Curtis Blaydes is known for his world-class wrestling, but he counts on his opponents underestimating his power. That approach has worked for the UFC’s third-ranked heavyweight, who faces seventh-ranked Alexander Volkov in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov on Saturday in Las Vegas. Their battle closes the curtain on the 12-fight card from the Apex facility, with the main UFC Fight Night card scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Blaydes is a former champion collegiate wrestler, but has seen 10 of his 13 professional wins come by knockout or TKO.
He faces a litmus test against Volkov, who has seen two of his past three victories come by stoppage. Blaydes is a -400 favorite (risk $400 to win $100), while Volkov is offered at +320 in the latest Blaydes vs. Volkov odds at William Hill. In the co-main event atop the UFC fight card, Shane Burgos (-135) takes on Josh Emmett (+115) in a matchup of top-10 featherweights. Before locking your UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov picks, make sure you see what SportsLine MMA expert 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 16 months, $100 bettors who have followed Marley’s picks are up nearly $21,000.
The accomplished MMA analyst has been red-hot as he has connected on 10 consecutive main-event winners, which includes a streak of five straight underdogs. Marley remained in the zone last week, when he told SportsLine members to back Cynthia Calvillo (-135) to get the best of Jessica Eye (+110) in the women’s flyweight main event. Marley reasoned that Calvillo’s superior ground game would allow her to control the action. That’s exactly what happened, as the flyweight newcomer used takedowns and grappling to dominate the fight and win a lopsided unanimous decision. Marley also predicted a win for Marvin Vettori (-200) against Karl Roberson (+175) in the middleweight co-main event. Anyone who has consistently followed Marley is way up.
Now, with UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov 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. Those selections are only available here.
Blaydes vs. Volkov preview
Marley knows the 29-year-old Blaydes (13-2-1) is likely in line for a future title bout provided he keeps winning, though viable opponents are difficult to come by. He easily dispatched former titleholder Junior Dos Santos with a second-round knockout in January.
A win over Volkov (31-7) would be a strong addition to his resume, but it is far from a sure thing. The 31-year-old Russian has won seven of his last eight bouts while showing a daunting mix of power and grappling skills.
Volkov’s lone defeat in that span came to No. 4-ranked Derrick Lewis, who scored a knockout at 4:49 of the third round in their October 2018 bout after Volkov had controlled the action most of the way. He could potentially leapfrog Blaydes in the UFC rankings with an upset. You can see Marley’s full Volkov vs. Blaydes picks here.
Top UFC Fight Night predictions for June 20
We’ll reveal one of Marley’s UFC Fight Night selections here: He is backing Cortney Casey (+100) to upset Gillian Robertson (-120) in a women’s flyweight clash.
Casey (9-7), 33, has cracked the rankings at No. 15 following wins in two of her past three bouts. She defeated fellow contenders Angela Hill and Mara Romero Borella, the latter coming by submission just last month. She received a Performance of the Night bonus for that victory in Jacksonville.
The unranked Robertson (7-4) has gone 3-2 in five UFC bouts since joining the promotion in 2018. The 25-year-old Canadian saw a two-fight winning streak halted with a stoppage loss to rising contender Maycee Barber in October.
“I like Casey to dominate while this fight is on the feet and, the longer this fight goes, the more it will favor her,” Marley told SportsLine.
How to make UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov picks
Marley also has strong picks for Blaydes vs. Volkov and every other bout on the UFC Fight Night card. He’s also backing one fighter “whose big edge is on the mat.” You can see those UFC fight card picks only at SportsLine.
Who wins Blaydes vs. Volkov? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight on the UFC Fight Night card Saturday, all from the accomplished expert who’s up nearly $21,000 and has nailed 10 straight main events, and find out.
UFC Fight Night odds (via William Hill US)
Curtis Blaydes (-400) vs. Alexander Volkov (+320)
Shane Burgos (-135) vs. Josh Emmett (+115)
Raquel Pennington (-140) vs. Marion Reneau (+120)
Belal Muhammad (-145) vs. Lyman Good (+125)
Roosevelt Roberts (-230) vs. Jim Miller (+195)
Bobby Green (-230) vs. Clay Guida (+195)
Matt Frevola (-115) vs. Frank Camacho (-105)
Oskar Piechota (-130) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (+110)
Brianna Van Buren (-200) vs. Tecia Torres (+175)
Gillian Robertson (-120) vs. Cortney Casey (+100)
Roxanne Modafferi (-120) vs. Lauren Murphy (+100)
Max Rohskopf (-155) vs. Austin Hubbard (+135)
