The UFC rolls into Austin, Texas this weekend to kick things off for December with a pretty solid Fight Night card featuring twelve scheduled bouts after a late scratch earlier today. The event will be headlined by a pair of ranked lightweight matchups and also features Deiveson Figueiredo and Kelvin Gastelum moving to new weight classes in main card bouts. Let’s take a closer look at a few prop bets that might be worth considering for this weekend:
Rodolfo Bellato by KO/TKO in R1/R2 (+125)
Bellato is 11-2 with ten wins coming via stoppage and he will be making his UFC debut this weekend against Ihor Potieria on the prelim card. Potieria is 20-4 with 16 wins via stoppage and he has gone 1-2 in the UFC thus far heading into this matchup. Bellato is a well-rounded fighter with plenty of power in his striking and is also dangerous on the ground. Despite Potieria having a nice record on paper, his pre-UFC level of competition leaves a lot to be desired, and he hasn’t been overly impressive in his limited run with the promotion either. Potieria is a dangerous striker, but he also gets sloppy and reckless at times during exchanges on the feet. I think Bellato will be the better and more disciplined fighter in this matchup and love his chances of picking up the finish during the first two rounds of this fight.
Kelvin Gastelum in Round 3 or by Decision (+200)
Gastelum is 18-8 with ten wins via stoppage and he will be dropping back down to welterweight for this matchup after an extended run in the middleweight division. His opponent this weekend, Sean Brady, is 15-1 with seven stoppage victories and he will be attempting to bounce back from the first loss of his career in his last fight against Belal Muhammad. Although Gastelum had a mixed run in the middleweight division, he appears to be highly motivated coming off a win over Chris Curtis at UFC 287 in April. Gastelum is a pretty solid striker with a decent ground game, while Brady is known more for his takedowns and control than his striking. I think the first round of this fight will be pretty competitive, but as long as Gastelum avoids the early sub threat here, he should be able to get this one down the stretch for a decision or late stoppage win.
Punahele Soriano in Round 3 or by Decision (+190)
Soriano is 9-3 in his career with eight wins via stoppage and he will be facing Dustin Stoltzfus to open the main card. Soriano comes into this fight with a 3-3 record in the UFC and will be looking to get back on track after losing three of his last four fights. Stoltzfus is 14-5 with seven stoppage wins and he has had a pretty rough run in the UFC thus far, putting together a 1-4 record with the promotion while being stopped in three of the four losses, twice in the third round. Soriano will likely want to keep this one standing and he should have a sizable power advantage in the striking exchanges. As long as he is patient and avoids making costly mistakes early, Soriano should get this one done with a clear decision or late KO/TKO stoppage.
Odds listed are current via FanDuel Sportsbook
