Daniel Cormier believes he proved he is a better fighter than Stipe Miocic with his first-round knockout in their previous meeting. His opponent strongly disagrees, so both fighters will attempt to remove all doubt in their rematch on Saturday. Cormier and Miocic square off for the heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 241 at the Honda Center. The 12-bout stop in Anaheim features the main UFC 241 card starting at 10 p.m. ET. Cormier (22-1-1) became the champ with his victory last July when he moved up from light heavyweight and stopped Miocic (18-3), who had made three successful title defenses. Jon Jones remains the only fighter to have defeated Cormier, but Miocic insists their first match was an aberration and he will recapture the title on Saturday. Cormier is a -145 favorite (risk $145 to win $100) after the line opened at -135. Miocic is listed at +125 in the latest Cormier vs. Mioicic odds, up from an open of +115. In the co-main event, popular welterweights Nate Diaz (+115) and Anthony Pettis (-135) meet in what is expected to be an action-packed bout. Before you finalize your UFC 241 picks and Cormier vs. Mioicic predictions, make sure you check out what SportsLine MMA expert Kyle Marley has to say.
After fighting three times in 2018, UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier will be making his first appearance of the year as he makes his second title defense. UFC 241 pits Cormier against Stipe Miocic in a rematch of a heavyweight title fight last July in which Cormier won the crown and became a two-division champion. Saturday’s fight is at the Honda Center in Anaheim, and, in addition to Cormier vs. Miocic, Nate Diaz will be making his long-awaited return to the octagon after nearly three years. Diaz will take on Anthony Pettis at welterweight in the co-main event of the 12-fight UFC 241 card. Cormier (21-1-1) is a -145 favorite (risk $145 to win $100), while Miocic (18-3) is a +125 underdog in the latest Cormier vs. Miocic odds, up from an open of +115. Meanwhile, Pettis is a -130 favorite, with Diaz listed at +110 in the latest Pettis vs. Diaz odds after both fighters opened at -110. Before you make your UFC 241 picks, be sure to see the predictions from SportsLine MMA expert Kyle Marley.
Marley won the first-ever “ToutMaster” UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and is in contention to win this year’s competition. He also appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and DFS shows. Over the past year, $100 bettors who have followed Marley’s picks are up more than $22,000.
Last week at UFC Fight Night 156 in Uruguay, Marley posted a record of 10-3 and his $100 followers netted a one-night profit of $700. His winning selections included taking Gilbert Burns (+125) to hand Aleksei Kunchenko (-155) his first professional defeat.
At UFC on ESPN 5 in New Jersey, Marley accurately predicted that second-ranked welterweight contender Colby Colvington would defeat veteran Robbie Lawler by decision. Covington set a record for strikes thrown and won by a wide margin on all three scorecards. Anyone who has followed Marley is way up.
Now, with UFC 241 fast approaching, Marley has carefully studied every matchup on the card, identified the best value in the UFC odds and released his MMA picks for every single fight. He’s sharing those selections only over at SportsLine.
Marley knows the UFC 241 main event could be legacy-defining moment and perhaps the last bout in the career of Cormier, who has vowed not to fight long past age 40. He turned 40 in March and could call it quits after defending the belt against a heavyweight who many observers believe is the best of this generation.
Jones remains the only UFC fighter to have defeated Cormier, though one of the two bouts was later changed to a no-contest because of a positive drug test. Cormier moved up to heavyweight for the chance to become a double-champion and because the UFC was running out of legitimate contenders to take on Miocic, whose three heavyweight title defenses are a UFC record.
Cormier closed as a nearly 3-1 underdog in the first fight, but ended with a bang. He stunned Miocic with an uppercut out of a clinch and finished the fight on the ground with more decisive blows.
If he wins, Miocic could be in line for another long run as heavyweight champion. However, another loss would take some of the shine off his title reign, drop him down the rankings and force a longer journey towards another title shot. You can get Marley’s Cormier vs. Miocic picks only at SportsLine.
We’ll share one of Marley’s UFC 241 predictions here: He is backing Drakkar Klose (-210) to defeat Christos Giagos (+175) in a lightweight clash on the undercard.
Klose (10-1-1) is 3-1 in the UFC and looks for his third straight victory after scoring a decision win over Bobby Green in December. Before that, he beat Lando Vannata, also via decision. Meanwhile, Giagos (17-7) also has a two-fight win streak following his decision victory against Damir Hadzovic in June.
“Klose is the better striker who lands at a higher rate with better accuracy. I expect him to win the striking battle,” Marley told SportsLine. Book Klose over Giagos as one of your top UFC 241 predictions.
Marley also has strong picks for Cormier vs. Miocic, Diaz vs. Pettis and every other bout on the stacked UFC 241 card. You can only see them at SportsLine.
Who wins Cormier vs. Miocic? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on all 12 fights at UFC 241, all from the incomparable expert who’s up more than $22,000 on MMA in the past year, and find out.
