UFC Contender Series Odds: James Llontop vs. Malik Lewis prediction

Contender Series Week 6: James Llontop vs. Malik Lewis continues with the featured bout on the fight card in the lightweight division between James Llontop and Malik Lewis. Llontop comes into the biggest opportunity of his career on the heels of 11-straight victories meanwhile, Alujas comes into her first appearance on the Contender Series winning five consecutive fights. That said, check out our UFC odds series for our Llontop-Lewis prediction and pick.

James Llontop (13-2) is a Peruvian prospect who is the Fusion FC Welterweight Champion which is the top regional promotion in Peru. He is another young fighter on this week's Contender Series with a ton of experience with 15 professional fights at just 24 years of age. Llontop looks hungry and poised to break out when he takes on Contender Series alumni Malik Lewis on Tuesday night.

Malik Lewis (6-1) already fought on the Contender Series on short notice when he took on fan-favorite Trevor Peek. He looked good early in the fight almost knocking out Peek to only fade down the stretch to lose by ground-and-pound TKO. Lewis was able to get back on the regional circuit to get a win to capture the Peak Fighting Lightweight Championship before he got his second chance on the Contender Series. He looks to make the most of his second opportunity when he takes on James Llontop this Tuesday night on the Contender Series.

Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

Contender Series Week 6 Odds: James Llontop-Malik Lewis Odds

James Llontop: -182

Malik Lewis: +142

How to Watch James Llontop vs. Malik Lewis

TV: ESPN+

Stream: ESPN+

Time: 8:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 p.m. PT

Why James Llontop Will Win

James Llontop has fought all of his professional career for the Peruvian regional promotion Fusion FC where he fought the majority of the time as a lightweight but he most recently moved up in weight to capture the promotion's welterweight championship that he was able to defend twice before he relinquished his title for a chance on the Contender Series.

He does his best work on the feet at kicking range where he is able to utilize his long limbs and crushing leg kicks against his opponents. Llontop does a great job moving in and out of range and switching stances to keep his opponents guessing making it hard for them to time his attacks and counter him. Lewis will certainly have trouble if he wants to keep this strictly a kickboxing match and even if he wants to take this fight to the mat, Llontop has shown good takedown defense to keep this fight on the feet. As long as this fight is able to keep to stay on the feet Llontop has the chance to get the job done and secure his UFC contract.

Why Malik Lewis Will Win

Malik Lewis got his first crack on the Contender Series in 2022 when he took on Trevor Peek to whom he eventually was finished by TKO in the second round. He looked like he was on the verge of getting the knockout and the contract in the first round but Peek was able to hang in there to weather the early storm which then Lewis faded and got finished shortly thereafter.

Lewis is hoping the second time is the charm when he takes on Peru's James Llontop in this week's featured bout on the Contender Series. Lewis will need to mix things up as he did against Peek to keep Llontop from just staying at range and blasting his with kicks at distance. This time around he will need to conserve his energy because as we all saw against Peek after just five minutes of action he had nothing left. If Lewis can push Llontop like he hasn't been pushed before he has a real chance of scoring the upset and securing that UFC contract.

Final James Llontop-Malik Lewis Prediction & Pick

The UFC matchmakers did a good job putting this fight together as both fighters are high octane and all action right from the jump. Llontop has shown great striking abilities, the way he is able to mix it up and keep his opponents at the end of his strikes which is something that will be needed against a long, lanky, and aggressive fighter in Malik Lewis.

Lewis looked like a world-beater for a whole five minutes against Trevor Peek but his inexperience showed when he blew his wad and succumbed to ground-and-pound shortly after the first round. We could see very much of the same in this fight especially if Lewis looks to grapple early which I fully expect him to do. Ultimately, things get dicey in round one when Lewis looks to drag this fight to the mat even possibly getting Llontop's back, while there is a chance that Llontop could survive and get out of round one where his chances of winning increase mightily he will succumb to the rear-naked choke in round one securing Lewis' UFC contract.

Final James Llontop-Malik Lewis Prediction & Pick: Malik Lewis (+142)