Serghei Spivac believes he deserves to be recognized among the world's elite heavyweights, and he has a chance to prove it Saturday when he takes on former title challenger Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac. The battle of ranked contenders will anchor the main UFC fight card (4 p.m. ET) from the Apex facility in Las Vegas. The No. 12-ranked Spivac has won five of his last six fights but hasn't received the level of recognition garnered by other rising heavyweight prospects. This is in large part because he lost two of his first three outings with the promotion and has faced a relatively meager slate of opposition. That changes Saturday when he meets the No. 7-ranked Lewis, who has faced the division's biggest names and needs a win to remain in the upper tier of the rankings.
Caesars Sportsbook lists Spivac as a -190 favorite (risk $190 to win $100), while Lewis comes back at +170 in the latest UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac odds. In the co-main event, light heavyweight prospects take the cage as Kennedy Nzechukwu (-175) meets Ion Cutelaba (+155). Before locking in any UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac picks, make sure you check out the MMA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine combat analyst Kyle Marley.
Marley won the first-ever "ToutMaster" UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and daily Fantasy shows. He watches every single fight for every professional MMA card and does extensive research before each event.
Over the past three-plus years, $100 bettors who have followed Marley's picks are up more than $13,000. The accomplished MMA analyst kicked off the 2022 UFC season in January by advising SportsLine members to back Calvin Kattar (+200) against Giga Chikadze (-240) in the featherweight main event. Kattar's lopsided unanimous-decision victory gave Marley's followers another easy winner. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, with UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac in sight, Marley has studied the card from top to bottom and revealed his top selections. Marley's UFC Fight Night picks are only available at SportsLine.
UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac preview
For the better part of the past decade, Lewis (26-10-1) has been one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster. His devastating one-punch power makes his fights must-see affairs, and his irreverent humor in interviews keeps observers watching him long after his fights have ended.
But lost in the reverence for his sense of humor and gregarious nature is the notion that Lewis is likely the most successful heavyweight in UFC history to never wear the belt. He lost in a title fight against former champion Daniel Cormier in November 2018 and came up short against Ciryl Gane for the interim title in August of last year.
Even so, his resume includes a knockout win over No. 3-ranked Curtis Blaydes and a decision victory over current champion Francis Ngannou. The 37-year-old has lost his last two outings by knockouts to rising prospects, and a third would likely relegate him to gatekeeper status.
Spivac (15-3) is among a crop of young heavyweights who are starting to take over the upper tier of the division. The 27-year-old Moldovan fighter joined the UFC with a 9-0 record but lost his debut to journeyman Walt Harris.
He has won six of his eight appearances since, but lost against the best opponent he faced in that span. Sixth-ranked Tom Aspinall stopped Spivac in September of last year. Spivac rebounded with wins over Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai this year and will likely crack the top-10 rankings with a third straight win Saturday. You can only see who to pick at UFC Fight Night here.
Top UFC Fight Night picks
We'll share one of Marley's UFC Fight Night predictions here: He is backing Andre Fialho (-105) to get his hand raised against Muslim Salikhov (-115) in a matchup of powerful welterweight prospects on the main card.
Fialho (16-5-1) joined the UFC earlier this year with a reputation for power punching and action-packed fights that he earned in promotions such as Bellator and UAE Warriors. The 28-year-old Portuguese fighter has already entered the cage four times for the UFC in 2022. He has split those fights while earning Performance of the Night honors in two of them.
Salikhov (18-3) is a former kickboxer whose ascent in the UFC rankings has been halted by relative inactivity the past few years. The Russian fighter saw a five-fight winning streak come to an end in his last outing when he was stopped by veteran Li Jingliang in July.
"Both fighters have a lot of power but don't throw much volume. I will side with the fighter who is 10 years younger and pick Fialho by decision," Marley told SportsLine. See who else to back right here.
How to make UFC Fight Night picks
Marley also has strong picks for Lewis vs. Spivac and every other bout on the UFC Fight Night card. He's also backing a fighter who "is the more powerful striker" to emerge with a huge victory. Those UFC picks are only available at SportsLine.
Who wins UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC Fight Night, all from the incomparable expert who's up more than $13,000 on MMA in the past three years, and find out.
UFC Fight Night odds, fight card
See full UFC Fight Night picks, predictions, and best bets here
Serghei Spivac (-190) vs. Derrick Lewis (+170)
Kennedy Nzechukwu (-175) vs. Ion Cutelaba (+155)
Waldo Acosta (-215) vs. Chase Sherman (+185)
Muslim Salikhov (-115) vs. Andre Fialho (-105)
Jack Della Maddalena (-550) vs. Danny Roberts (+425)
Charles Johnson (-160) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (+140)
Maryna Moroz (-180) vs. Jennifer Maia (+160)
Miles Johns (-165) vs. Vince Morales (+145)
Ricky Turcios (-160) vs. Kevin Natividad (+140)
Maria Oliveira (-125) vs. Vanessa Demopoulos (+105)
Brady Hiestand (-160) vs. Fernie Garcia (+140)
Natalia Silva (-170) vs. Tereza Bleda (+150)
