UFC 324 takes place on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It features a UFC Lightweight Interim title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett as the main event and a UFC Bantamweight fight between Sean O’Malley and Song Yadong as the co-main event. Here are our UFC 324 best bets, which will include 2 fights on the main card, with odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Be sure to also check out the rest of our UFC predictions for all of the UFC 324 main card fights scheduled for Saturday, January 24th.
UFC 324 best bet: Natalia Silva Win by Unanimous Decision over Rose Namajunas (-130)
The second fight on the main card at UFC 324 will see Natalia Silva take on Rose Namajunas. This will be a fight in the UFC Women’s Flyweight division. Silva comes into this fight with an MMA record of 19-5-1, including 7-0 in the UFC. She averages 5.04 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 46%. Defensively, Silva absorbs 2.46 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 65%. Her grappling is not nearly as good, averaging just 0.34 takedowns every 15 minutes. Her takedown accuracy is just 25%, but more importantly, her takedown defense is an eye-popping 92%.
Namajunas enters this fight with an MMA record of 15-7 and 12-6 in the UFC. She averages 3.60 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 41%. Namajunas absorbs 3.38 strikes per minute and has a striking defense of 63%. Furthermore, her grappling is formidable, averaging 1.49 takedowns every 15 minutes. She has a takedown accuracy of 50% and a takedown defense of 62%.
Silva may be the heavy favorite, but she still looks to be the best betting option despite the price. Namajunas is a mediocre 3-3 in her last 6 UFC fights, while Silva is a perfect 7-0. Silva has the advantage in striking volume, and also has an elite takedown defense to help with the advantage Namajunas has in grappling. Therefore, with Silva in much better form, backing her to win by unanimous decision is my first best bet on the card.
You can also find out our UFC 324 parlay picks for Saturday night’s action
UFC 324 prediction: Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva – Fight to go the Distance – No (-125)
The first fight on the main card at UFC 324 is a bout between Arnold Allen and Jean Silva. This will be a fight in the UFC Featherweight division. Allen boasts an MMA record of 20-3, as well as 11-2 in the UFC. He averages 3.45 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 41%. His defense is solid, absorbing 2.88 strikes per minute with an opposing striking accuracy of 61%. His grappling is also solid, averaging 0.93 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 47% and a takedown defense of 75%.
Silva enters this fight with an MMA record of 16-3 and 6-1 in the UFC. He averages 4.79 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 51% while absorbing 4.69 strikes per minute and holding opponents to a striking accuracy of 54%. Silva has been a decent grappler in the UFC, averaging 0.50 takedowns every 15 minutes, along with takedown accuracy of 50% and a takedown defense of 78%.
Silva is the heavy favorite in this fight, and as such, he’s a bit too expensive to back outright. Therefore, we will look for this fight to end inside the distance. Arnold has only seen 2 of his last 5 UFC fights end inside the distance, but Silva has seen his last 6 UFC fights end before judges get involved. Based on Silva’s ability to win or lose by finish, backing this fight to end inside the distance is the move.
Check out the rest of our UFC picks for every main card fight at UFC 324!
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