UFC championship fights require the combatants to be exactly on weight. You could almost hear the sigh of relief when Deiveson Figueiredo (18-1) and Joseph Benavidez (28-6) hit 125 pounds on the nose in Friday’s weigh-in. Their battle for the vacant flyweight title is the main event of UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez on Saturday. Figueiredo missing weight was what cost him the belt in February, even though he took Benavidez down in the second round via TKO. He hopes to prove that win was no fluke as Saturday’s main UFC Fight Night card gets underway at 8 p.m. ET from Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

However, the 35-year old Benavidez would love nothing more than to finally cap an illustrious career with a championship after falling short in his last three title shots. Figueiredo is a -220 favorite (risk $220 to win $100), while Benavidez is a +180 (risk $100 to win $180) underdog in the latest UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez odds from William Hill. In the co-main event, Jack Hermansson (-110) takes on Kelvin Gastelum (-110) in a middleweight fight. Before making your UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez picks, make sure you see what SportsLine MMA analyst Kyle Marley has to say. 

The accomplished expert has been on fire, as he has hit 14 consecutive main-event winners. Last Saturday, Marley went 5-0 on the main card of UFC 251 and told SportsLine members to expect Kamaru Usman to successfully defend his belt with a unanimous-decision victory over Jorge Masvidal. The champion did just that, as the judges’ scorecard featured a pair of 50-45s and a 49-46 in his favor.

Marley also called a decision win by Calvin Kattar (-300) over Dan Ige (+250) in their featherweight main event at UFC Fight Night on Wednesday. Over the past 16 months, $100 bettors who have followed Marley’s MMA picks are up nearly $21,000.

Now, with UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez rapidly approaching, Marley has carefully studied every matchup on the card, identified the best value in the UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez odds and released his picks for every fight. Those UFC Fight Night picks only are available here. 

Figueiredo vs. Benavidez preview

Figueiredo (18-1), the top-ranked contender in the flyweight division, has registered three consecutive victories since suffering his only loss as a professional in March 2019. The 32-year-old Brazilian came out on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Jussier Formiga in that matchup, ending his string of 15 straight wins to begin his career.

A former 57-kg Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Northeast Brazil champion, Figueiredo has gone the distance only four times in 19 professional fights. He has recorded half of his 18 victories via knockout and six others by submission.

Benavidez (28-6) had won three consecutive fights and nine of 10 before losing to Figueiredo in February. However, the 32-year-old southpaw from Texas has not had any success when challenging for a title during his career, falling in his previous four attempts, including three for the UFC belt. You can see Marley’s full Figueiredo vs. Benavidez picks at SportsLine. 

Top UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez predictions

We’ll share one of Marley’s UFC Fight Night predictions here: He is backing Rafael Fiziev (+140) to upset Marc Diakiese (-165) via decision in a lightweight bout.

Diakiese won both of his UFC fights in 2019, claiming unanimous decision victories against Lando Vannata and Joseph Duffy. But he had dropped his three previous fights, proving to be vulnerable against lesser-known fighters like Nasrat Haqparast and Drakkar Klose. 

Fiziev, meanwhile, lost his UFC debut to Magomed Mustafaev but came back with a strong unanimous victory over Alex White last September. Diakiese is an accomplished grappler, but Fiziev has the clear-cut edge when it comes to landing significant strikes, averaging 4.08 per minute to Diakiese’s 2.86. 

“I can see Fiziev being the faster and more dangerous fighter who wins the striking by landing more. He’ll also land a bigger variety of shots,” Marley told SportsLine. 

How to make UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez picks

Marley also has strong picks for Figueiredo vs. Benavidez and every other bout on the UFC Fight Night card. He’s also backing one combatant who “can steal close rounds.“ You can see those UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez picks only at SportsLine.

Who wins Figueiredo vs. Benavidez at UFC Fight Night? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez card, all from the accomplished expert who’s up nearly $21,000 and has nailed 14 straight main events, and find out.

UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez odds (via William Hill)

Deiveson Figueiredo (-220) vs. Joseph Benavidez (+180)
Jack Hermansson (-110) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (-110)
Marc Diakiese (-165) vs. Rafael Fiziev (+140)
Ariane Lipski (-115) vs. Luana Carolina (-110)
Alexandre Pantoja (-200) vs. Askar Askarov (+170)
Roman Dolidze (-160) vs. Khadis Ibragimov (+135)
Grant Dawson (-240) vs. Nad Narimani (+200)
Joe Duffy (-330) vs. Joel Alvarez (+260)
Brett Johns (+175) vs. Montel Jackson (-210)
Malcolm Gordon (+130) vs. Amir Albazi (-155)
Davi Ramos (+175) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (-210)
Carlos Felipe (+145) vs. Serghei Spivac (-170)