UFC Fight Night predictions: Vegas 85 odds, picks for Dolidze vs. Imavov

UFC Fight Night returns this weekend with Doldize vs. Imavov as the calendar really gets going in 2024.

This weekend is the beginning of 10 straight weeks of UFC fights, which should help fill the gaps left by the conclusion of the NFL season.

UFC Vegas 85 will feature 13 fights, assuming no last-second cancellations, with fights beginning at 4 p.m. ET, with the prelim card.

The main card begins at 7 p.m. ET.

Our year began with a bang at UFC 297, as we nailed two underdog bets as Dricus Du Plessis (+100) won the middleweight title and Neil Magny (+3.5, +210) scored a shocking round three win over Mike Malott.

The strong beginning scored us 3.1 units of profitability and a 2-0 start to the year.

We’ve seen Dolidze shock the MMA world with several victories as underdogs, and he comes in as the same underdog opposite Nassourdine Imavov.

We haven’t seen Dolidze in almost a year since he lost to Marvin Vettori, but it was a very close fight, and many had it scored for him.

But Vettori came out with the win, and now Imavov will have to focus on maintaining control of this fight.

At his best, Dolidze has been a little lucky with his win over Jack Hermansson but also has frustrated bettors with an embarrassing loss to Trevin Giles.

No one would doubt Dolidze’s talent, but his cardio is a major concern in five-round fights.

The common denominator is they both fought Phil Hawes, a fight Dolidze won and Imavov lost.

The line is a bit long here on an improving Dolidze, but Imavov also had a solid performance against Sean Strickland before he was crowned champion.

I’d prefer to bet the overs on this main event, as Imavov is pretty good at avoiding serious trouble, and if a finish doesn’t happen in the early minutes, it could be a low volume snooze fest.

Pick: Fight goes the distance (+175) on BetRivers and over 2.5 rounds (-163) on FanDuel.

It’s probably the best fight on the card as Renato Moicano faces off against Drew Dober on Saturday night, and this one has the makings of fireworks this evening.

Dober is one of the best knockout artists in the sport, while all it takes is one grappling exchange for Moicano to end this fight. His rear-naked choke is among the best in the UFC; it’s by far his best path to victory.

Dober has been submitted four times in the UFC and is not a strong grappler. But of concern is that Moicano is not a takedown maestro; he’s more of a submission threat that forces grappling through his offense.

Initially, Dober was listed as a favorite but has since been bet to deep underdog status at +163.

I bet the reverse line movement on this one, +163, is much too far of a movement, considering Dober was a favorite not long ago.

Pick: Dober moneyline (+163, BetRivers)

A fight that was originally booked for December is now rescheduled, with Randy Brown set to take on Muslim Salikhov.

Salikhov is a huge +230 underdog against Brown, whose main path to victory is submission. Salimhov, though, has solid 73 percent takedown defense and a significantly better striker.

Brown’s cardio is also suspect, making those body kicks from Salikhov an enticing angle to get a victory.

+230 is also just too long, back Salikhov to win on the moneyline at +230 as the biggest underdog bet on the card.

PICK: Muslim Salikhov ML (+230, Caesars)