A battle of explosive strikers headlines the UFC Fight Night main event on Saturday when bantamweight contenders Yadong Song and Chris Gutierrez square off. The five-round showdown of ranked contenders will close the curtain on the main UFC fight card starting at 10 p.m. ET from the Apex facility in Las Vegas. The No. 7-ranked Song and No. 15-ranked Gutierrez are both celebrated strikers who have notched 18 combined career knockouts. The winner will climb up the UFC rankings and gain leverage towards title-shot consideration in the talent-rich division.
Song is a -370 favorite (risk $370 to win $100), while Gutierrez comes back at +290 in the latest UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutierrez odds from the SportsLine consensus. In the co-main event, Khalil Rountree (-245) meets Anthony Smith (+200) in a matchup of ranked light heavyweights. Before locking in your picks for UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutierrez, make sure you see the MMA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine expert Daniel Vithlani.
From breaking down film and following fighters and their camps closely, to tracking sharp action and betting market signals, Vithlani covers the breadth of the MMA betting landscape top to bottom. He also trains amateur boxers and speaks regularly with MMA fighters to understand the sport's nuances.
In his SportsLine debut for UFC 283 in January, Vithlani swept the main card and has been a consistent winner since. At UFC 292, he predicted the upset for underdog Sean O'Malley (+210) against Aljamain Sterling (-250) in the bantamweight championship main event. Anyone who has followed Vithlani already has seen massive returns.
Now, with UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutierrez on deck, Vithlani has scoured the card from top to bottom and released his top selections. You can see those picks at SportsLine.
UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutierrez preview
Song (20-7-1) has become a fan favorite in large part because of his nonstop pace, fearlessness, and growing number of highlight-reel stoppages. The 26-year-old Chinese fighter made his UFC debut in June 2018 and has posted a record of 9-2-1 in 11 UFC outings.
The only loss in his last five outings came last September to Cory Sandhagen, the celebrated contender who is now ranked No. 4 in the division and has fought for the interim title. Song bounced back from that defeat with a fifth-round stoppage of Ricky Simon in April. He has received performance bonuses in two of his past three fights.
Gutierrez (20-5-2) has similarly emerged as a must-watch prospect on the strength of a 10-fight stretch in which he has suffered just one defeat while engaging in numerous entertaining showdowns. The 32-year-old New Jersey native's lone defeat in that span came to veteran contender Pedro Munhoz by decision in April.
Just six weeks ago, Gutierrez returned to his winning ways with a decision over prospect Alateng Heili in Las Vegas. Gutierrez, who has nine knockouts among his 20 professional MMA victories, will be making his headlining debut Saturday. You can only see who to pick at UFC Fight Night here.
UFC Fight Night predictions
We'll share one of Vithlani's UFC Fight Night selections here: He is siding with Jun-Yong Park (-175) vs. to get his hand raised against Andre Muniz (+145) in a battle of middleweight prospects on the main card.
Park (17-5) is a versatile fighter known for his nonstop pace and athleticism. He currently holds the UFC record for most head strikes landed in a fight with 254 against John Phillips in November 2020. The 32-year-old South Korean fighter heads into Saturday on a four-fight win streak, with three consecutive submissions.
Muniz (23-6) is a Brazilian grappling ace who started his UFC career with four consecutive victories but has since suffered back-to-back defeats against ranked opposition. The 33-year-old fighter was stopped on strikes by Paul Craig in July.
"Muniz is lethal on the ground, but his striking is subpar. This is where Park can take advantage. Park has a strong all-around MMA game. He has solid, technical boxing and does a nice job setting things up with his jab," Vithlani told SportsLine. See who to back here.
How to make UFC Fight Night picks
Vithlani has strong picks for Song vs. Gutierrez and other bouts on the UFC Fight Night card. He's also backing a fighter who "is a powerful kickboxer" to emerge with a dominant victory. Those picks are only available at SportsLine.
Who wins UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutierrez, and how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC Fight Night, all from the MMA expert who profited more than $6,200 in 2022, and find out.
UFC Fight Night odds, fight card
See full UFC Fight Night picks, predictions, best bets here.
Yadong Song (-370) vs. Chris Gutierrez (+290)
Anthony Smith (+200) vs. Khalil Rountree (-245)
Su Mudaerji (+125) vs. Tim Elliott (-150)
Steve Garcia (+195) vs. Melquizael Costa (-235)
Jun-yong Park (-175) vs. Andre Muniz (+145)
Nasrat Haqparast (-205) vs. Jamie Mullarkey (+170)
Song Kenan (+120) vs. Kevin Jousset (-140)
Park Hyun-Sung (-535) vs. Shannon Ross (+400)
Tatsuro Taira (-520) vs. Carlos Hernandez (+390)
