UFC 280 Picks

UFC 280 takes place on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with the feature bout a fight between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. Makhachev is 22-1 in his career, while Oliveira is 33-8 in his career. There are a total of 14 fights on the card with five on Pay-Per-View and nine on ESPN News and ESPN+. Makhachev is listed as a 2-1 favorite at PointsBet. One of the other marquee matchups on Saturday has Aljamain Sterling taking on T.J. Dillashaw. Sterling is 21-3 in his career, while Dillashaw is 17-4. Sterling is listed as the UFC betting favorite in this fight. Let’s look at both of these fights and UFC 280 picks.

Makhachev vs. Oliveira

Makhachev has been very good in the UFC with 11 wins and just one loss. He is unbeaten in his last six fights with wins over Arman Tsarukyan by unanimous decision, Davi Ramos by unanimous decision, Drew Dober by submission, Thiago Moisés by submission, Dan Hooker by submission, and Bobby Green by TKO. Makhachev has four wins by TKO/KO and 10 by submission. He has a total of eight first round finishes.

Oliveira is 21-8 in the UFC and he is unbeaten in his last six fights. He defeated Jared Gordon by KO, Kevin Lee by submission, Tony Ferguson by unanimous decision, Michael Chandler by TKO, Dustin Poirier by submission, and Justin Gaethje by submission. Oliveira has nine wins by TKO/KO and 21 by submission. He has a total of 15 first round finishes.

UFC 280 Picks

This fight should be full of action for as long as it lasts. Both fighters are finishers so it is unlikely this fight goes the distance. I lean toward Makhachev but I am never thrilled about laying 2-1. If Oliveira is to win this fight it seems likely it would be by submission and Makhachev has gone on record saying that he wants to win this fight by submission. I think betting some of the props for the fight to end in a finish could be worth a look at PointsBet. You can get Oliveira to win by submission at odds of more than 3-1 and you can get Makhachev to win by submission at odds of more than 2-1.

Sterling vs. Dillashaw

Sterling is 13-3 in the UFC and he is unbeaten in his last six fights. He defeated Cody Stamann by submission, Jimmie Rivera by unanimous decision, Pedro Munhoz by unanimous decision, Cory Sandhagen by submission, and Sterling beaten Petr Yan twice, once by disqualification and once by split decision. Sterling has two wins by TKO/KO and eight by submission. He has a total of four first round finishes.

Dillashaw is 13-4 in the UFC and in his last five fights he is 5-1. He defeated Raphael Assunção by unanimous decision, John Lineker by unanimous decision, Cody Garbrandt by TKO, Cody Garbrandt by KO, and Cory Sandhagen by split decision, while losing to Henry Cejudo by TKO. Dillashaw has eight wins by TKO/KO and three by submission. He has a total of five first round finishes.

UFC 280 Picks

This fight may actually be a better matchup than the main event. Both of these fighters are extremely tough and this fight should be very competitive. The rounds option on this fight is 4.5 and the over is about a 2-1 favorite. It would be a surprise to see either of these two getting a finish so taking the rounds to go over the total should be the best bet.

UFC 280 Fight Card

Main Card (Pay-Per-View)

Lightweight Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev

Bantamweight Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw

Bantamweight Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley

Lightweight Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot

Women’s Flyweight Katlyn Chookagian vs. Manon Fiorot

Preliminary Card (ESPN News / ESPN+)

Welterweight Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady

Middleweight Makhmud Muradov vs.         Caio Borralho

Light Heavyweight Nikita Krylov vs. Volkan Oezdemir

Featherweight Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Lucas Almeida

Welterweight Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs.          Gadzhi Omargadzhiev

Middleweight Armen Petrosyan         vs. A.J. Dobson

Flyweight Muhammad Mokaev          vs. Malcolm Gordon

Women’s Bantamweight Karol Rosa vs. Lina Länsberg