UFC 293 Betting Preview
UFC WagerTalk handicapper Andy Lang gives his UFC 293 predictions and picks for September 9 with Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland headlining the event in a middleweight title fight. The main card starts up at 10:00pm ET from Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
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Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland: UFC 293 Main Event
UFC 293 Predictions
Kevin Jousset -142 v Kiefer Crosbie +120
This will be a pass for me for betting purposes as neither guy really sticks out. Jousset is pretty low volume, and he only has one finish in his last five fights and that was with seven seconds left in his last fight.
He has decent striking skills and decent clinch work, but I can't point to anything he does great. He's fairly well-rounded, but he has a low ceiling.
Crosbie fought in Bellator for a while, leaving with a 4-3 record, and he recently finished two fighters in smaller promotions including UFC vet Alex Oliveira.
I do like that he searches for the finish, and he will have the power advantage, but if he doesn't KO Jousset early, this could turn into a very boring fight where Jousset clinches and grinds out a victory.
There's no value in betting on this fight in my opinion as there are many other great opportunities on this card.
Shane Young -170 v Gabriel Miranda +140
The UFC has not been kind to these guys as Miranda got knocked out by Benoit Staint Denis in his UFC debut, and Young is on a three-fight losing streak.
Young doesn't fight a lot and is coming off a loss early in 2023 to Blake Bilder. I don't mean to sound rude, but I'm sure exactly what Young does in his fights. He doesn't throw a lot of strikes, the ones he does throw aren't effective, and he's not good at takedowns and ground games.
I just don't see any upside. Miranda had a rough outing against Saint-Denis as he got beat up and finished, but against Saint-Denis that was to be expected.
Miranda has a good record, but he hasn't fought good competition before his UFC debut. There's no way I'm betting anything on this fight, but if you are betting the fight it's a dog or pass situation.
Charlie Radtke -245 v Mike Diamond +200
Diamond is really bad and is on this card because he's great friends with Israel Adesanya. He throws a lot of kicks, but they aren't effective, and he's bad in the wrestling and grappling departments.
He actually had some success on the feet in his last fight against Orion Cosce, but he still lost because of the wrestling. Radtke is making his UFC debut, and I like what I see from him.
He has power in his hands, and he recently fought a guy who only goes for takedowns and submissions and he beat him by thwarting the attacks and beating him up with strikes. I just can't bet on Diamond, he's just bad.
Radtke is a good parlay piece as long as he doesn't get knocked out or hurt by one of Diamond's kicks, but I don't see Diamond winning any UFC fight at this point. Radtke as a parlay piece is a fine bet.
Nasrat Haqparast -440 v Landon Quinones +340
Quinones is coming off a stint on The Ultimate Fighter, but it was a quick stint because he got submitted in 55 seconds in his first fight and was eliminated. He doesn't have a lot of experience, and he definitely doesn't have experience against a UFC veteran like Haqparast.
I don't see a lot of upside for Quinones here, and I think Nasrat takes him apart fairly easily. Nasrat has lost two out of three, but the losses were to UFC studs Bobby Green and Dan Hooker.
Nasrat will piece him up on the feet, and dominate I believe as Quinones just doesn't have the technique and experience to compete over three rounds. The price is big on Nasrat, but it's certainly a parlay piece I would recommend playing.
Jamie Mullarkey -185 v John Makdessi +154
Mullarkey is coming off a bizarre loss to Muhammad Naimov where Naimov took the fight on really short notice. Mullarkey was winning easily and Naimov landed a clean shot that knocked Mullarkey down and the ref jumped in a stopped it, way too early in my opinion.
Mullarkey just doesn't seem to have the killer instinct anymore as he seems tentative and he seems fine with point fighting. He got burned by that last time, and it makes him now just 4-4 in the UFC.
Makdessi is now 38 years old, and he only fights once a year, in his last fight against Haqparast he looked like a fighter not fighting to win, but to just survive. He got pieced up on the feet, and he got taken down at the end of the fight to confirm the win for Haqparast.
He has no finishes since 2015 and without the threat of a finish, I expect Mullarkey to win by decision. Taking overs in this fight would be smart as neither guy has shown finishing ability recently.
Jack Jenkins -205 v Chepe Mariscal +170
I like the underdog in this one. Jenkins is 2-0 in the UFC, but his first fight was against Don Shainis, a fighter who is not good, and he won a split decision against Jamll Emmers where even Jenkins was surprised he won.
He's a technical fighter with great leg kicks, but Mariscal is a warrior who loves getting into brawls. He won his UFC debut against Trevor Peek in an insane war, and I think he will turn this into another war where he'll be tougher and he'll have more power.
I'm not sure Jenkins can truly hurt Mariscall, and I see Mariscal walking through most of the strikes of Jenkins.
Maybe the technical skill and speed of Jenkins will overcome the power and toughness of Mariscal, but I think this number is even if the judges rightfully give Emmers the win in Jenkins's last fight so we're getting immense value on Mariscal at +170.
Carlos Ulberg -278 v Da Woon Jung +225
I've been on Ulberg his last four fights, and we've gone 4-0 and I'm expecting to make it 5-0. Ulberg's striking is lethal as his last three fights he's won by KO in the first round.
In his UFC debut, he gassed himself and Kennedy Nzechukwu wore him down and got the finish, but he won a decision fight in his next fight as he managed his cardio well, and I believe he's putting all the pieces together to become a real threat in the light heavyweight division.
Jung is coming off of two losses as he got knocked out by Dustin Jacoby and then lost by decision to Devin Clark, and I don't think Jung has the speed or striking to keep up with Ulberg.
Ulberg's striking has gotten so good, and he has so much power that it only takes one shot to KO an opponent or to throw his balance off, and I see him taking care of Jung early. He's a great parlay piece or you can wait til props come out and take Ulberg by KO.
Tyson Pedro -130 v Anton Turkalj +110
Tyson Pedro's resume isn't looking great in the UFC as he's 3-4 in his last seven fights, and his wins are against Hunsucker, Villanueva and Safarov…three bad fighters.