UFC on ESPN 45 predictions: Is anyone picking Kai Kara-France over Amir Albazi?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN 45 main card in Las Vegas, featuring Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi at flyweight.

Kara-France
vs.
Albazi
Caceres
vs.
Pineda
Altamirano
vs.
Elliott
Silva
vs.
Souza
Nurmagomedov
vs.
Zaleski dos Santos
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
77-52
kara-france2023
Kara-France
(56%)
caceres2023
Caceres
(75%)
elliott2023
Elliott
(60%)
silva2023
Silva
(74%)
anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
(59%)
Matt Erickson
@MattE
86-43
albazi2023
Albazi
caceres2023
Caceres
altamirano2023
Altamirano
souza2023
Souza
anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
81-48
albazi2023
Albazi
caceres2023
Caceres
altamirano2023
Altamirano
souza2023
Souza
anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
81-48
albazi2023
Albazi
caceres2023
Caceres
altamirano2023
Altamirano
silva2023
Silva
anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
78-51
albazi2023
Albazi
pineda2023
Pineda
altamirano2023
Altamirano
silva2023
Silva
anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Nolan King
@mma_kings
78-51
albazi2023
Albazi
caceres2023
Caceres
elliott2023
Elliott
silva2023
Silva
anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
76-53
trophy copy 2014 Champion
kara-france2023
Kara-France
caceres2023
Caceres
altamirano2023
Altamirano
silva2023
Silva
anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
-74-55
trophy copy 2018, 2022 Champion
albazi2023
Albazi
caceres2023
Caceres
altamirano2023
Altamirano
silva2023
Silva
zaleskidossantos2023
Zaleski dos Santos
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
72-57
albazi2023
Albazi
caceres2023
Caceres
elliott2023
Elliott
silva2023
Silva
anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
70-59
albazi2023
Albazi
pineda2023
Pineda
altamirano2023
Altamirano
silva2023
Silva
anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
70-59
albazi2023
Albazi
caceres2023
Caceres
altamirano2023
Altamirano
silva2023
Silva
anurmagomedov2023
Nurmagomedov
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
68-61
trophy copy 2017 Champion
albazi2023
Albazi
caceres2023
Caceres
altamirano2023
Altamirano
silva2023
Silva
zaleskidossantos2023
Zaleski dos Santos

Editor’s note: The main card fight between Jim Miller and short-notice replacement Jesse Butler was added too late for our picks deadline and is not included.)

After a week off, the UFC is back in Las Vegas with a key flyweight fight at the top of the bill.

UFC on ESPN 45 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will try to bounce back into contention after an interim flyweight title loss to Brandon Moreno in July 2022 when he meets [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who has yet to lose in the UFC.

Although the odds at most sportsbooks are a pick’em, it’s Albazi who is our closest thing to a unanimous pick on the main card this week. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have it as a 10-1 blowout for Albazi.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) meets [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag] (28-14 MMA, 5-5 UFC) in a featherweight bout. Caceres has won six of his past seven fights, is a -175 favorite at the betting window, and has a big 9-2 picks lead.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on former flyweight title challenger [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag] (18-12-1 MMA, 7-10 UFC). Elliott nearly is a 2-1 betting favorite, but our pickers have Altamirano in a 9-2 blowout.

[autotag]Karine Silva[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Ketlen Souza[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in an all-Brazil women’s flyweight scrap. Silva is more than a 2-1 favorite and has a big 9-2 lead from our staff members.

And to open the main card at welterweight, [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 9-3 UFC). The fight has nearly even odds with Nurmagomedov at -115, but our staff members have him with a huge 9-2 picks win, as well.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Kara-France (56 percent), Caceres (75 percent), Elliott (60 percent), Silva (74 percent) and Nurmagomedov (59 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

[pickup_prop id=”33499″]