UFC Sacramento Betting Picks: Three Best Bets for Fight Night

For the first time in seven years, the Octagon lands in the capital of the Golden State for UFC Sacramento at the Golden 1 Center.

The main event will feature an exciting matchup between popular middleweight contenders Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez and Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues.

Hernandez will look to rebound after being finished at UFC Houston in February by now-middleweight champion Sean Strickland. The loss snapped an eight-fight win streak Hernandez was riding.

Rodrigues, meanwhile, enters this fight on a three-fight win streak and with victories in six of his last seven fights. He most recently fought at UFC 326 in March, knocking out Brunno Ferriera in under two minutes.

The co-main event will be a heavyweight showdown between Serghei Spivac and Vitor Petrino. Spivac has dropped three of his last five but comes into this bout off a decision win over Ante Delija at UFC Houston. Petrino, meanwhile, has won three straight, most recently scoring a decision over Steven Asplund at UFC Vegas 114 in March.

The rest of the main card also features Reinier de Ridder vs. Roman Dolidze, MarQuel Mederos vs.Mason Jones, Carli Judice vs. Jeisla Chaves, and Anthony Wint vs. Terrance Chatman.

ANTHONY HERNANDEZ VS GREGORY RODRIGUES

On paper, this fight feels like it’s going to be the most fun of the evening. Hernandez brings a strong stamina tank into his fights, consistently pressuring his opponents and using his pace and wrestling to drain opponents. Then there’s Rodrigues, who always brings the power and has the strikes that can finish an opponent in a flash.

It’s risky for Hernandez to close distance against a power puncher, but the pressure is going to be what helps him win. His key to victory is going to be to break through Rodrigues’ kickboxing and defenses and score takedowns. Rodrigues has some grappling ability himself, but if Hernandez can consistently bring him down and hold him down and work from the top, things will be in his favor.

Meanwhile, Rodrigues should look to show off his power early and counter Fluffy’s attempts to get inside. At that point, either Rodrigues can find the early finish or make Hernandez more hesitant in his attack. This one should be fun, and a finish should be expected.

BET: Fight To Start Round 3: YES (DraftKings: -150)

ANTHONY WINT VS TERRANCE CHATMAN

This writer doesn’t have the greatest of heavyweight luck, admittedly, so why Anthony Wint vs. Terrance Chatman? It all has to do with Wint’s success – he’s 7-0, a former regional heavyweight champion, and had an impressive 34-second finish just last week on the season premiere of Dana White’s Contender Series. This isn’t the safest bet, but Wint, a former football player, has impressed with the pressure he brings into fights and the power in his fists.

The other thing is that the resume of Chatman, who also makes his UFC debut here, isn’t great. Sure, he’s 5-1 and will have the size advantage in this matchup. But his opponent history consists of an 8-16 fighter, a 21-13 fighter, a 2-2 fighter, a 3-1 fighter, and two 0-0 fighters. That’s a red flag for me. He’s got solid power in his own right, but that might only be usable if he can get past an early storm from Wint.

BET: Wint via KO/TKO in Round 1 (DraftKings: -150)

MARCIO BARBOSA VS RYAN KUSE

Marcio Barbosa has the better resume and upside, and he’s taking on Kuse, who is a little older, has less experience, and took this fight on short notice. Barbosa needs to establish his control and dictate the pace early. That probably means Barbosa uses his striking to come out aggressive and uses his counterstriking to punish opponents for trying to outpace him.

Kuse has a bit of a size advantage here, so he should use his footwork and reach to stay out of Barbosa’s range. If he can do that and bring a “nothing to lose” approach, he could be sneakily dangerous. But it’s still an uphill battle for him.

BET: Barbosa via KO/TKO/DQ in Round 1 (DraftKings: -160)