Matthew Lowrimore
UFC on ESPN 71 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. This card features a UFC Flyweight fight between Tatsuro Taira and Hyun Sung Park as the Main Event. Here are our best bets for this UFC card, which will include 3 fights on the Main Card. Be sure to also check out the rest of our UFC predictions for all of the UFC on ESPN 71 Main Card fights.
UFC on ESPN 71 Main Card Best Bets
UFC best bet: Hyun Sung Park ML over Tatsuro Taira (+280)
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook at the time of publishing.
The Main Event at UFC on ESPN 71 will see Tatsuro Taira take on Hyun Sung Park. This will be a fight in the UFC Flyweight division. Park enters this fight with an MMA record of 10-0 and 5-0 in the UFC. He averages 4.27 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 46%. Park absorbs 3.29 strikes and has a striking defense of 60%. His grappling has also been elite, averaging 1.90 takedowns every 15 minutes and 2.9 submission attempts during the same period. Park has a takedown accuracy of 33% and his takedown defense is 100%.
Taira is the overwhelming favorite in this fight; however, Park looks to be a decent betting option to pull off the massive upset. Not only is Park perfect in the UFC, but his striking volume is better, and he has a perfect takedown defense, which will help limit the advantage Taira has in grappling. Because Park has yet to show much weakness, backing him to win will be our best bet.
Read our full Hyun Sung Park vs Tatsuro Taira prediction
UFC prediction: Karol Rosa Win by Decision over Nora Cornelle (-150)
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook at the time of publishing
The third fight on the Main Card at UFC on ESPN 71 will see Karol Rosa take on Nora Cornolle. This will be a fight in the UFC Women’s Bantamweight division. Rosa enters this fight with an MMA record of 18-7 and 7-4 in the UFC. She averages 6.22 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 55%. Rosa absorbs 4.84 strikes and has a striking defense of 49%. Her grappling has also been decent, averaging 1.09 takedowns every 15 minutes. Rosa has a takedown accuracy of 46% and a takedown defense of 70%.
For this fight, we will be targeting the method of victory for Rosa. She has won all of her UFC fights by decision, while Cornolle’s only UFC loss was by decision. Based on that, backing Rosa to win by decision will be our best bet.
Read our full Karol Rosa vs Nora Cornelle prediction
UFC pick: Neil Magny vs Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos – Fight to go the Distance – No (+105)
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
The second fight on the Main Card at UFC on ESPN 71 will see Neil Magny take on Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. This will be a fight in the UFC Welterweight division. For this fight, we will be targeting it to end inside the distance. Magny has seen 6 of his last 8 UFC fights end inside the distance, including his last 3 UFC fights in a row. As for Dos Santos, he has seen 6 of his last 12 UFC fights end inside the distance, including his last 2 UFC fights in a row. Because both fighters have had a high finish rate recently, backing this fight to end inside the distance will be our best bet.
Read our full Neil Magny vs Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos prediction
