UFC Vegas 114 Betting Preview: Three Best Bets for Fight Night

After Charles Oliveira dethroned Max Holloway for the BMF title in an overall disappointing UFC 326 last week, the UFC looks to rebound with its next event this weekend, UFC Vegas 114.

UFC Vegas 114 sees the UFC go back to its headquarters of the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, for a near-monthly Fight Night event at home base.

The main event will see a featherweight battle between veteran Josh Emmett and the rising Kevin Vallejos. Emmett has lost four of his last five, most recently getting submitted by Youssef Zalal at UFC 320 in October. Vallejos, meanwhile, is 17-1, with his sole loss coming against Jean Silva. Vallejos is 3-0 in the UFC since earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, and he comes into this bout off a highlight knockout of Giga Chikadze at UFC Vegas 112 in December.

The co-main event will be a battle of top-10 women’s strawweight contenders as Amanda Lemos takes on Gillian Robertson. Lemos is 2-3 in her last five, most recently coming up short against Tatiana Suarez at Noche UFC 3 in September. Robertson has won four straight; this is her first fight since finishing Marina Rodriguez at UFC Des Moines last May.

Other main card bouts include Ion Cutelaba vs. Oumar Sy, Andre Fili vs. Jose Miguel Delgado, Marwan Rihiki vs. Harry Hardwick, and Charles Johnson vs. Bruno Silva.

JOSH EMMETT VS. KEVIN VALLEJOS

Josh Emmett is a tough and well-respected man within the MMA community. He is known for his power and has been a name at featherweight for years now. But he’s 41 years old and on the decline, as evidenced by the losing skid he’s been on of late (albeit with the names he’s lost to not being terrible losses). Vallejos, meanwhile, is 24 and a proven finisher. This is definitely a case of experience vs. youth (with some probably hoping Vallejos earns a win over a notable name like Emmett).

This is definitely not the strongest pick of the card, given Emmett’s experience factor, better opponent history, and the fact he hasn’t been KO’d or TKO’d since 2018. That said, Vallejos’ striking is strong, though still developing, and I’m not sure if Emmett can endure it for a full 25 minutes. Even if he does, Vallejos still probably gets Emmett’s name under his belt.

BET: Vallejos to win via KO/TKO (FanDuel: +105)

AMANDA LEMOS VS. GILLIAN ROBERTSON

These two were originally booked a few months back, and the circumstances surrounding the sudden cancellation brought about bad blood between the pair. Robertson has said she’s looking for a finish, but I’m not sure that happens here. Lemos is a tough fighter with praiseworthy striking. That said, grapplers have been a problem for her, and at 38, she’s been showing signs of slowing down. Robertson, meanwhile, is an excellent grappler who has been looking for ways to break into the upper echelon at both strawweight and flyweight. A win over a former title challenger in Lemos would be that next step.

The longer Lemos keeps the fight on the feet, the better for her. That said, Robertson is going to be relentless in pursuing takedowns, and Lemos probably won’t stop all of them. Robertson will win this one; the question will just be if she can get the finish or not.

BET: Robertson to win via decision (FanDuel: +175)

BRAD TAVARES VS. ERYK ANDERS

Two fighters, two similar stories. Both men are UFC veterans. Both have eaten a lot of losses with the two of them in the latter stages of their MMA careers. The two have similar physical stats, too! This is one of those cases where the fight can go either way. What might ultimately happen is Anders goes for takedown attempts and we get a lot of stalling near the fence. Striking, meanwhile, will be very give-and-take unless one can land a powerful shot out of nowhere.

This one screams decision.

BET: Tavares vs. Anders to go the distance (Caesars & BetMGM: -150)