UFC Fight Night predictions: Vegas 102 Full card picks for Cannonier-Rodrigues
The UFC returns to the Apex for unclear reasons, but we have some fights to bet on this weekend.APEX cards are usually good for finishes, but no crowd undoubtedly takes some of the allure away from the product.
Regardless, the APEX octagon is about 30 percent smaller than the ones they compete in elsewhere, and we could see more of that on this fight card.Six of the 12 fights on this card are expected to end inside the distance.When football ends, the UFC takes center stage, as the promotion surely gets plenty more eyeballs without a slate of college football to compete.
The card kicks off at 4 p.m.ET, and the main card begins at 7 p.m.
ET, with the entire card on ESPN+.In the main event of this Apex card, Gregory “RoboCop” Rodrigues headlines in what might be the final fight of Jared Cannonier’s career.Cannonier, 41, has been a stalwart in the UFC Middleweight division for a long time, but after setting records for significant strikes against Marvin Vettori in 2023, it seems like we have seen his decline begin since then.
His losses to Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho are all fights that he would probably win in his prime.But Cannonier will certainly have a disadvantage here both in terms of size and grappling, as Rodrigues should have clear advantages in those departments.Rodrigues leans into his grappling more often when fighting strikers, as we’ve seen when he fought Arman Petrosyan and last time out against Christian “Leroy” Duncan.
Cannonier isn’t completely washed, though, and won’t make Rodrigues look like the second coming of Khamzat Chimaev.I expect a competitive fight that goes deeper than Rodrigus typically goes.
Cannonier has had five straight five-round fights, with four of which going the distance and all of them going over 2.5 rounds.Expect more of the same here.THE PLAY: Over 2.5 rounds (-110, Bet365) | Fight goes to decision (+250, DraftKings) Calvin Kattar has looked bad, we know that.But how could we be this disrespectf...