UFC 293 Predictions: Full Card, Prelims Betting Picks

The UFC returns to Sydney with a massive fight card this weekend. Israel Adesanya will defend his title against Sean Strickland and Tai Tuivasa will try to beat Volkov in front of his own crowd. We have a wild event to work with and here are our UFC 293 predictions.

UFC 293 Predictions: A Wild Main Card

Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland Prediction

Israel Adesanya is a two-time UFC middleweight champion. In kickboxing, he is a former Glory tournament champion. The Last Stylebender has many mixed martial arts awards in his collection. The 34-year-old American has 24 wins (16 by knockout, eight by decision) and two losses.

Adesanya defeated Brazilian Alex Pereira (knockout) in his last fight in April 2023 and regained his championship title. However, before that, he lost to the Latin American (technical knockout) in November 2022. Israel holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Sean Strickland is fifth in the division rankings. He is the former King of the Cage Middleweight Champion. The 32-year-old American has 27 victories (11 by knockout, 12 by decision, four by submission) and five defeats. Tarzan has won his last two fights.

In January 2023, he defeated Nassourdine Imavov (unanimous decision) from France. And then he beat Abusupiyan Magomedov (technical knockout) from Germany. Strickland holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Bookmaker analysts consider Adesanya the undisputed favorite for the upcoming fight. In general, we can agree with them for our UFC 293 predictions. Strickland fights unsuccessfully against strong opponents. In 2022, he lost to American Jared Cannonier (split) and Brazilian Alex Pereira (knockout). Adesanya, in turn, beat both recently. He also has a huge reach advantage over Strickland, whose style is to get as close to you as possible. Adesanya should be able to keep him away and win again.

• Adesanya To Win and Over 2.5 Rounds (Combined)

Tai Tuivasa vs Alexander Volkov Prediction

Tai Tuivasa is ranked sixth in the division rankings. In 2017, he signed a contract with the UFC. Previously, Bam Bam competed in the Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) and Gladiators Cage Fighting (GCF). The Australian was defeated in his last two fights, losing to Frenchman Ciryl Gane (knockout) and Russian Serghei Pavlovich (knockout).

The 30-year-old fighter from the Green Continent has 14 victories (13 by knockout, one by decision) and six defeats. Tuivasa, in addition to MMA, practices boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai separately.

Alexander Volkov is a former Bellator heavyweight champion and M-1 Challenge champion. He has been competing in the UFC since 2016. He is ranked eighth in the division rankings. The 34-year-old Russian has 36 wins (24 by knockout, nine by decision, three by submission) and ten defeats. The Moscow native's arsenal includes Ashihara karate, boxing, kickboxing, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Volkov won the last two fights. He prevailed over Surinamese Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Alexander Romanov from Moldova.

Bookmaker analysts consider Volkov to be the clear favorite for the upcoming fight and we agree with them for our UFC 293 predictions. Tuivasa is clearly in poor physical shape and not in the best psychological state after two defeats in a row. Moreover, it turned out that the Australian was unsuccessful in fighting strong opponents. Alexander will be at a disadvantage as the whole arena will be behind Bam Bam. Nevertheless, he should win this with a KO.

• Volkov to win via KO/TKO/Submission

Manel Kape vs Felipe Dos Santos Prediction

Manel Kape is tenth in the division rankings. He is a former Rizin Fighting Federation and Knock Out Championship champion. Starboy signed with UFC in 2021. The 29-year-old Portuguese has 16 wins (ten by knockout, two by decision, four by submission) and six defeats in mixed martial arts.

Manel's winning streak is three fights. In the latter, in December 2022, he defeated David Dvorak (unanimous decision).

Felipe dos Santos will make his debut fight in the UFC. Before he joined the promotion, he competed in the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA), and Brazilian Fighting Series (BFS), but did not achieve much success. Lipe Detona defeated his compatriot Hugo Paiva (unanimous) in his last fight. The 22-year-old Brazilian has eight wins (three by knockout, two by decision, three by submission) and no defeats in MMA.

Bookmakers believe that Kape is the undisputed favorite of the upcoming fight and we agree with them for our UFC 293 predictions. Santos is a talented fighter, but too young for the world's strongest promotion. We expect a dominant performance and an early win.

• Kape to Win via KO/TKO/Submission

UFC 293 Prelims Predictions: One Fight That's Worth Betting On

Carlos Ulberg vs Da Woon Jung Prediction

Carlos is a basic kickboxer and prefers to fight in a standing position. Ulberg is distinguished by impressive striking power, high speed, and good fighting intelligence.

Ulberg skillfully feints, trying to confuse his opponent and prepare for the decisive blow. But as an MMA fighter, Ulberg is not yet experienced enough. He has good takedown defense, but once on the ground, he can't compete with wrestlers. The New Zealander makes mistakes, which cause him to miss out on good positions.

Jung prefers to work in a stand-up position. He aggressively puts pressure on his opponent, throwing powerful and accurate single punches. We would like to note the good cardio of the Korean. He can work without slowing down throughout the entire fight.

Da Woon Jung is a cautious fighter. Against passive opponents, he puts out passive pressure: he pushes the opponent towards the net but does not attack a lot. This deprives him of the opportunity to earn points. Due to the Korean's passivity, his fight with Sam Alvey ended in a draw.

Bookmakers consider Ulberg the big favorite to win here and we absolutely agree with them for our UFC 293 predictions. Ulberg is not as experienced as his opponent but he is far more talented and more dangerous. Both fighters here prefer to fight on their feet and the majority of their victories ended with KO/TKO wins. We expect a knockout win for Ulberg here.

• Ulberg via KO/TKO/Submission

UFC 293 Full Card Prediction: The Best of the Rest

The prelims and early prelims of the UFC 293 fight card are filled with young prospects and fighters who have been waiting for a chance for years. There isn't much to bet on with confidence and this is why we selected one more main event bout for our UFC 293 predictions.

Justin Tafa vs Austen Lane Prediction

Justin Tafa is a former Australian professional rugby player. “Bad Man” came to professional MMA in 2017 and two years later he made his debut in the UFC. Tafa won his last two fights. Including in February 2023 over the American Parker Porter (knockout).

The 29-year-old Australian fighter has six wins (six by knockout) and three losses. He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Austen Lane is a former defensive end for several National Football League (NFL) teams. He played cornerback, including for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The team from Florida selected him in the 2010 draft in the fifth round at number 153. The 35-year-old native of Illinois came to professional mixed martial arts in 2017 and won four victories in a row.

Then Austen lost several fights, but then he again began a successful streak – six wins in a row, after which he signed a contract with the UFC. Lane has ten wins (nine by knockout) and three losses.

Bookmaker analysts consider Tafa is the clear favorite for the upcoming fight and we agree with them for our UFC 293 predictions. Lane is a good fighter, but he still lacks experience in the promotion at this high level. And the Australian has been showing excellent results lately. The two met in June for their first fight which ended in the first round after an accidental eye poke. So, they agreed to try again here. Back then, we predicted the win for Tafa too.