UFC 296 Preliminary Card Overview

UFC 296 is coming this weekend on the UFC fight schedule and the PPV portion of the event is getting all the buzz in the media during fight week. If you are a massive MMA fan, you know how special this preliminary card is–but let’s take a closer look.

The prelims are full of matchups that would easily belong on a UFC Fight Night event’s main card, but the UFC is giving fans a treat to end 2023 strong.

Key Matchups

Martin Buday vs. Shamil Gaziev

We have a UFC heavyweight matchup between Martin Buday and Shamil Gaziev at around 6:30 PM ET to start the early prelims.

Buday is a Dana White’s Contender Series alum currently 4-0 inside the UFC and 13-1 in his professional career. He will be taking on the undefeated Gaziev, who is coming off a DWCS first-round submission win in September that earned him a UFC contract.

Andre Fili vs. Lucas Almeida

The second key fight to watch on the UFC 296 prelims is this featherweight bout. Fili is one of the most talented fighters on the outside of the featherweight top 15, he just has ran into some tough matchups early in his career like Sodiq Yusuff, Bryce Mitchell, and Nathaniel Wood this last summer.

Fili is a long, athletic martial artist with slick boxing skills and always trouble to deal with on the ground. He is going up against an interesting UFC newcomer making his third appearance.

Lucas Almeida is the +140 underdog in this matchup, according to UFC 296 preliminary card fight odds. It’s going to be a tough fight for him against the experienced Fili, but this is one of the underdog bets that make the most sense this weekend.

Alonzo Menifield vs. Dustin Jacoby

Jacoby is a UFC veteran who will always be a fun fight to watch with his crafty striking skills and fight IQ he uses to get past the fighters who are more physically gifted than him.

After Ian Garry pulled out of his fight, this matchup was bumped up to the feature prelim spot to set the table for the PPV card. The UFC 296 preliminary card fight odds have Jacoby as a big -275 betting favorite, but Menifield is dangerous at any moment of the fight and it could end with one clean shot.

Cody Garbrandt vs. Brian Kelleher

The former UFC bantamweight champion and superstar, Cody Garbrandt is looking for a special performance to get himself back in the winning column and hopefully restore some of his confidence going forward.

Kelleher is the perfect matchup for Garbrandt to not be in much danger with power coming back his way, along with being much faster and much more athletic than the UFC veteran who mostly wrestles in the octagon.

Free UFC 296 Preliminary Card Betting Pick

UFC bets are difficult to hit because the sport is so unpredictable and the best always fight the best every weekend. Anything can happen in the 15 minutes two elite fighters are locked inside the cage together and the UFC betting odds don’t do much to help you choose.

To make UFC predictions, you should know as much as possible about the fighters who will compete against each other and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Sometimes sports bettors ignore the preliminary card bouts because those athletes aren’t as well known to the common fan.

For this weekend’s event, the free UFC betting pick for you to tail is taking Cody Garbrandt to win inside the distance at +160, according to UFC 296 preliminary card fight odd. This is his chance to come out with confidence and be offensive against someone who just can’t match his speed or ability. He will most likely KO Kelleher within 2 rounds.

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