UFC 297: Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva odds, picks and predictions

In a 5-round women’s bantamweight championship bout in the co-main event, Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva meet Saturday at UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the UFC 297: Pennington vs. Bueno Silva odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.

The early prelims begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+, while the prelims can be viewed on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET. The main card begins on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET.

Records: Pennington (15-9-0) | Bueno Silva (10-2-1)

Pennington takes the walk to the octagon with 5 consecutive victories since a unanimous-decision setback to Holly Holm at UFC 246. She has ended up going the distance in 7 of the past 8 fights, with a submission win over Macy Chiasson in Dec. 2021 as the lone fight inside the distance. She had a split-decision win over Ketlen Vieira in mid-January 2023 in her most recent bout.

Bueno Silva initially was believed to have a submission win via standing ninja choke in Round 2 against Holm last time out in the main event. However, Bueno Silva tested positive for a banned substance, and the result was changed to a no contest. She was fined 15% of the fight purse, and suspended until Nov. 29, 2023 as a result.

Pennington holds a slight 1-inch reach advantage, while Bueno Silva has a 4.16-to-4.02 significant strikes landed per minute advantage. Pennington is better on takedowns, posting a 0.93 takedown average, to just 0.35 for MBS. Bueno Silva has registered a 1.59 submission average to 0.62 for Pennington.

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UFC 297: Pennington vs. Bueno Silva odds

BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:30 p.m. ET.

UFC 297: Pennington vs. Bueno Silva picks and predictions

PENNINGTON (+140) has been rolling along, winning 5 consecutive fights, including 4 going the distance. As such, playing PENNINGTON BY POINTS (+200), for a chance to double up, is a solid play in the “Round Betting” department.

In fact, Pennington has ended up going the distance in 7 of her past 8 fights. If you don’t want to declare her the winner, but would like action on the fight, playing YES (-120): FIGHT TO GO THE DISTANCE? is a solid value, too.

Over 3.5 Rounds (-185) is a little on the pricey side, costing you nearly 2 times your potential return.

Instead, focus on the 2-way moneyline and the distance play.

PASS on the total rounds Over/Under section.