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Below, you will find our UFC 296 best bets as well as some great Michigan sportsbook promotional offers:
Welterweight champ Leon Edwards is on an all-time tear, having not lost a fight since 2015. Over that span, “Rocky” has rattled off 11 victories to go along with a no-contest. The 32-year-old shocked the world with his fifth-round head-kick KO of Kamaru Usman in August 2022.
Meanwhile, top contender Colby Covington will be making his third attempt at attaining welterweight gold. Covington possesses a well-rounded skillset, along with boasting perhaps the best cardio in the sport.
Notably, Covington has gone the distance eight times throughout his UFC career, while Edwards has reached the final bell on 11 occasions in the octagon. We like the champ to retain his belt via decision, in a highly-competitive affair.
The first world title bout to take place at UFC 296 will feature Alexandre Pantoja making his title defense against Brandon Royval.
Pantoja holds one victory over Royval already, submitting him via rear-naked choke in August 2021. Impressively, the Brazilian has earned a performance bonus in five of his last seven appearances.
Royval is equally as entertaining, earning four performance bonuses in seven UFC bouts. In his previous two bouts, the 31-year-old has obtained back-to-back first-round stoppage victories.
Our first upset pick of the night is Josh Emmett over Bryce Mitchell, who is stepping in on short notice for the injured Giga Chikadze.
Emmett is in the midst of a two-fight losing streak, albeit against top performers Yair Rodriguez and Ilia Topuria. Meanwhile, Mitchell rebounded from his loss to Topuria with a victory over Dan Ige via decision.
Mitchell is considered to be one of, if not, the best submission artist in the featherweight division, but we like Emmett’s advantage on his feet in this matchup. Emmett should be able to utilize his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt to keep this bout standing more often than not.
A $20 wager at +185 odds will yield a $57.00 payout.
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Like the Garry/Luque matchup, this bout features a highly-touted rising star in Shavkat Rakhmonov taking on a crafty veteran in Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
Rakhmonov is a different animal though, scoring five straight finishes inside the octagon. We like that streak to end against Thompson however, who has been stopped just once throughout his 24-fight pro career.
Would we be surprised if Thompson does enough to bear Rakhmonov? Yes, but that doesn’t mean we don’t think the former title challenger can hang in there and use his unique striking arsenal to have some success. Rakhmonov by decision.
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