UFC Fight Night Picks: McKenzie vs. Hill

UFC Fight Night is this weekend as another stacked card takes center stage at the Apex in Las Vegas. 

To help with your UFC betting, here are our UFC picks for Saturday.

Angela Hill vs. Mackenzie Dern 

After the postponement of the fight last weekend, Angela Hill and Mackenzie Dern will finally meet in a headline spot at UFC Fight Night 223.

Dern is one of the best jiu-jitsu specialists in the women's MMA game and she heads into this match with a record of 12 wins and three losses. Two of those defeats have come in her past three fights, as Yan Xiaonan and Marina Rodriguez won on the scorecards.

What's more, seven of her 12 wins have been via submission, making this fight a pretty easy one to call after Hill recorded just her third win in her past eight fights in December.

She has now lost 12 times in professional MMA and with 10 of her 15 wins coming on points, there’s usually only one outcome with Hill. Ultimately, Dern’s grappling experience will be too much for the experienced Hill in this one.

Mackenzie Dern, by submission, is +180 with FanDuel Sportsbook.

Anthony Hernandez vs. Edmen Shahbazyan 

Two young fighters looking to make a name for themselves in the UFC meet in this one as Edmen Shahbazyan looks for his second win in the past three years against Anthony Hernandez.

Shahbazyan has had a rough few years in the UFC after bursting into the organization with four wins in his first four fights. Three losses in a row to Derek Brunson, Jack Hermansson and Nassourdine Imavov proved that he moved up a gear way too fast and that he is still perhaps a few more years away from battling against ranked opponents.

Hernandez is on a three-fight win streak after losing to Kevin Holland and managed to put together one of the biggest market upsets in 2021 by submitting the legendary jiu-jitsu specialist, Rodolfo Vieira, at odds of +3300.

Further wins over Josh Fremd and Marc-André Barriault put him as the favorite in this one, and we think he could get another submission against a man who struggles in the grappling department.

Anthony Hernandez, by submission, is +210 with DraftKings Sportsbook.

Emily Ducote vs. Lupita Godinez

Lupita Godinez faces off with Emily Ducote as she looks to win her fifth fight in the past two years. From April 2021 through May 2022, Godinez fought more than any other female in the UFC and amassed a record of 3-3 in that time.

However, in her nine wins in MMA, seven have come on points. Ducote has also seen five of her wins go to the judges' scorecards, and she has also lost six times on points.

This fight is almost certainly going to the scorecards, but we give the edge to Godinez in this regard. 

Lupita Godinez to win on points is -110 with Unibet Sportsbook.

Andre Fialho vs. Joaquin Buckley 

A fight that could steal the Fight of the Night bonus sees two heavy hitters battle it out to get closer to the middleweight rankings.

In the combined 44 fights between these two, 32 have ended via knockout. Buckley has secured 11 of his 15 wins via knockout, including one of the best knockouts in UFC history over Impa Kasanganay. 

He also bagged three more Performance of the Night bonuses since that incredible spinning kick knockout by finishing Albert Duraev, Jordan Wright and Antônio Arroyo.

Fialho has secured 13 wins via KO/TKO in his 16 wins, although, like Buckley, he has lost his past two fights, as Muslim Salikhov and Jake Matthews knocked him out.

Buckley is more skilled in the striking department, as Fialho tends to opt for a boxing output. With this in mind, Buckley is our pick.

Joaquin Buckley by KO/TKO is +120 with BetMGM Sportsbook.

Diego Ferreira vs. Michael Johnson

Two experienced fighters kick off the main card at UFC Fight Night 223 when Diego Ferreira looks to end a three-fight losing run and Michael Johnson looks for his fifth win in the past five years.

Despite being a well-known name in the UFC, Johnson has now incredibly lost 18 fights and won only 21. This has seen him lose 10 times since he put together a four-fight win streak almost 10 years ago. Now, after such a terrible few years, he is understandably the underdog in this fight, even after beating Marc Diakiese in December.

Ferreira has only lost five times, but by losing his past three, he has not won since his magnificent rear-naked choke over Anthony Pettis in 2020. Against Johnson, we expect the fight to go the distance because of how bad the two have been for several years. 

Fight to go the distance is +196 with Caesars Sportsbook.

Other Fights to Consider