UFC Vegas 21 Main Card Betting Odds and Picks

No. 3 ranked welterweight Leon Edwards finally returns to the octagon after spending almost two years on the shelf due to COVID-19 constraints. On Saturday night, Rocky faces no. 13 ranked Belal Muhammad who has won four in a row, and eight out of his last nine bouts. These two will square off in the main event of UFC Vegas 12 on Saturday night at the UFC’s APEX Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad

Leon Edwards is the no 3 ranked welterweight in the UFC. The 29-year old British-Jamaican fighter heads to this contest with eight consecutive victories. Edwards was offered a title shot last year but declined due to the constraints of the pandemic. Rocky has a record of 18-3 with six knockouts and three wins via submission. Edwards is a southpaw who stands 6-2 tall with a reach of 74 inches.

Belal Muhammad is a former Titan FC welterweight champion who also fought for Bellator. The 32-year old from Chicago, Illinois signed with the UFC in 2016 and lost two out of his first three UFC bouts. Muhammad however, has won eight out of his last nine bouts with his only loss coming at the hands of Geoff Neal. Muhammad heads to this fight with a four-bout win streak and he defeated Dhiego Lima last month. His record stands at 18-3 with four knockouts and one submission win.

Whether it’s in striking or his takedown offense, Muhammad likes to push the pace and use his frenetic rate to break down his opponents. The problem for Muhammad here is that Edwards is better than him, at least technically, in all aspects of the game. However, the one thing going for him is that we don’t know what kind of shape Edwards is in after being out for nearly two years. But if Edwards comes to this well-prepared, there is no reason for him to lose this fight. Rocky should be rusty but he should be good enough to outwork Muhammad and earn a decision win.

Prediction: Leon Edwards

Misha Cirkunov vs Ryan Spann

Misha Cirkunov is the no. 11 ranked light heavyweight in the UFC. The 34-year old from Latvia is a former Hard Knocks light heavyweight champion who joined the UFC in 2015. Cirkunov won his first four UFC bouts but is just 2-3 since then. He heads to this bout after submitting Jimmy Crute via Peruvian necktie. Cirkunov has a record of 5-5 with four knockouts and nine wins via submission. He is an orthodox fighter who is 6-3 tall and has a reach of 77 inches.

Ryan Spann is the 13th ranked light heavyweight in the UFC and a former LFA light heavyweight champion. This 29-year old from Memphis Tennessee made two appearances in the Contender Series before earning a UFC contract. Spann won his first four UFC bouts but is coming off a loss to Johnny Walker. His record is 18-6 with four knockouts and 11 submission wins.

Cirkunov’s recent win over Jimmy Crute displayed the wrestling-focused offense that made Cirkunov a big problem in the regional circuits. Spann has the power to put Cirkunov to sleep and he has the 4-inch reach advantage to do that. But his takedown defense has been an issue I expect Cirkunov to drag the fight down to the ground and exploit Spann’s poor submission defense. Cirkunov takes Spann down at will, tires him, and scores a late submission victory.

Prediction: Misha Cirkunov

Dan Ige vs Gavin Tucker

Dan Ige is the UFC’s no. 9 ranked featherweight. 50K is 29-years old and is from Haleiwa, Hawaii. Ige appeared for promotions like Pancrase, Legacy FC, Titan FC, and CFFC before joining the UFC in 2018. He is 6-2 inside the Octagon and is coming off a loss to Calvin Kattar. Ige 14-3 with three knockouts and five wins via submission. He is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 71 inches.

Gavin Tucker is a former Extreme Cage Combat featherweight champion who made three successful title defenses before joining the UFC. Tucker has won three straight fights and is 4-1 inside the UFC octagon. He has a record of 13-1 with four knockouts and six submission victories. Tucker stands 5-6 tall with a reach of 66 inches and is a southpaw fighter.

Both these fighters are well-rounded and no matter where this goes, expect a competitive fight. The southpaw Tucker could have the edge in striking skills and is the busier fighter, at least on paper. However, Ige has a two-inch reach advantage and he gets hit less plus has a higher takedown rate. This fight could go either way but I will give the benefit of the doubt to Ige who has fought better opposition.

Prediction: Dan Ige

Angela Hill vs Ashley Yoder

Angela Hill is a former Invicta FC strawweight champion and former World Kickboxing Association champion. She is the no. 11 ranked female strawweight in the UFC and appeared in the 12th edition of The Ultimate Fighter. Hill is 12-9 with five knockouts. She is 5-3 tall with a reach of 64 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.

Ashley Yoder is a former fighter from BAMMA and Invicta FC. She joined the UFC in 2016 and lost her first three UFC bouts. Yoder is 3-2 since then and is coming off a win over Miranda Granger. She is 8-6 with four submission wins. Yoder is 5-7 tall with a reach of 69 inches and is a southpaw fighter.

This is a classic striker vs grappler affair but the thing is Hill has improved her grappling over the years. Despite coming off a pair of losses, Hill is the more proven fighter here. She has faced better opposition and hits harder. On the ground, Yoder is more skilled but Hill has improved well enough to hold her own in that department. The busier Hill should pick up the win here.

Prediction: Angela Hill

Manel Kape vs Matheus Nicolau

Manel Kape is a former Rizin bantamweight champion and Knockout Championship bantamweight champion. The 27-year old from Luanda, Angola lost his Octagon debut against Alexandre Pantoja. Kape is 15-5 with nine knockouts and five wins via submission. He is a southpaw who stands 5-5 tall and has a reach of 68 inches.

Matheus Nicolau went 3-1 in the UFC but was released by the promotion in 2018. After picking up wins in Future FC and Brave CF, the UFC signed him again. The 28-year old from Minas Gerais, Brazil has a record of 15-2 with four knockouts and five wins via submission. He stands 5-6 tall with a reach of 66 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Kape lost one month ago to Alexandre Pantoja and takes this fight on short notice. In that loss, he was outclassed but he did show some flashes of brilliance. Nicolau looked good as a solid grappler during his initial UFC run from 2015 to 2018. After going 3-1, he was strangely released. Now, after not having fought in over a year, he gets the call to return to the Octagon. If this is the same old Nicolau, I like him to out grapple Kape. Make no mistake though, Kape has every reason to win this fight. But I like Nicolau here at plus money.

Prediction: Matheus Nicolau

Darren Stewart vs Eryk Anders

Darren Stewart competed for Cage Warriors and was the Killacam light heavyweight champion prior to joining the UFC. The 30-year old Londoner is 6-3 in his last nine bouts after losing his first three UFC appearances. Stewart has a record of 12-6 with seven knockouts and one win via submission. He is an orthodox fighter who stands six feet tall and has a reach of 74 inches.

Eryk Anders was the inaugural LFA middleweight champion who joined the UFC 2017. The 33-year old from Birmingham, Alabama is just 3-5 in his last eight bouts and has an overall record of 13-5 with eight knockouts and one win via submission. He stands 6-1 tall with a reach of 75 inches and is a southpaw fighter.

These are limited fighters but both hit hard and have the ability to stop anyone in the middleweight division. Between these two, however, I like Anders better because he may have the skill set to capitalize on Stewart’s leaky takedown defense. Again, this is a fight that could go either way so I won’t blame you if you go with Stewart. However, I think Anders can pull off the upset here. This isn’t going to be pretty and could be hard to score.

Prediction: Eryk Anders

Place Your Bets Now!