In a flyweight bout on the main card, Alexandre Pantoja and Alex Perez meet Saturday at UFC 277 at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. Below, we analyze the UFC 277 Pantoja vs. Perez odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The card can be viewed on ESPN+ with the early prelims starting at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+, the prelims starting at 8 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, followed by the main card at 10 p.m. ET on Pay-Per-View.
Pantoja posted a 2nd-Round submission victory via rear-naked choke against Brandon Royval last time out in August 2021. He headed into that bout with a knee injury, and it worsened during the fight so much that he needed surgery and hasn’t fought since.
Pantoja was actually offered a title shot against Brandon Moreno at UFC 269 in mid-December and he had to turn it down as he still wasn’t recovered.
Perez did fight for a title last time out, but he was submitted after just 1:57 at UFC 255 against Deiveson Figueiredo in Nov. 2020. He had his last 4 bouts canceled due to various reasons, including the birth of a son.
The past 3 fights for Perez have resulted in finishes, with the submission loss to Figueiredo, a 1st-Round KO/TKO against Jussier Formiga at UFC 250, and a 1st-Round submission win over Jordan Espinosa in late Jan. 2020.
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UFC 277 Pantoja vs. Perez odds and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:21 a.m. ET.
- Fight result (2-way line): Pantoja -200 (bet $200 to win $100) | Perez +150 (bet $100 to win $150)
- Will the fight go the distance? Yes (-113) | No (-120)
[tipico]
UFC 277 Pantoja vs. Perez picks and predictions
Records: Pantoja (24-5-0) | Perez (24-6-0)
Fight result (2-way line or money line)
This is a difficult fight to handicap, mainly because we haven’t seen either of these fighters in a long time.
However, Pantoja (-200) is the moderate favorite because he holds a 2-inch reach advantage. He also has 2 straight victories in his most recent showings, while the last time we saw Perez he was being tapped by Figueiredo in less than 2 minutes.
It’s risky to play Pantoja straight up, though. Instead, look to PANTOJA BY POINTS (+175) for method of victory. While Perez has 3 straight finishes, both of these fighters are likely to be rather sluggish after long layoffs.
Over/Under (O/U)
YES (-113): FIGHT TO GO THE DISTANCE is the lean here. There are questions about the cardio of each fighter after a long hiatus, but that means both fighters are likely to be rather slow to engage. The avenue to victory will be by wowing the judges with takedowns and big kicks.
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