A pair of top-5 middleweight contenders highlights a stacked card as the main event of UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Cannonier. Both Marvin Vettori and Jared Cannonier are looking to become title challengers again with Saturday’s fight a major stepping stone to accomplishing that. And they would also like another chance to tangle with UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, who posted a unanimous decision victory over each already. Oddsmakers see this one as being close with both fighters listed with odds of -112 on the UFC betting line. Following his loss to Adesanya 11 months ago, Cannonier rebounded with a split decision victory over Sean Strickland while Vettori bounced back from a loss to earn a unanimous decision over Roman Dolidze in March.

Bet on UFC online at BetRivers sportsbook with odds for every fight on the ticket. The action takes place on Saturday, June 17, 2023 from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The scheduled eight fight prelims start at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The main card gets underway at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+.

UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Cannonier Main Card Odds

Marvin Vettori -112 vs. Jared Cannonier -112

Joaquim Silva +645 vs. Arman Tsarukyan -1050

Christian Leroy Duncan -147 vs. Armen Petrosyan +123

Lucas Almeida +173 vs. Pat Sabatini -210

Manuel Torres -186 vs. Nikolas Motta +154

Nicolas Dalby +154 vs. Muslim Salikhov -186

There’s a lot at stake for both fighters, perhaps more so for Cannonier (16-6, 10 KOs, 2 SUBs) who’s running out of time in his UFC career. Father Time is undefeated and “The Killa Gorilla” is pushing 40. However, he looked much younger in his last outing earning a split decision win over Sean Strickland.

Though he’s just 6-4 in his last 10 fights, the constant flux in the middleweight class puts Cannonier in a good spot for a rematch with Adesanya. In the title fight it was surprising to see Cannonier take what appeared to be a conservative approach never pushing the champ while getting jabbed and leg-whipped. He went the distance as a UFC odds underdog, but it was more because he elected to keep his distance. That strategy didn’t work against Adesanya and it won’t work against Vettori, who is known to be aggressive inside the octagon.

Vettori (19-6-1, 2 KOs, 9 SUBs) made the jump to light heavyweight after his second loss to Adesanya making his debut a success with a unanimous decision over Paulo Costa. His stay at that class ended abruptly with a return to middleweight and a UD loss to Robert Whitaker. Vettori is just 2-2 in his last four fights, but the losses came against stiff competition in middleweight champ Adesanya and former middleweight champ Whitaker. He also lost a split decision to Adesanya back in 2018 before Adesanya claimed the belt.

Having never been stopped inside the distance, Vettori has a remarkable ability to take blows and keep going. His last six fights have all gone the distance and only two of his wins were by (T)KO. “The Italian Dream” is strong on the ground so it behooves Cannonier to stay upright. Vettori is one of the best grapplers in the UFC with a lot of power as his nine submission wins indicate. He can also go toe-to-toe with the best, however his unrefined game has led to some disheartening setbacks.

He has a glossy record with 19 wins in 26 fights, but his defeats have been to better fighters. Vettori is missing that signature victory that would elevate him in the middleweight rankings. He’s got a good chance at getting that big W on Saturday. And we can tell Vettori is focused since there hasn’t been any pre-fight trash talk, something he’s very good at. And perhaps giving his opponent some inspiration, Cannonier said he’d like to be the first to stop Vettori inside the distance. UFC odds on the moneyline aren’t very favorable with fighters boasting negative numbers. However, open up the prop menu and there are plenty of appetizing wagers. A Vettori submission pays +750, which looks good about now.

UFC Prediction: Marvin Vettori / Submission

Check out the latest UFC betting odds at BetRivers.