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UFC 251 takes place Saturday at the UFC’s Fight Island facility on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The prelims kick off at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+, followed by the main card set for 10 p.m. ET on Pay-Per-View.
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 1:15 p.m. ET.
Jiri Prochazka will be making his UFC debut on this card, fighting Volkan Oezdemir in a light heavyweight bout in the feature match of the prelims. Oezdemir has seen five of his past seven fights finish inside the distance, while 13 of his 21 fights as a professional have been KO/TKO results. He has won 12 of those fights.
For Prochazka, he picked up a KO/TKO win in Round 1 last time out against CB Dolloway at Rizin FF: Rizin Fighting Federation 20 on New Year’s Eve 2019. Prochazka has ventured into the octagon 30 times as a pro, with 24 of those outings ending in a KO/TKO. He has won 22 of those fights, although it’s obvious he’ll see a huge jump in the quality of competition at the UFC level. Still, the books love KO/TKO/DQ (-143) as the leading method of how this fight will finish.
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Looking to the Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Muslim Salikhov welterweight bout – also on the prelims card – here are two fighters who do not see the judges get involved very often.
For dos Santos, he has posted an 8-2 record at the UFC level, winning eight of his past nine. Four of the past five outings have finished inside the distance, although seven of his 10 fights have lasted into at least Round 3. As far as Salikhov is concerned, he is 3-0 over the past three fights, with three of his four bouts at the UFC level finishing inside the distance. In 18 pro fights he has posted 12 wins by KO/TKO with no losses. As such, go with NO (-118): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE?
Lastly, target the Makwan Amirkhani–Danny Henry bout for your third end of this parlay. Amirkhani, a.k.a. “Mr. Finland,” will be looking to rebound after a KO/TKO loss in the third round against Shane Burgos at UFC 244. Each of Amirkhani’s past two bouts have finished inside the distance. His opponent, Henry of Scotland, has seen five of his past six pro fights finish inside the distance. Each of Henry’s past two bouts at the UFC level haven’t even seen the bell to end Round 1. As a result, go with NO (-141): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE?
A $10 bet on this three-way parlay (+436) featuring KO/TKO/DQ (-143) in the Oezdemir-Prochazka fight, NO (-118) on the dos Santos-Salikhov fight going the distance, and NO (-141) on the Amirkhani-Henry bout going the distance will fetch a net profit of $43.66.
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