UFC 274 Picks Tonight: Oliveira vs. Gaethje EXPERT UFC Predictions 5/7

The UFC heads to Phoenix, Arizona for an explosive UFC 274 with two titles on the line. In the co-main event, Carla Esparza will look to reclaim her long lost gold when she takes on current strawweight champion “Thug” Rose Namajunas. In the main event, the lightweight belt will be on the line when Justin Gaethje collides with the champion Charles Oliveira. On the prelims there are a bunch of fights that are evenly matched and the Vegas odds reflect that, so this is a good week to bet fights on the moneyline. Also, besides method of victory props, there seems to be some good over/under props as well, which is nice change of pace from the moneylines. This gives bettors multiple ways to bet when making their UFC 274 picks tonight.

Expert UFC 274 Picks, Predictions & Best Bets

As always when shopping for the best UFC betting odds and lines, make sure to use OddsShopper to find the top odds at various sportsbooks. It is easily the best sports betting tool when it comes to shopping for the top ROI odds for the fights, and it will save bettors a lot of money in the long run. Below are the top UFC picks tonight when filling out a betting card. Let’s dig into some of the best UFC 274 predictions, picks and best bets for UFC 274 Oliveira vs. Gaethje.

Blagoy Ivanov vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima

In a battle of veteran heavyweights, Blagoy Ivanov will take on Marcos Rogerio de Lima. Ivanov in five UFC fights is 2-3, but the level of competition he has faced has been very steep. He has taken on the likes of Junior dos Santos, Derek Lewis and Augusto Sakai and lost all three by decision. De Lima is seemingly a step down in competition for Ivanov, but do not be fooled — he has some serious power. He has won three of four and two of his wins have come by first-round knockout. Generally, when de Lima wins it comes by early knockout. A few problems present themselves in this fight, however, as Ivanov is very durable; all of his UFC fights have gone the distance and de Lima’s cardio is very poor. If this fight goes past the halfway point of the second round, Ivanov will most certainly be the fresher fighter and he should be able to sit at range and pick apart de Lima. Ivanov is not great anywhere, but he is good everywhere. So while this may be a poor fight to target in DFS, this is a good fight to target on the betting lines, as Ivanov -145 has a ton of value.

Best UFC Betting Pick: Ivanov -145 (DraftKings)

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Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje

The shark tank that is the lightweight division has churned out another amazing title fight, as the lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will take on Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje. Gaethje has won five of his last six fights, with his only loss being to Khabib Nurmagomedov at Fight Island. Four of his five wins have come by knockout as well, and he beat Michael Chandler by decision, but the referee could have easily stopped the fight in the second round. That is the kind of fight Gaethje will bring: Insane pressure with heavy leg kicks and crazy powerful striking. On the other side, Oliveira will be making his second title defense after defending his belt against Dustin Poirier, winning by second-round submission. Oliveira is on an incredible 11-fight win streak that dates back to 2017 and is now the UFC’s all-time submission leader. He is one of the most opportunistic submission grapplers in the game, and if the fight hits the mat, it could be over in an instant.

The problem for Oliveira here is that Gaethje comes from a wrestling background and should be tough to takedown. Gaethje’s takedown defense against Nurmagomedov did not look great, but when can you has anyone looked good against Nurmagomedov? Oliveira does not have the same wrestling prowess as Nurmagomedov, but it has gotten better. That being said, it is tough to rely on the fight to hit the mat. Oliveira also has very underrated striking, as he hurt and finished Chandler on the feet. However, he will be at a disadvantage against Gaethje. It is possible Oliveira can hurt Gaethje on the feet and over the course of five rounds he may hurt him more than once, but Gaethje is durable and the power coming back will be much more. Oliveira has been hurt on multiple occasions in his last few fights but survived. If that happens again against Gaethje, he more than likely will finish the job.

Best UFC Betting Pick: Gaethje by KO/TKO +210 (FanDuel)

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