UFC 298 odds, prediction: Topuria-Volkanovski, Costa-Whittaker, Lee-Maverick

UFC 298 will be live in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday night as a huge fight card is on tap.

A loaded fight card from top to bottom, the UFC now takes a significant step into the spotlight as the football season ends.

With no college or NFL to bet on, the UFC is now seemingly the only major game in town on weekends.

Eleven straight weekends of fights began last weekend, where we had another 1-1 night at the office.

On the Eve of the Super Bowl, we came with a bit more profit as we nailed a +700 method of victory prop bet.

The victory moved us 5-3 in 2024, with +9.46 units of profit and a phenomenal 118.25% Return on Investment.

Prelims for Saturday’s card begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, on ESPN, and the pay per view moves over at 10 p.m. ET.

UFC 298 odds and predictions

Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski

(+105/-125)

The odds would suggest that bettors and sportsbooks alike are beginning to believe that Alexander Volkanovski is washed.

This was Volkanovski’s first knockout loss in his MMA career, as he was undefeated in his UFC career up until he ran into Makhachev.

This is certainly premature, as Topuria is in a prove-it spot against the reigning champion. Topuria does have the power to test the chin of Volkanovski and find out if it is indeed compromised since the Makhachev KO loss.

The pressure and output of Volkanovski are critical junction points of this fight, as Topuria’s cardio will be heavily tested as we move to the championship rounds.

But having seen Topuria fight 25 minutes against Josh Emmett is enough for me to bite on the budding superstar.

Volkanovski hasn’t looked great recently and was constantly getting rocked in the past against Max Holloway and others — who have much less power than Topuria.

There are warning signs here on Volkanovski, and the sharp bettors know it. Topuria is hungry and is in his prime.

Volkanovski always has fought on thin margins; rewatch those Holloway fights.

Pick: Topuria ML (+110, BetRivers)

Paulo Costa vs. Robert Whittaker

+205/-250

A very interesting fight here as Paulo Costa finally returns to fight ex-champion Robert Whittaker.

Costa was once a budding star, fighting Israel Adesanya for the belt, but his loss in that fight changed his career trajectory for the worse. He struggled in his most recent bout against Luka Rockhold, which was mainly a spectacle, not a fight anyone really needed to see.

Meanwhile, Whittaker, who is coming off a poor showing as a -330 favorite — a knockout loss to current champion Dricus du Plessis — is in a similar spot tonight against Costa.

Costa is the better athlete and heavier hitter who has shown that he can take a shot and deliver some strong volume in return.

Whittaker’s best chances to win are purely in his wrestling. where he has attempted 34 takedowns in his last six fights (14 successful). But Costa is not an easy guy to takedown historically unless his cardio were to fail him, which, to be fair, it did against Rockhold.

Costa defends takedowns at a 79 percent rate, which I see as “good enough” against Whittaker, who is not a wrestler by nature.

Back the underdog in this contest, as Costa is the harder puncher and shouldn’t face too many cardio questions as he appears to be in excellent shape.

Pick: Costa ML (+205, Caesars) | by decision (+650, BetMGM)

Anthony Hernandez vs. Roman Kopylov

-250/+205

Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez faces off against one of the more violent fighters in the middleweight division, Roman Kopylov.

Hernandez is a very solid chain wrestler, having taken down his opponents 14 times on 29 attempts in two fights. He’s become a wrestling fanatic in the octagon with a wild amount of attempts.

Kopylov will need to avoid that for dear life if he is to have a prayer of winning this one, he is far from a good grappler.

But his power is something to behold in its own right; Kopylov should dominate this fight if it were to stay on the feet.

Hernandez won’t want to do that, so it’s hard to really see how this fight goes. But Kopylov at +205 isn’t worth a bet when winning by first-round knockout is roughly half of his win condition.

Bet the method and round combo prop for main card’s opening bout.

Pick: Kopylov by first-round knockout (+850, FanDuel)

Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick

Miranda Maverick comes off a big performance against Priscila Cachoeira in July. She faces a veteran in Andrea Lee an underdog I am very intrigued to bet.

Lee is a solid pressure fighter on the feet, she averages nearly five signature strikes per minute (4.91), a full strike more per minute than Maverick (3.71).

If Maverick is able to land some takedowns she could cover this fight as a bigger favorite, but Lee, who has lost three straight is a good buy low spot.

Lee arguably could’ve grabbed a split-decision win — but was given a loss to budding contender Maycee Barber. She also has a knockdown of Viviane Araujo in the loss, so she’s been very competitive in her career.

Maverick’s striking is too limited, and Lee could take advantage.

This line is too long in what I have as the wrong fighter favored.

Pick: Andrea Lee ML (+165, BetMGM)