UFC Fight Night Picks: Heavyweight Tuivasa Looking to Snap Losing Streak

Who do you like on the UFC Fight Night card tomorrow night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas?

The heavyweights are the featured attraction, with Tai Tuivasa facing Marcin Tybura. According to BetMGM stats this morning, Tuivasa is slightly favoured at 1.87, with Tybura at 1.95. Tuivasa is seeing 54 per cent of bets there, 48 per cent of handle. 

Tuivasa, 30, has lost three fights in a row – he last won at UFC 271, knocking out Derrick Lewis. He has an overall record of 15-6-0 in the UFC’s Heavyweight Division, has 14 wins by knockout and 12 first round finishes. According to UFC site stats, 60 per cent of signature strikes are to the head. 

Tybura knows this and commented this week in an article on Sportsnet about the need to “keep my face away from his hands.” Tybura, 38, is also coming off defeat – losing to current champion Tom Aspinall last July. He’s also a beast – a record in the Heavyweight Division of 24-8-0, nine wins by knockout, with ten first round finishes.

⭐ Bet on UFC Fight Night at BetMGM ⭐

As well as the heavyweight bout, Bryan Battle takes on Ange Loosa in a welterweight fight, Ovince Saint Preux takes on Kennedy Nzechukwu in the light welterweight category, Christian Rodriguez meets Isaac Dulgarian in a featherweight bout, Pannie Kianzad takes on Macy Chiasson in a women’s bantamweight bout, and Gerald Meerschaert takes on Bryan Barberena in a middleweight bout. These are the main card fights. There are also seven prelims.

In the welterweight fight, Battle is coming off a win by submission over AJ Fletcher last September, and before that a TKO win over Gabe Green, in May. Loosa is coming off three wins in a row by unanimous decision, most recently last September over Rhys McKee.

At DraftKings, most bet fighters by sports betting handle this morning are Dulgarian, Nzechukwu, Mike Davis (prelim fight), Tuivasa and Battle. By bets it’s Nzechukwu, Davis, Tuivasa, Dulgarian, and Charalampos Grigoriou (prelim bout).

According to FanDuel, Method of Victory and Match Betting are currently the most bet on markets, closely followed by Submission Round Combos.

And at BetRivers this morning: Tuivasa (1.83 ML) to win is the most popular play on the card by total tickets (21.9% of total tickets); 86 per cent of the ML money and 92 per cent of the ML tickets are on Tuivasa to win (1.83); 59 per cent of the O/U money and 54 per cent of the O/U tickets are on Under 1.5 rounds (1.94).

The event is being broadcast on Sportsnet.

Other betting insights on UFC Fight Night from BetMGM this morning: