In flyweight action, Kai Kara-France and Brandon Royval will square off at UFC 253 Saturday at the UFC’s Fight Island facility in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The prelims kick off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2/ESPN+, followed by the main card set for 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view.
Kara-France (21-8) is a whirling dervish, posting an impressive 5.27 significant strikes landed per minute, although he lands just 38.46 percent of those punches. He enters this bout with a one-inch reach advantage, but he is five inches shorter than his opponent. The Kiwi rebounded after a unanimous decision loss to Brandon Moreno at UFC 245 with a decision win over Tyson Nam on Feb. 22. While Kara-France is 4-1 since arriving at the UFC level, all five of those fights have ended up going the distance.
Royval (11-4) of Team FactoryX Muay Thai made a successful UFC debut last time out against Tim Elliott, winning in a Round 2 submission on May 30. That’s three consecutive submission wins dating back to a title bout loss at LFA 53 against Casey Kenney in November 2018.
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Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Royval betting odds
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:05 a.m. ET.
Kara-France (-250) is a heavy favorite over Royval (+200), but you can expect that he is going to have to work for it. As such, betting the New Zealander on the 2-way line is just too risky.
Instead, take KARA-FRANCE BY DECISION (-118) on the 5-way line instead. If you don’t like him, but agree it’s going the distance, take the FIGHT TO GO THE DISTANCE (-167) prop under the fight finish section. OVER 2.5 ROUNDS (-200) is a little steep, but also a sound wager, based on Kara-France’s five-bout streak of decisions at the UFC level.
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If you want some action on this MMA bout, place your wagers at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and analysis, visit SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.
Also see:
- UFC 253 predictions (MMA Junkie)
- Royval blessed to focus full time on fighting (MMA Junkie)
- MMA Junkie – The latest UFC/MMA coverage
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