UFC 259: Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson odds, picks and prediction

Previewing Saturday’s UFC 259 fight between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson, with MMA odds, picks, tips and predictions.

In a  women’s featherweight title bout on Saturday’s main card, Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson meet at UFC 259 at the UFC’s APEX Facility in Las Vegas. The early prelims kick off at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by the prelims on ESPN/ESPN+  at 8 p.m. and then the main card on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. Below, we analyze the UFC 259 odds and lines, with picks and predictions.

Nunes vs. Anderson: Odds, spread and lines

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:45 a.m. ET.

  • Fight result (2-way line): Nunes -900 (bet $900 to win $100) | Anderson +600 (bet $100 to win $600)
  • Over/Under: 1.5 rounds (Over -135 | Under +110)
  • Will the fight go the distance? (Yes +450 | No -650)

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Nunes vs. Anderson: Odds, lines, predictions and picks

Records: Nunes 20-4 | Anderson 11-4

Fight result (2-way line or money line)

Nunes (-9000) won the title from Meisha Tate back on July 9, 2016, and she has defended her crown successfully in seven straight fights. And no offense to Megan Anderson (+600), but it’s going to take a lot more than a lanky Aussie with marginal punching power to unseat the champ. However, even in a multi-fighter parlay, you can’t take Nunes straight up on the 2-way laying nine times your potential return.

Instead, let’s look at how Nunes is winning. She enters with a 4.44-to-1.82-significant-strikes-landed-per-minute advantage, and she also dominates with a 2.53-to-0.56-takedown average. Three of her past five defenses of the belt, and four of the past seven, have come via KO/TKO, and she tapped out Tate for the first title win at UFC 200. She is multi-faceted, but the best bet is taking NUNES BY KO/TKO OR DQ (-105) on the 7-way line at near even-money. That’s an amazing value given how heavy of a favorite she is on the 2-way line. Yes, a submission win for Nunes means you lose. But she has piled up the knockouts, and that’s a great bet.

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Over/Under (O/U)

Nunes will be looking for the finish, and it’s hard to envision this fight going the distance. The books agree, as betting Yes +450 on ‘Will the fight go the distance?’ is huge plus-money. But it’s a fool’s bet. This one will be over, and over quickly. Take UNDER 2.5 ROUNDS (-200) to give yourself a little wiggle room, but UNDER 1.5 ROUNDS (+110) is also worth playing lightly. This one could get ugly, quickly.

In addition, normally I like a two-round block, but there is no value taking Nunes in Round 1. Just pinpoint NUNES IN ROUND 2 (+320) for the potential to triple up.

To watch the early prelims and prelims, sign up for ESPN+ now.

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