Another UFC fight night of dramatic action is sure to unfold as UFC Vegas 50 is finally upon us. This marquee event will be held at the APEX in Las Vegas on Saturday 12th March. It looks set to be a fantastic night for UFC fanatics with an action-packed main card. The main event sees an intriguing bout between rivals Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev and we have everything covered with our UFC Vegas 50 predictions.
UFC Vegas 50 Predictions: Main Event Odds, Lines and Picks
Magomed Ankalaev (-600) vs Thiago Santos (+400)
The main event of this UFC fight night is a mouthwatering contest between Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev. Ankalaev is quickly becoming one of the most destructive forces in the entire UFC and he enters this bout having won his last seven fights. He faces Thiago Santos who was able to halt a three fight skid in his last encounter by narrowly overcoming Johnny Walker on points.
Santos is certainly the more experienced of the two with the Brazilian now 38 years old. Santos knows that time is running out for him to capture the world Light Heavyweight championship and he knows a defeat to the in form Russian could well end his career.
For Ankalaev he is looking to take his career to new heights and he knows a win against Santos will see him climb above him in the Light Heavyweight standings and put him in a prime position for a title challenge.
Santos will look to intimidate his opponent through his pure striking power but he comes up against a man who can seemingly do it all. Ankalaev could choose to go toe to toe with his Brazilian opponent but it’s more likely that Ankalaev will try to break Santos’s rhythm through kicks and grappling.
If Ankalaev can slow the fight down he has every chance of recording the victory. Santos vs Ankalaev is a fight that could well see two careers go in markedly different directions. The smart play has to be on Ankalaev to gain yet another win but it won\’t be easy and we think this is a main event that could go the distance.
Prediction for Santos vs Ankalaev: Ankalaev to win by decision +125.
UFC Vegas 50: Who else is on the main card?
The main card of this UFC fight night has some truly fascinating matchups with six pairs of fighters set for battle inside the octagon.
UFC Vegas 50 Main Card
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Thiago Santos
- Song Yadong vs Marlon Moraes
- Sodiq Yusuff vs Alex Caceres
- Karl Roberson vs. Khalil Rountree Jr
- Drew Dober vs Terrance McKinney
- Alex Pereira vs Bruno Silva
Alex Pereira (-200) vs Bruno Silva (+160)
The first fight of the night is arguably the most competitive as Alex Pereira faces off against Bruno Silva. The two Brazilians will meet in a middleweight encounter and it’s been tipped as a match between two pure strikers. The chances of a knockout look high. Pereira who has dipped in and out of the UFC over recent years is by far the more inexperienced of the two with his UFC record standing at 4-1. Silva on the other hand is a veteran of the octagon and has a fight record that stands at 22-6.
Pereira’s fighting background is grounded in kickboxing and there is a fear that his striking ability might be too much for Silva to handle. If Silva can get Pereira onto the ground it could be anybody’s fight.
Prediction: Pereira to win by KO (-125)
Drew Dober (-175) vs Terrance McKinney (+138)
Terrance McKinney got the unexpected call up to the UFC Vegas 50 card just last week following the withdrawal of Drew Dober’s initial opponent Ricky Glenn. The short notice shouldn’t worry fans of McKinney as McKinney has previous for turning up to fight on short notice. Back in 2021 when on only a weeks notice McKinney knocked out Matt Frevola in just seven seconds!
Dober enters this fight fresh off the back of losing his last two fights and he will want to make amends here against McKinney. McKinney houses a 12-3 record and knows that a win here will take him into the Lightweight division top 10. Dober is the deserving favourite for the fight and there have to be questions regarding McKinney’s conditioning, but with McKinney looking likely to try and secure a knockout early this is a contest that could be explosive and go either way.
Prediction: Dober to win by KO (+163)
Karl Roberson (-138) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr (+110)
The third fight on the card is the tightest one to call out of all UFC Vegas 50 predictions. Both fighters head into this bout with very similar stats with Roberson holding a 9-4 career record and Rountree a 9-5 record.
Rountree enters this fight following his first victory since 2019 when he knocked out Modestas Bukauskas, Roberson is on the worst slide of his career having not won a bout since 2019. The fight looks set to be a true mismatch of styles with Rountree being a pure striker and Roberson more of a grappler. For Roberson to win the fight he is going to need to get close to Rountree and take him down, by doing this he runs the risk of of getting struck but if he can withstand the barrage he might just come out on top.
Prediction: Roberson to win (-138)
Sodiq Yusuff (-275) vs Alex Caceres (+210)
The most one sided betting heat comes in the 4th fight of the night as many are predicting a comfortable nights work for Sodiq Yussuf over Alex Caceres.
It’s easy to see why Yussuf is the overwhelming favourite as he holds a much better career record than Caceres with Yussuf having won 11 of his 13 UFC fights, whilst Caceres has just won 19 of his 30 bouts. It looks set to be another difficult night for Caceres as he and Yussuf fight in a very similar fashion. With both looking to strike their opponents with meaningful punches it’s Yussuf who should have too much speed and power for his opponent. We except Caceres to remain competitive but Yussuf’s class should just pull him through.
Prediction: Yussuf to win by KO +300
Song Yadong (-275) vs Marlon Moraes (+210)
The penultimate fight of the night is another bout where we have a heavy favourite with Song Yadong heavily fancied to take his record to 19-5-1. He faces a man in the form of Marlon Moraes who enters this bout having lost his last three encounters and it looks like he will have his work cut out for him again.
Yadong who is on a four fight winning streak is quickly emerging as one of the premier strikers in the UFC and he looks set to cause Moraes all sorts of issues. For Moraes to remain competitive he needs to remain out of striking distance and attempt to make in roads with his kicking. If he can slow the energetic and explosive Chinese fighter down he has an outside chance of causing the upset, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone to see Yadong make quick work of his opponent here.
Prediction: Yadong to win by KO -120
