A uncommon trilogy highlights the UFC 286 card on Saturday as welterweight champion Leon Edwards meets former champion Kamaru Usman in the principle occasion. The third assembly between these longtime rivals will anchor the principle UFC 286 struggle card (5 p.m. ET) from the O2 Arena in London. Edwards needed to win 9 consecutive fights to earn a title shot, however he made the a lot of the alternative. Last August at UFC 278, he surprised Usman with a head-kick knockout within the fifth spherical. Coincidentally, his final UFC defeat got here in December 2015 to Usman, who went on to turn out to be a dominant champion with 5 profitable defenses earlier than the upset loss to Edwards.
Usman is a -260 favourite (danger $260 to win $100), whereas Edwards comes again at +210 within the newest UFC 286 odds for Edwards vs. Usman 3. The co-main occasion encompasses a showdown between explosive light-weight contenders with Rafael Fiziev (-235) taking up Justin Gaethje (+195). Before making any UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3 picks, be sure you see the MMA predictions and betting recommendation from SportsLine skilled Daniel Vithlani.
Vithlani is a extremely analytical UFC bettor who profited greater than $6,200 for $100 bettors in 2022. This features a documented 24-14 report on his well-respected, two-leg parlays. Every decide was documented on his public Instagram account.
From breaking down movie and following fighters and their camps carefully, to monitoring sharp motion and betting market alerts, Vithlani covers the breadth of the MMA betting panorama prime to backside. He additionally trains newbie boxers and speaks commonly with MMA fighters to know the game’s nuances.
In his SportsLine debut at UFC 283 in January, Vithlani swept the principle card and his 5-0 report included advising SportsLine members to again Jamahal Hill (-125) in opposition to Glover Teixeira (+105) for the vacant mild heavyweight title in the principle occasion. Anyone who has adopted him has seen huge returns.
Now, with UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3 in sight, Vithlani has scoured the struggle card prime to backside for worth and launched his prime MMA picks. You can solely see who to again at SportsLine.
UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3 preview
Edwards (20-3-1) will get his first title protection in his dwelling nation earlier than adoring followers in a venue that’s identified to host among the most enthusiastic crowds in UFC historical past. The new champion is lastly seeing among the respect he believes is lengthy overdue, however his persistence has lastly paid off.
Edwards has gone 12-2-1 in 15 UFC appearances, however his rise got here to little fanfare largely as a result of his extremely technical type led principally to resolution victories versus the highlight-reel knockouts most followers desire. In reality, his knockout of Usman was simply the second stoppage of his UFC profession.
The 31-year-old British fighter was commonly missed for high-profile alternatives that went to arguably less-qualified contenders. For occasion, challengers akin to Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal received two title pictures in opposition to Usman earlier than Edwards lastly landed his first.
Edwards misplaced a choice to Usman of their first assembly and their title bout appeared headed in the identical path. The former champion seemed stronger and was the clear aggressor, main most observers to consider he had handily received the primary 4 rounds.
The fifth spherical concerned extra of the identical, and Usman (20-2) was basically coasting towards one other dominant title protection. But he appeared to lose focus for a cut up second and Edwards unleashed a kick that caught Usman sq. within the temple and knocked him out chilly.
Now, Usman is decided to recapture the welterweight crown, whereas Edwards is motivated to indicate his victory wasn’t a fluke. You can see who Vithlani is backing at SportsLine.
Top UFC 286 picks
We’ll share one in all Vithlani’s UFC 286 picks right here: He is siding with Jack Shore (-500) to get his hand raised in opposition to Makwan Amirkhani (+400) in a matchup of featherweight prospects.
Shore (16-1) is a well-rounded prospect who gained consideration as a possible contender by successful his first 5 UFC matchups. But the 31-year-old Welsh fighter fell by submission to fellow prospect Ricky Simon in his final outing, his first skilled defeat.
Amirkhani (17-8) is a grappling specialist who climbed into the top-15 rankings with wins in 5 of his first six UFC outings. However, the 34-year-old Finnish fighter has stumbled to losses in 4 of his previous 5.
“Shore is savvy sufficient to keep away from the submission and, the extra this struggle drags on, the extra I favor Shore,” Vithlani instructed SportsLine. You can see extra picks at SportsLine.
How to make UFC 286 picks
Vithlani has robust picks for Edwards vs. USman and different bouts on the UFC 286 card. He’s additionally backing a fighter who “is without doubt one of the most harmful strikers in UFC” to emerge with a dominant victory. Those picks are solely obtainable at SportsLine.
Who wins Edwards vs. Usman at UFC 286? And how precisely does every struggle finish? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on each struggle at UFC 286, all from the MMA skilled who profited greater than $6,200 in 2022, and discover out.
UFC 286 odds, struggle card
See full UFC 286 picks, predictions, finest bets right here.
Kamaru Usman (-260) vs. Leon Edwards (+210)
Rafael Fiziev (-235) vs. Justin Gaethje (+195)
Gunnar Nelson (-380) vs. Bryan Barberena (+300)
Casey O’Neill (-180) vs. Jennifer Maia (+155)
Marvin Vettori (-285) vs. Roman Dolidze (+230)
Jack Shore (-500) vs. Makwan Amirkhani (+375)
Omar Morales (–110) vs. Chris Duncan (-110)
Sam Patterson (-285) vs. Yanal Ashmoz (+230)
Muhammad Mokaev (-900) vs. Jafel Filho (+600)
Lerone Murphy (-180) vs. Gabriel Santos (+160)
Joanne Wood (-180) vs. Luana Carolina (+160)
Ludovit Klein (-195) vs. Jai Herbert (+165)
