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Surging bantamweight contender Yadong Song will headline for the first time in his career Saturday when he meets recent interim title challenger Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song. The battle of ranked contenders will close the curtain on the main UFC Fight Night card (7 p.m. ET) from the Apex facility in Las Vegas. The No. 10-ranked Song has emerged as a title contender and fan favorite because of his lethal striking and nonstop pace. Those same qualities apply to the No. 4-ranked Sandhagen, who is hoping to maintain his foothold as top-tier challenger in the division by snapping a two-fight losing streak.

Sandhagen is a -200 favorite (risk $200 to win $100), while Song comes back at +170 in the latest UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song odds from Caesars Sportsbook. The co-main event features rising middleweight prospects when Gregory Rodrigues (-115) meets Chidi Njokuani (-105). Before finalizing any UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song 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 decision victory gave Marley's followers another easy winner. Anyone who has followed him is way up. 

Now, with UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song in sight, Marley has studied the card from top to bottom and revealed his top MMA picks. Marley's UFC Fight Night picks are only available at SportsLine.

UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song preview

The winner will gain leverage toward a title shot in a crowded division that should soon see some clarity. Champion Aljamain Sterling is set to defend his title against second-ranked contender T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280 in October. A win by Sterling would likely open the window of opportunity for either Sandhagen or Song because top-ranked contender Petr Yan already has lost twice to Sterling and third-ranked contender Merab Dvalishvili has said he won't fight Sterling because they are friends and training partners. 

Sandhagen (14-4), 30, has long been pegged as a future UFC champion by countless MMA analysts because of his unusual size and length for the weight class and his relentless pace. However, thus far those predictions have proved inaccurate as he has stumbled against world-class competition.

Two years ago, he was submitted by Sterling at 1:28 of the first round in what was essentially a title eliminator. Last July, he lost a close five-round decision to Dillashaw before coming up on the short end of a lopsided five-round loss to Yan at UFC 267 in October. 

Even so, the Colorado native remains a fan favorite because of his relentless style and he faces a similarly straight-forward opponent in Song. 

Although still just 24, Song (19-6-1) is already a five-year UFC veteran whose lone blemish with the promotion came in a close decision against fellow prospect Kyler Phillips in March of last year. The Chinese fighter has since won three straight against increasingly tougher competition. 

In March, Song knocked out former title challenger Marlon Moraes at 2:06 of the first round and earned a Performance of the Night bonus for his showing. You can only see who to pick at UFC Fight Night here.

UFC Fight Night predictions 

We'll share one of Marley's UFC Fight Night predictions here: He is backing Bill Algeo (-105) to earn a victory against Andre Fili (-115) in a battle of rugged featherweight contenders on the main card.

Algeo (16-6) is a versatile fighter who has four knockouts and six submissions on his record. The 33-year-old Pennsylvania native already has earned a reputation for action-packed bouts and is coming off a second-round stoppage of Herbert Burns

Fili (21-9-1) is an eight-year UFC veteran who has spent some time in the top-15 rankings and is known for his fan-friendly brawling style. But the 32-year-old Sacramento resident is looking to snap a three-fight winless streak and hasn't gotten his hand raised since June 2020.

"Algeo is well-rounded and I give him the striking edge. He has solid boxing and strikes at a high pace, which I always like," Marley told SportsLine. "Fili should be looking to land takedowns, but Algeo is not easy to control on the ground. I like him to get back up and win rounds on the feet. See who else to pick here.

How to make UFC Fight Night picks 

Marley also has strong picks for Sandhagen vs. Song and every other bout on the UFC Fight Night card. He's also backing a fighter who "is a competent striker with big power" to emerge with a dominant victory. Those UFC Fight Night picks are only available at SportsLine.

Who wins Sanhagen vs. Song? 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, best bets at SportsLine.
Cory Sandhagen (-200) vs. Yadong Song (+170)
Gregory Rodrigues (-115) vs. Chidi Njokuani (-105)
Andre Fili (-115) vs. Bill Algeo (-105)
Tanner Boser (-170) vs. Rodrigo Nascimento (+150)
Anthony Hernandez (-165) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (+145)
Aspen Ladd (-140) vs. Sara McMann (+120)
Joe Pyfer (-410) vs. Alen Amedovski (+330)
Nikolas Motta (-215) vs. Cameron VanCamp (+185)
Daniel Zellhuber (-260) vs. Trey Ogden (+220)
Trevin Giles (-200) vs. Louis Cosce (+175)
Pat Sabatini (-180) vs. Damon Jackson (+160)
Javid Basharat (-155) vs. Tony Gravely (+135)
Loma Lookboonmee (-230) vs. Denise Gomes (+195)
Gillian Robertson (-140) vs. Mariya Agapova (+120)