In a flyweight championship bout in the co-main event, Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France meet Saturday at UFC 277 at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. Below, we analyze the UFC 277 Moreno vs. Kara-France 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.
Moreno will be fighting somebody different than Deiveson Figueiredo for the first time since knocking out Brandon Royval in Nov. 2020. The first Figueiredo fight at UFC 256 was a draw, the rematch at UFC 263 was a submission win for Moreno, and Figueiredo posted a unanimous-decision victory at UFC 270 in late January.
Moreno’s loss last time out was his first since a unanimous-decision loss to Alexandre Pantoja in May 2018, which sent him briefly to the LFA promotion after back-to-back losses.
These fighters met at UFC 245 in mid-December 2019, with Moreno picking up the unanimous-decision victory.
Kara-France rebounded from a submission loss to Royval in September 2020 by winning each of his last 3 bouts to re-position himself for a title shot. He recorded a unanimous-decision victory against Askar Askarov last time out in late March, and he had consecutive Round 1 KO/TKO wins over Cody Garbrandt and Rogerio Bontorin in the 2 fights prior.
Kara-France holds a 4.84-to-3.54 significant strikes landed per minute advantage, while Moreno has a slight 1-inch reach advantage and 3-inch height advantage. The Mexican fighter is also strong in the takedown category, posting a 1.84 takedown average to just 0.43 for Kara-France.
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UFC 277 Moreno vs. Kara-France 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 5:47 a.m. ET.
- Fight result (2-way line): Moreno -220 (bet $220 to win $100) | Kara-France +170 (bet $100 to win $170)
- Total rounds: Over 4.5 (-180) | Under 4.5 (+130)
- Will the fight go the distance? Yes (-150) | No (+110)
[tipico]
UFC 277 Moreno vs. Kara-France picks and predictions
Records: Moreno (19-6-2) | Kara-France (24-9-0)
Fight result (2-way line or money line)
Moreno (-220) will cost you more than 2 times your potential return straight up, which is a little too much. These fighters met previously, and while Moreno won it came by unanimous decision. So there is some risk here.
Moreno can win fights in a multitude of ways, however, and submissions are his specialty. He is 19-6-2 in 27 pro career bouts, with 11 wins and no losses via submission. That includes 3 submission wins at the UFC level, including against Figueiredo at UFC 263.
Still, based on the previous fight, and the fact that 3 of the last 6 fights for the former champ have gone the distance, take MORENO BY POINTS (+127) as the safe play.
Over/Under (O/U)
OVER 4.5 ROUNDS (-180) is a little on the expensive side, but it’s not a bad play if you’d like a little wiggle room in the event of a late finish in Round 5.
Still, the best play is YES (-150): FIGHT TO GO THE DISTANCE.
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