The next three Ultimate Fighting Championship promotions take place at what Dana White has dubbed “Fight Island”. The real name is Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The first event, UFC 251, happens on Saturday, July 11. In our UFC Fight Island Betting Guide, we analyze and make picks for all five fights on the UFC 251 Main Card.
But, we didn’t stop there. We also offer free betting picks for the two UFC Fight Nights at Yas Island. One happens on July 15. The other happens on July 18.
Check out the MyBookie UFC Fight Island Odds!
UFC Fight Island Betting Guide
UFC Fight Island
- When: July 11 – July 18
- Where: Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
UFC 251: Usman vs. Burns
- When: Saturday, July 11
UFC 251 Main Card Odds & Free Picks
Champion Usman has all the advantages. He’s 6’0” compared to Burns at 5’10”. Kamara Usman has a 6” reach advantage. He’s also lost just once and that happened way back in 2013 when Jose Caceres forced him to submit via a rear-naked choke.
There is one advantage Gilbert Burns has over Usman, though. Burns fought on May 30. He beat Tyron Woodley via unanimous decision. Burns has a return to action win under his belt.
If Usman is rusty, Gilbert can pull off the upset.
UFC 251 Free Pick: Burns +190
21-1 champion Alexander Volkanovski beat Max Holloway via unanimous decision at UFC 245. Since then, neither has fought, but that shouldn’t stop Volkanovski from defending his title.
The loss to Alexander was Max’s second in his last 3 bouts. He beat Frankie Edgar at UFC 240 last July. Dustin Poirier beat him in April 2019.
It should be tough for Holloway to regain the championship. We’re going with the chalk.
UFC 251 Free Pick: Volkanovski -200
Legend Jose Aldo offers +200 to beat 14-1 Peter Yan. There was a time when Aldo dominated like nobody else in mixed-martial-arts. Some considered Jose the greatest MMA fighter of all time.
This is not that time. Peter Yan hasn’t lost since 2016 while Jose has dropped two in a row. Here’s another fight on the main card that should go to the chalk.
UFC 251 Free Pick: Peter Yan -240
Rose Namajunas wants to regain the championship belt. She must get past Jessica Andrade first. When these two battled on May 11, 2019, Jessica beat Rose via second round knockout. Namajunas has won 3 in a row. But her standup isn’t as strong as Andrade’s.
Consider backing the underdog.
UFC 251 Free Pick: Andrade +155
Paige VanZant hasn’t fought since January 2019. She beat Rachael Osotovich via submission in that fight. Amanda Ribas is 9-1 and beat Randa Markos via unanimous decision on the UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira undercard on March 14.
As much as we’d like to back VanZant, it’s impossible for us to do so. Ribas should roll to an easy win.
UFC 251 Free Pick: Ribas -835
UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Ige
- When: Wednesday, July 15
Kattar vs. Ige Main Card Odds & Free Picks
Calvin Kattar has a 4-inch reach advantage and has won 3-of-4. Kattar fought on the UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje undercard. That was on May 9. Calvin knocked out Jeremy Stephens in the second round.
Although Dan Ige is a major underdog, he might have a shot on July 15. On May 16 this year, Ige beat Edson Barboza via split-decision on the UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris undercard. Dan has a good ground game and fights well standing up.
The odds make Ige an overlay.
UFC Free Pick: Ige +220
The great Frankie Edgar continues to step into the Octagon. Frankie has every right to call it quits. Like Jose Aldo, he’s a legend. But Frankie won’t because he thinks he can still compete.
When it comes to his battle against Pedro Munhoz, Frankie might be right. Pedro hasn’t fought since June 2019 while Edgar lost via KO to Chan Sung Jung, the Korean Zombie, in December.
Frankie may do just enough to pull off the upset. He’s worth backing at the odds.
UFC Free Pick: Edgar +180
This should be one of the best fights at Yas Island. Both Carla Esparza and Maria Rodriguez are dynamite fighters.
Esparza has a 12-5 record. She’s on a 3-fight winning streak. She last stepped into the Octagon on the UFC 249 undercard on May 9.
Rodriguez is 12-0-2. Maria has 3 wins and 2 draws in her last 5 bouts. She should win this fight based on her record, but we’re siding with Esparza.
Carla has a recency bout while Maria hasn’t gotten off the bench since last year. Esparza can get it done at great odds. The key? Try and take the fight to the mat so Rodriguez can’t use her height advantage.
UFC Free Pick: Esparza +130
10-1 Abdul Razak Alhassan battles 9-1 Mounir Lazzez. Of Lazzez’s 9 wins, 8 have come via technical knockout or knockout. He’s a straight stand up fighter.
All 10 of Alhassan’s wins have come via knockout or technical knockout. In a battle between two stand up fighters, the taller often has an advantage. That’s Lazzez. So, we’ll give the underdog a shot here.
UFC Free Pick: Lazzez +210
Gordon versus Fishgold rates as one of the most competitive of any main card bout from any of the 3 events on Fight Island. Jared Gordon is 15-4. Chris Fishgold is 18-3-1. Gordon is 5’9”. Fishgold is 5’8”.
Chris has 6 knockout wins and 2 submission victories. Fishgold has 2 knockout wins and 13 submission victories. Who takes this?
Jared has lost 3 of his last 5. He also could be at a disadvantage if Chris can get the fight to the ground. We’re going with Fishgold.
UFC Free Pick: Fishgold -105
UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2
- When: Saturday, July 18
Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 Main Card Odds & Free Picks
These two fought on February 29. It was utter domination. Deiveson Figueiredo knocked out Joseph Benavidez in what was supposed to be a title fight. Figueiredo has won 3 in a row, a decision over Alexander Pantoja, a submission win against Tim Elliott, and the knockout victory over Benavidez.
The two clashed heads in the second round. Benavidez leads with his head, which is how the clash happened. It’s difficult for a fighter to suddenly change styles. Unless Benavidez stops leading with his head, a big “if”, Figueiredo will win the rematch.
UFC Free Pick: Figueiredo -225
Talk about a competitive match! Kelvin Gastelum is 16-5. Jack Hermannson is 20-5. Gastelum is the slight favorite, but he has a disadvantage in this bout.
Hermansson has a close to 6-inch reach advantage. Also, he’s 6’ 1” while Gastelum is 5’ 9”. Kelvin is on a two fight losing streak as well. Backing the slight underdog makes sense.
UFC Free Pick: Hermansson +105
14-3 Mark Diakiese battles 7-1 Rafael Fiziev in an interesting light heavyweight bout. Fiziev has gone 4-1 in his last 5 bouts. His ground game is okay. He’s got a submission win. But Fiziev is more of a Muay Thai fighter.
That could hurt him against Diakiese. Mark has won two in a row, both via unanimous decision. He uses his height and reach well. Diakiese should keep Rafael at bay. If he does, he will either catch Fiziev or coast to a decision win.
UFC Free Pick: Diakiese -145
12-5 Ariane Lipski battles fellow Brazilian 6-1 Luana Carolina. There’s a reason both offer -115 odds on MyBookie.
What will the difference be? Carolina hasn’t lost since 2015. Lipski has lost 2 of her last 3 fights. That doesn’t help us because Lipski has fought better opponents. What could make the difference is that Luana has a 2-inch reach advantage. That gives her the slightest of edges.
UFC Free Pick: Carolina -115
Here’s another fantastic matchup on the Benavidez vs. Figueiredo main card. Alexander Pantoja is 22-4. Askar Askarov is 11-0-1.
Pantoja has 8 wins via knockout or technical knockout and 8 wins via submission. He’s capable either battling on the mat or fighting standing up. Askarov has 3 knockout wins and 7 submission victories. Like Pantoja, Askarov can fight almost any style.
The key will be which fighter makes necessary changes throughout the bout. Because that’s the key, it’s worth taking a shot on the dog. At +150, Askar Askarov is an overlay.
UFC Free Pick: Askarov +150
Starting on July 11 with UFC 251, Ultimate Fighting Championship runs three promotions at “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi in the span of eight days. Make sure to get on board with the UFC Fight Island Event!
