In a lightweight bout on Saturday’s main card, Gabriel Benitez and Justin Jaynes meet at UFC Vegas 16 at the UFC’s APEX facility in Las Vegas. The prelims kick off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2/ESPN+, followed by the main card on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET. Other names for the event are UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Vettori and UFC on ESPN 19.
Benitez (21-9) heads into this one as a moderate favorite. He stands one inch taller than this counterpart with a three-inch reach advantage. The southpaw enters on a two-bout losing streak with a first-round knockout loss to Sodiq Yusuff on the UFC 241 card, and a unanimous-decision setback to Omar Morales last time out on May 13 in Jacksonville, Fla. “Moggly” is just 5-4 in nine fights at the UFC level, with five of his fights ending via stoppage. In 30 career fights, 21 of his bouts have finished inside the distance, with seven wins via KO/TKO (7-2), and 12 by way of submission (10-2).
Jaynes (16-5) is looking to bounce back after a third-round submission loss to Gavin Tucker Aug. 8 on the Lewis-Oleinik card. He is 1-1 in two fights at the UFC level, knocking out Frank Camacho in his UFC debut June 20. In 21 career professional fights, he has eight KO/TKO victories with no losses, and he is 6-1 via submission. “The Guitar Hero” has never lost consecutive fights in his pro career.
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Gabriel Benitez vs. Justin Jaynes: Betting odds, predictions and picks
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 4:22 a.m. ET.
JAYNES (+190) is worth a roll of the dice against the moderately-favored Benitez (-225). Jaynes has never dropped back-to-back fights, and it isn’t about to start now.
JAYNES BY KO/TKO, DQ or SUBMISSION (+300) is also worth a small-unit play, while selecting a two-round block could also be a lucrative way to go. Bet JAYNES IN ROUND 2 (+1000) and JAYNES IN ROUND 3 (+1500). If he comes through in either of those rounds with a finish, yes, you will lose one end, but you will still be way ahead.
In addition, playing NO (-145): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE? is a decent bet.
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Also see:
- UFC on ESPN 19 predictions (MMA Junkie)
- Photos: UFC on ESPN 19 weigh-ins & faceoffs (MMA Junkie)
- More UFC/MMA coverage from MMA Junkie
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