UFC Vegas 124: Betting Picks for Suarez-Jandiroba, Grant-Smith and More

After the controversial conclusion of UFC Vegas 123, the world’s MMA leader returns to its home base, the Meta Apex, for UFC Vegas 124 on November 7.

The main event may not last long, as it will be a heavyweight showdown between Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Johnny Walker. The paired main event serves as a short-notice fill-in for a planned Sean Brady vs. Gabriel Bonfim welterweight clash, which was scrapped after Brady suffered a leg injury.

Cortes-Acosta looks to bounce back from a pair of decision losses, including a loss to Alexander Volkov at Noche UFC 4 just a couple of months ago. Walker, meanwhile, fought in his UFC heavyweight debut just last month at UFC 332, knocking out Mick Parkin in highlight fashion.

A pair of talented women’s strawweight fighters compete in the co-main event as Tatiana Suarez takes on Virna Jandiroba in a battle of former title challengers. Suarez has won two straight since her unsuccessful title challenge, the only loss of her pro MMA career, most recently submitting Loopy Godinez at UFC 327. Jandiroba, meanwhile, rebounded from her own title fight loss with a decision over Tabatha Ricci at UFC Vegas 115 in April.

The rest of the UFC Vegas 124 main card features Davey Grant vs. Elijah Smith, Billy Elekana vs. Lucas Fernando, Priscila Cachoeira vs. Nina Milosevic, and Mitch Raposo vs. Marcos Degli.

TATIANA SUAREZ VS VIRNA JANDIROBA

A battle between two grappling and wrestling experts leads to one of two things – both fighters trying to implement their stand-up game, or a gritty defensive battle. This writer is going to lean toward the latter and say any fans of grappling and wrestling are going to love this battle. Suarez is a strong fighter who suffocates her opponents with top control and pressure when she gets them to the ground. Jandiroba, however, is a dangerous jiu-jitsu practitioner, and ground exchanges allow her to use this as a weapon, even from the bottom, as she can seek any method to score a submission.

The question is going to be if Jandiroba’s submission skillset can be imposed better than Suarez’s skillset, which sees her as the better wrestler and the stronger physically between the pair. Jandiroba will need to be the one to initiate and control the action on the ground; it’s trouble if Suarez is the one who stops that and/or starts it.

BET: Suarez via decision (-120)

DAVEY GRANT VS ELIJAH SMITH

It’s a classic veteran vs. top prospect battle where this seems to be a “passing of the torch” setup. Smith is 10-1 and has won eight straight, including finishes in all three of his UFC appearances so far. He has great athleticism and wrestling, bringing a relentless pace in the Octagon while devastating opponents with his strikes, namely his ground-and-pound following successful takedowns. Grant isn’t going to go away easy, however; the 40-year-old Englishman has still won three of his last four. Grant has demonstrated a great finishing ability in his career as well, displaying great resilience and durability, as well as someone who can scrap with his own pressure and willingness to exchange.

Though Smith is a risk in either the striking or wrestling capacity, Grant’s best bet (no pun intended) for this fight is to keep it on the feet. If he stuffs Smith’s takedown attempts and is the active striker we know him to be, then he can dictate the fight and turn this into a back-and-forth battle that can test Smith. Otherwise, this could be another highlight showing for “Swift” Smith.

BET: Smith via KO/TKO/DQ (+175)

PRISCILA CACHOEIRA VS NINA MILOSEVIC

Cachoeira is an aggressive fighter who always comes with a forward pace, looking to pressure opponents and use the power in her fists to find a finish. The problem is that Cachoeira hasn’t had the greatest success in the UFC. She’s 5-9 in the Octagon (13-9 in MMA overall) and has lost three straight and five of her last six. That’s not great momentum heading into a fight with a dangerous up-and-comer in Milosevic, a two-time IMMAF world champion who has backgrounds in both karate and jiu-jitsu. She scored a first-round knockout of Hailey Cowan in her UFC debut and presents a challenge for opponents, having won nine straight fights entering this bout, not losing since dropping her pro MMA debut.

For Cachoeira to have a chance here, she has to make this a chaotic brawl. Her punching power can always be a threat. Milosevic, however, seems to have too many tools in the kit, is younger, and is riding better momentum. Cachoeira has absorbed a lot of damage in the Octagon, and she might again in this one.

BET: Milosevic to win AND Under 1.5 rounds SGP (-120)