-6-0)
Covington was stopped via unanimous decision last time out at UFC 296 in a championship bout against Leon Edwards. Covington has ended up going the distance in 3 in a row, and 8 of the past 10 bouts dating back to Dec. 17, 2016.
Buckley scored a third-round knockout against Stephen Thompson at UFC 307, and he has won 5 straight fights with 2 via unanimous decision and 3 KO/TKO victories. His last loss was Dec. 10, 2022, against Chris Curtis at UFC 282.
Buckley holds a 4-inch reach advantage, and the southpaw has a slight 4.13-to-3.88 significant strikes landed per minute advantage. Covington is quite a bit more accurate on those strikes at 52.00% to just 39.64% for the left-hander. Covington has a 3.79 takedown average, too, while Buckley has managed just a 1.96 takedown average and 46.34% takedown accuracy percentage.
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UFC on ESPN 63: Covington vs. Buckley odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list UFC odds. Lines last updated at 12:55 p.m. ET.
- Fight result (2-way line): Covington +198 (bet $100 to win $198) | Buckley -240 (bet $240 to win $100)
- Total Rounds: 4.5 Rounds (Over: -138 | Under: +108)
- Will the fight go the distance? (Yes -124 | No -102)
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UFC on ESPN 63: Covington vs. Buckley picks and predictions
Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)
COVINGTON (+198) is an intriguing pick for the chance to nearly double up.
Buckley (-240) has the reach advantage, and he is a punching machine. However, Covington has battled the best of the best in the division, and while he is 2-3 in the past 5 bouts, each of the setbacks were for a championship. He has never lost in a non-championship bout.
Buckley has won 3 of his past 5 fights via KO/TKO, but he doesn’t have the same quality of opponents Covington has.
COVINGTON BY POINTS (+310) for the chance to more than triple up is also worth a roll of the dice for the method of victory.
Over/Under (O/U)
YES (-124): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE? is worth a look, and it won’t set you back very much.
Again, Covington has gone the distance in the past 3 bouts, and those are each 5-round fights, too. He has just 2 finishes in the past 10 fights since Dec. 2016.
OVER 4.5 ROUNDS (-138) isn’t too pricey if you’d like a little bit of wiggle room in the event of a late Round 5 finish.
Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis.
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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