Win or lose, Amanda Nunes will make history when she faces Felicia Spencer on Saturday in the main event of UFC 250 in Las Vegas. The famed two-division champion defends her featherweight belt to top the 12-bout UFC 250 fight card at the Apex facility, with the main card set for 10 p.m. ET. Nunes will become the first female UFC champion ever to defend a title in two weight classes and just the third overall. Daniel Cormier and Henry Cejudo are the others.
Spencer hopes to spoil the party by pulling one of the biggest title-fight upsets in recent memory. Nunes is a -650 favorite (risk $650 to win $100), while Spencer is going off as a +475 underdog (risk $100 to win $475) in the latest Nunes vs. Spencer odds at William Hill. In the co-main event atop the UFC 250 card, former title challenger Cody Garbrandt (-145) takes on Raphael Assuncao (+125) in a battle of bantamweight contenders. Before making any UFC 250 picks of your own, make sure you 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 15 months, $100 bettors who have followed Marley’s picks are up more than $20,000.
The accomplished MMA analyst has been on fire and is coming off a strong 8-3 mark for UFC Fight Night last weekend. He also has nailed a whopping eight consecutive main-event winners, which includes five straight underdogs.
Last week, he told SportsLine members to expect a unanimous-decision win for Gilbert Burns (+150) against Tyron Woodley (-170) in the welterweight main event. He reasoned that Burns’ edge in activity level and aggression would be the difference, and that’s exactly what happened as the No. 6-rated Burns dominated the fading former champion from the opening bell. Anyone who has consistently followed Marley is way up.
Now with UFC 250 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 fight. He’s only sharing those selections here.
Nunes vs. Spencer preview
Nunes (19-4) is now widely considered the top female MMA fighter of all time. Her legacy started with her 48-second destruction of Ronda Rousey in December 2016 and was cemented with a 51-second knockout of Cyborg two years later. The hard-punching Brazilian was 9-4 in her MMA career following a stoppage loss to Cat Zingano in September 2014. She has since won 10 straight bouts, seven coming by stoppage, while becoming a two-division titleholder. The 32-year-old also won the bantamweight title from Miesha Tate at UFC 200 and has successfully defended it five times.
Spencer (8-1), 29, has emerged as a rising star on the strength of three strong performances in the UFC while going 2-1. Her lone defeat came in a competitive decision loss to Cyborg last July. The Canadian bounced back with a first-round stoppage of Zarah Fairn Dos Santos in February. There are many observers who believe her varied skill set and resilience provide a legitimate threat to Nunes. You can only see Marley’s Spencer vs. Nunes picks here.
Top UFC 250 predictions
We’ll reveal one of Marley’s UFC 250 predictions here: He’s backing Herbert Burns (-240) to defeat Evan Dunham (+200) in a catchweight bout (150 pounds). Burns is the younger brother of Gilbert Burns, a rising star in the welterweight division who defeated former champion Tyron Woodley last weekend.
The younger Burns (10-2) made a name for himself with promising showings in promotions like One FC and Titan FC before breaking through with the UFC. He won his debut in January with a first-round knockout of Nate Landwehr.
Dunham (18-8-1) is a UFC veteran who made his debut with the promotion in 2009. But he’s 0-2-1 in his last three bouts and hasn’t registered a win since September 2016.
“Burns had a big win in his UFC debut and his brother is coming off a huge win last weekend, so his confidence is riding high,” Marley told SportsLine. “This could be close on the feet, but I favor Burns there, and he also has a big edge on the ground.”
How to make UFC 250 picks
Marley also has strong picks for Nunes vs. Spencer and every other bout on the UFC 250 card. He’s also backing one fighter who “can win by knockout, submission, or decision.” You can see those UFC picks at SportsLine.
Who wins Nunes vs. Spencer? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight on the UFC 250 card, all from the accomplished MMA expert who’s up more than $20,000 and has nailed eight straight main event winners, and find out.
UFC 250 odds
Amanda Nunes (-650) vs. Felicia Spencer (+475)
Cody Garbrandt (-145) vs. Raphael Assuncao (+125)
Aljamain Sterling (-115) vs. Cory Sandhagen (-105)
Neil Magny (-145) vs. Anthony Rocco Martin (+125)
Sean O’Malley (-440) vs. Eddie Wineland (+360)
Chase Hooper (-150) vs. Alex Caceres (+130)
Ian Heinisch (-125) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (+105)
Cody Stamann (-275) vs. Brian Kelleher (+235)
Charles Byrd (-170) vs. Maki Pitolo (+150)
Alex Perez (-140) vs. Jussier Formiga (+120)
Alonzo Menifield (-220) vs. Devin Clark (+190)
Herbert Burns (-240) vs. Evan Dunham (+200)
