Two of the hardest hitting, most experienced and toughest fighters at Ultimate Fighting Championships headline a terrific UFC 254 card. Khabib Nurmegomedov and Justin Gaethje throw down in the main event. Before Khabib and Gaethje go at it, five other battles happen on the main card, including Ion Cutelaba against Magomev Ankalaev and Walt Harris versus Alexander Volkov. Check out previews and early free picks for the six fights on the UFC 254 main card, along with their UFC odds!
UFC 254: Khabib Vs Gaethje Early Odds, Preview & Free Picks
- When: Saturday, Oct. 24
- Where: Flash Forum, Abu Dhabi, UAE
UFC 254 Main Card Early Odds, Preview & Free Picks
28-0 Khabib Nurmegomedov is one of the best fighters to ever walk into the Octagon. Khabib is effective both in the stand up and on the mat. He’s 8-0 via knockouts and 10-0 via submissions. With a few more victories, Nurmegomedov will make a case for being one of the greatest of all time.
On Saturday night, though, he faces one of the most difficult opponents he’s ever likely to face. Justin Gaethje is 22-2. He’s 19-2 in knockouts. Gaethje probably won’t allow Khabib to take this to the ground, which means there’s a chance Justin controls the fight. The early call is to back Gaethje.
UFC 254 Early Free Pick: Justin Gaethje
Cannonier versus Whittaker should be an awesome battle. Whittaker is 22-5 while Cannonier is 13-4. Cannonier has won his last three fights via knockout. He’s also got a 77 ½” reach compared to Whittaker’s 73 ½” reach. If Cannonier can maintain his distance, he can win. We’re backing Whittaker, though, because he’s faced the tougher competition in recent bouts.
UFC 254 Early Free Pick: Robert Whittaker
13-8 Walt Harris has some heavy hands, but he looks up against it versus 6’ 7” Alexander Volkov. Volkov is a giant of a human being. He’s also faced some tough opponents like Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. Although Volkov lost to both Blaydes and Lewis, we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt in this. As hard as Harris can hit, Volkov, at least visually, moves better.
UFC 254 Early Free Pick: Alexander Volkov
On February 29, Magomed Ankalaev dominated Ion Cutelaba on the Benavidez versus Figueiredo undercard. He knocked Ion out after 38 seconds. Neither has fought since then, which means there’s no reason to expect Cutelaba to beat Ankalaev on Saturday.
UFC 254 Early Free Pick: Magomed Ankalaev
4-0 Jakob Malkoun heads to the deep end of the pool when he battles UFC veteran Phil Hawes. Phil is 8-2 and hasn’t lost since 2017. That’s enough of a reason to back the chalk.
UFC 254 Early Free Pick: Phil Hawes
Like Jakob Malkoun, Liliya Shakirova fights at UFC for the first time. That alone doesn’t make her an underdog. What does? Shakirova hasn’t fought for over a year. Lauren Murphy won a unanimous decision in June against Roxanne Modafferi. She also has much more experience that Murphy. Again, it’s tough to go against the chalk.
UFC 254 Early Free Pick: Lauren Murphy
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