UFC Fight Night 166 takes place on Saturday night in Raleigh at PNC Arena. The 12-fight UFC Fight Night 166 card promises plenty of intense action after last week’s highly-anticipated UFC 246. Heavyweights Curtis Blaydes (12-2) and Junior dos Santos (21-6) will headline the UFC Raleigh fight card in a bout that could move the winner towards a title shot against Stipe Miocic. It all starts at 5 p.m. ET with the preliminary bouts, and the main card begins three hours later.
Blaydes is listed as the -240 favorite (bet $240 to win $100) with the former champion listed as the +200 underdog in the latest Blaydes vs. dos Santos odds. Blaydes is a -240 favorite (risk $240 to win $100), while dos Santos is a +200 underdog in the latest Blaydes vs. dos Santos odds. In the co-main event, Rafael dos Anjos (-275) takes on Michael Chiesa (+235) in a welterweight battle. Before making any UFC Fight Night 166 picks of your own, check out what SportsLine MMA analyst Kyle Marley has to say.
Marley won the first-ever “ToutMaster” UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and 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 $19,000.
Last week at UFC 246, Marley told SportsLine members that Conor McGregor (-320) would make fast work of his return to the Octagon following a 15-month layoff against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. He reasoned that the Irishman’s superior boxing skills, speed and power would overwhelm the fading 36-year-old Cerrone. Marley was proven correct when McGregor finished the fight with a technical knockout 40 seconds into the first round. The MMA expert also accurately predicted a unanimous-decision victory for Holly Holm (-135) against Raquel Pennington (+115) in the co-main event. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Blaydes vs. dos Santos preview
Now, with UFC Fight Night 166 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 this bout will play a key role in shaping the picture of a top-heavy division. Blaydes, 28, is considered one of the division’s strongest fighters and perhaps its best wrestler. He won both of his bouts last year, including a second-round technical knockout of Shamil Abdurakhimov in September. “Blades is the best wrestler in the division and lands more than seven takedowns per 15 minutes,” Marley told SportsLine.
The 35-year-old Dos Santos is widely regarded as one of the top athletes in the history of the UFC heavyweight division and perhaps its best boxer. But the former champion’s three-fight winning streak was halted in an embarrassing first-round knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in June. “Dos Santos is the better all-around striker,” Marley said. You can get all of Marley’s UFC Fight Night 166 predictions here.
Top UFC Fight Night 166 predictions
At UFC Raleigh, Marley is backing Nate Landwehr (-125) in a featherweight bout with Herbert Burns. Landwehr (13-2) is making his UFC debut fresh off an impressive 5-0 run fighting in M1 in Russia and will look to use his striking to keep Burns (9-2) from utilizing his Brazilian jiu-jitsu background.
Burns is the younger brother of current No. 12-ranked welterweight Gilbert Burns, and little brother will make his UFC debut after winning a “Dana White’s Contender Series” bout with Darrick Minner via first-round armbar. However, Marley doesn’t think he’ll be able to handle superior strikers until his wrestling improves to get fights to the ground.
“Landwehr’s advantage on his feet might be just as big as Burns’ on the ground, but every fight starts on the feet and Burns isn’t a strong wrestler,” Marley told SportsLine. “He could pull guard or grab a leg and get a submission, but I don’t have confidence he can get the fight to the mat.”
How to make UFC picks for Fight Night 166
Marley also has strong picks for Dos Santos vs. Blaydes, Chiesa vs. Dos Anjos and every other bout on the UFC Fight Night 166 card. He’s backing one fighter in a bout that’s “much closer than the line indicates.” Get every pick for every fight at SportsLine.
Who wins Dos Santos vs. Blaydes? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC Fight Night 166, all from the expert who’s up more than $19,000 on MMA in the past year, and find out.
Curtis Blaydes (-240) vs. Junior Dos Santos (+200)
Rafael Dos Anjos (-275) vs. Michael Chiesa (+235)
Alex Perez (-270) vs. Jordan Espinosa (+230)
Angela Hill (-160) vs. Hannah Cifers (+140)
Jamahal Hill (-135) vs. Darko Stosic (+115)
Bevon Lewis (-420) vs. Dequan Townsend (+335)
Arnold Allen (-285) vs. Nik Lentz (+225)
Lucie Pudilova (-175) vs. Justine Kish (+155)
Montel Jackson (-630) vs. Felipe Colares (+465)
Sara McMann (-155) vs. Lina Lansberg (+135)
Tom Gravely (-115) vs. Brett Johns (-105)
Nate Landwehr (-125) vs. Herbert Burns (+105)
