Aleksei Oleinik and Alistair Overeem are heavyweights who embody the definition of true mixed-martial artists. Their range of skills will be on full display Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 149 in Russia. The 12-fight UFC Fight Night 149 card takes place at the Yubileyny Sports Palace in Saint Petersburg. The main card is set for 1 p.m. ET. Oleinik (57-11), the UFC’s No. 9-ranked heavyweight, is known for his lethal chokes and has seen 14 of his last 16 wins come via submission. Overeem (44-17), ranked No. 7, is accomplished in several MMA disciplines and has a K-1 kickboxing championship to his credit. Overeem is a -240 favorite (risk $240 to win $100), while Oleinik is a +190 underdog (risk $100 to win $190) in the latest Overeem vs. Oleinik odds. In the co-main event, Islam Makhachev takes on Arman Tsarukyan in a middleweight bout. Makhachev is -300 in the latest Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan odds after the line stood at -320 on Saturday. Before locking in any UFC Fight Night 149 picks of your own, be sure to see the predictions from MMA guru Kyle Marley.
Marley won the first-ever “ToutMaster” UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and DFS shows. He watches every single fight for every single UFC card and does extensive research before each event.
Over the past year, $100 bettors who have followed Marley’s picks are up more than $20,000, It’s an astonishing cash rate that shows the depth of Marley’s knowledge.
Just last week for the epic UFC 236 card, Marley told SportsLine members that underdog Dustin Poirier (+185) would win a close decision against Max Holloway (-225) in a bout for the interim lightweight title. That’s exactly what happened, as Poirier took the upper hand in a classic battle between two of the UFC’s top pound-for-pound fighters.
Also, in the UFC 236 co-main event, Marley predicted that favored Israel Adesanya (-175) would clip a narrow decision against the fierce Kelvin Gastelum (+155). Marley was spot on again, as Adesanya used a dominant fifth round to emerge victorious in a bout that’s an early candidate for Fight of the Year. Anyone who has followed Marley’s lead is way, way up.
Now, with UFC Fight Night 149 fast approaching, Marley has carefully studied every matchup on the 12-fight UFC Fight Night card, identified the best value in the UFC odds and released his MMA picks for every single fight. He’s sharing them only over at SportsLine.
Marley knows both of these heavyweight veterans are likely to have a sense of urgency, as the winner is likely to vault upward in the rankings, while the loser might permanently fade from title contention. Overeem, 38, is a decorated mixed-martial artist who has starred for several promotions and also been a world-champion kickboxer. But he lost a UFC heavyweight title bout to Stipe Miocic in 2016 and has since suffered defeats to contenders Curtis Blaydes and Francis Ngannou. Meanwhile, Oleinik, 42, is a bit of a late bloomer in the UFC, but has won four of his past five bouts. He saw his stock rise with September’s first-round submission of Hunt, one of the sport’s heaviest punchers. You can only get Marley’s Overeem vs. Oleinik and Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan picks at SportsLine.
One pick we’ll share for UFC Fight Night 149: Marley is backing Marcelo Golm to upset Sergei Pavlovich as a +230 underdog in a main card bout.
“These guys are big heavyweights with one-punch KO power,” Marley told SportsLine.” All of Golm’s wins have come in Round 1 and Pavlovich has nine of his 12 wins coming via first round KO as well. A knockout in Round 1 or 2 from either fighter is the most likely outcome and it could come down to who lands that big shot first. I don’t see either one looking for takedowns here, so this will be a standup fight until one guy falls. I don’t agree with the line being this spread out, so I am siding with the underdog for value.”
Golm, a Brazilian, is 6-2 and will be highly motivated coming off two straight losses. Prior to that, he had won four of five fights via first round knockout, including a victory over Italo Marques in 18 seconds. Book Golm over Pavlovich via TKO as one of your top UFC Saint Petersburg picks.
Marley also has picks locked in for Overeem vs. Oleinik, Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan and every other fight on this stacked UFC on ESPN+ 7 card. Those selections are only available at SportsLine.
Who wins Overeem vs. Oleinik and Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan? And how does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks for every fight on the UFC Fight Night 149 card, all from the incomparable expert who’s up more than $20,000 in MMA picks in the past year.
