UFC 260 predictions, odds: Stipe Miocic, Vicente Luque among three best bets for a loaded fight card
We dig deep to find the best plays for Saturday night's action at UFC 260 in Las Vegas
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4 min read
UFC 260 is here. The heavyweight title rematch fans have been dying to see is ready to kick off from Las Vegas on Saturday night when champion Stipe Miocic takes on top contender Francis Ngannou in the main event. Miocic is coming off a trilogy battle with Daniel Cormier over the last three years where he won two of the three meetings. This after Miocic tamed the beast in Ngannou in 2018 for a unanimous decision win.
Meanwhile, the rest of the card may not offer a ton of name value, but there's still interesting things to peruse when looking for bets to make. Former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is looking to end a three-fight losing skid when he faces fast rising contender Vicente Luque, who has 17 stoppages in 19 victories. Plus, knockout artist "Suga" Sean O'Malley is back and looking to get in the win column again when he faces veteran Thomas Almeida.
While moneyline and straight bets on fights can be fun, we're here to help with some of the top prop offerings available for this 10-fight card event. There's plenty of value to be found when you start digging deep into all the options offered around a fight. Let's take a closer look at the three best bets for Saturday night with the latest odds from William Hill Sportsbook.
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Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou
| Method of result | Odds |
|---|---|
Miocic via KO/TKO/DQ | +200 |
| Miocic via submission | +1200 |
Miocic via decision | +450 |
Ngannou via KO/TKO/DQ | +105 |
Ngannou via submission | +1000 |
Ngannou via decision | +1200 |
Draw | +6600 |
Fight goes the distance: YES | +275 |
Fight goes the distance: NO | -400 |
Pick: Miocic via decision (+450) -- We have somewhat recent data to pull from with the meeting between the two in January 2018. We saw then that Miocic could land a lot of clean, heavy punches and Ngannou's chin held up. Ngannou also cracked Miocic and the champion was able to take it, but Miocic has been knocked out twice, and neither Daniel Cormier or Stefan Struve hit as hard as Ngannou. All that said, you have to go back to April 2016 to find a fight Ngannou won after the two-minute mark. And you won't find a single fight he won after the second round ended. If Miocic follows his same path to victory as the first fight, utilizing his wrestling, the odds of the decision tick up considerably. Similarly, with every minute that goes by in the fight, the odds increase. A knockout either direction would not surprise -- which is why the odds are what they are -- but the chances that Miocic grinds out the decision feel stronger than the 18% implied odds that +450 represents.
Kharma Worthy vs. Jamie Mullarkey
| Method of result | Odds |
|---|---|
Worthy via KO/TKO/DQ | +225 |
Worthy via submission | +550 |
Worthy via decision | +450 |
Mullarkey via KO/TKO/DQ | +450 |
Mullarkey via submission | +1200 |
Mullarkey via decision | +650 |
| Draw | +6600 |
Fight goes the distance: YES | +150 |
Fight goes the distance: NO | -200 |
Pick: Worthy via KO/TKO/DQ (+225) -- Mullarkey has struggled in his UFC fights, going 0-2 so far in his Octagon career. Worthy is coming off a loss in his most recent fight, but does have nine knockout victories on his resume, while Mullarkey has been stopped by punches twice in his career. One of those KO losses came to current UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, but it does show that Mullarkey's chin is able to be cracked. Desperation to get a win and remain under contract with the UFC could place Mullarkey into situations where he is trying to force action, which opens up opportunities for Worthy to land some of his heavy strikes. Given there's not a ton of value on the odds by round or the over/under 1.5 rounds lines, Worthy managing to score another stoppage win in the Octagon seems a solid play.
Vicente Luque vs. Tyron Woodley
| Method of result | Odds |
|---|---|
Luque via KO/TKO/DQ | +275 |
Luque via submission | +550 |
Luque via decision | +150 |
Woodley via KO/TKO/DQ | +550 |
Woodley via submission | +1400 |
Woodley via decision | +333 |
Fight goes the distance: YES | -150 |
Fight goes the distance: NO | +110 |
Pick: Luque via KO/TKO/DQ (+275) -- Woodley has, to put it bluntly, looked awful nearly every second in the Octagon since the opening bell for his fight with Kamaru Usman. In fights with Usman, Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington, Woodley has been outlanded 724 to 192 in total strikes and 302 to 96 in significant strikes. He has also been taken down seven times across those fights, more than double all his fights prior. Luque is absolutely a finisher, with 11 wins by knockout, six by submission and only one by decision. Woodley is tough to stop, but he's been taking prolonged beatings, is coming off a TKO loss where he suffered an injury and fighting worse than ever before. If you feel like couching a Luque via KO bet, you can get a +188 line on William Hill for Luque by any form of stoppage, including submission.
Who wins Miocic vs. Ngannou, and which picks do you need to parlay together for a mammoth payout of almost 20-1? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on UFC 260, all from the ultimate insider who went an amazing 58-14 on picks last year.
