UFC 286 Tips and Predictions

Dateline London, England!!!

Fight fans, we’ve got an incredible line-up as we head to the O2 Arena in London and if this event goes anything like the two fight nights last year, we’re in for a treat.

We’ve got a home champion in Leon Edwards defending his belt against the former Pound for Pound king, Kamaru Usman.

The rest of the line-up includes some violent matchups too and we cannot wait for these fights to play out so let's get straight into it!

Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman III

It’s as good a time as any to be a UFC fan as we’ve witnessed Pound for Pound No.1 vs 2 and now, we’ve got Pound for Pound no. 4 and 5 competing in an intriguing trilogy fight.

Edwards gave the world one of the most viral moments of 2022 when he made a grand comeback in the final round to knock out Usman via a head kick.

We’ve seen Usman dominate the majority of their previous two fights, but Edwards’s newly found knockout power has made this rubber match tough to call.

Leon Edwards has been riding a respectable 11-fight unbeaten streak and has gotten the better of elite competitors like Kamaru Usman, Rafael Dos Anjos, Donald Cerrone, etc.

Edwards has always been a technical kickboxer who sharpened his MMA game by adding tools like takedown defense, submissions, and knockout power to his arsenal.

He will take great confidence going into this fight with Usman considering he is the first man to take him down and knock him out.

Kamaru Usman was and is still regarded as one of the best Welterweights to ever do it at the back of his impressive 15-fight win streak in the UFC.

Usman dominated a stacked division and defeated tough contenders like Leon Edwards, Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns, etc.

Usman’s strength has always been his grappling and wrestling but he rounded his game by sharpening his boxing skills which earned him multiple knockouts.

The former champion's pathway remains crystal clear as he needs to stick to his wrestling which has proven to give him success against Leon in their previous two fights.

Contrarily, Leon has proven to get the better of Usman in every department of MMA for short periods in their fights so if he bides his time and looks to find his moments like the second fight, he can beat Usman again.

Best Bets

Our first best bet comes on a Main card Women’s Flyweight bout between Jennifer Maia and Casey O’Neill.

This is a great spot for the Aussie native O'Neill to shine against Maia who has been a hit-or-miss lately.

Casey will be faster, explosive and with youth on her side, we think she will get through this challenge to enter the top 10.

Our next pick comes on our violent co-main event between Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev.

This is a potential fight of the year and both men love to stay in the pocket and scrap.

We love Justin Gaethje at near 3/1 odds in a firefight.

Our final pick comes on our main event of the evening.

We think Kamaru Usman is the rightful favorite according to the betting line as he is one of the best to ever do it and the best only make mistakes once.

We predict Usman to stay disciplined and implement a grappling-heavy game plan that has given him results in the past.

Leon is a tough opponent to finish so a decision is the safe pick here but if a finish comes we predict it to be on the mat.

Selection: Casey O’Neill (Winner) @1.61

Selection: Justin Gaethje (Winner) @2.95

Selection: Kamaru Usman by Submission or Points (Wining Method, Double Chance) @1.73

Selection: Parlay all Selections @8.22