UFC Fight Night 223 Picks, Predictions and Best Bets for Yadong vs Simon

UFC Fight Night 223 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. This card features a bantamweight fight between Song Yadong and Ricky Simon as the Main Event.

We are sharing our UFC Fight Night 223 best bets here, but head over to our main UFC Fight Night 223 predictions for picks on every Main Card fight. Let’s get into our best bets for Saturday’s card.

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UFC Fight Night 223 Main Card best bets

Ricky Simon ML over Song Yadong (-115)

Ricky Simon comes into this fight with an MMA record of 20-3. He is 9-2 in the UFC, most recently beating Jack Shore by submission back in July of 2022. Simon is averaging 3.04 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 44%. He is absorbing 2.95 strikes and has a striking defense of 64%. His grappling has been elite, averaging 6.55 takedowns per every 15 minutes. Simon has a takedown accuracy of 52% and a takedown defense of 75%.

While this is an evenly matched fight, Simon will be our best bet because he has the superior grappling, and also has a tremendous amount of power if this fight stays standing.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta ML over Marcos Rogerio de Lima (+160)

Waldo Cortes-Acosta comes into this fight with an MMA record of 9-0. He is 3-0 in the UFC, most recently beating Chase Sherman by unanimous decision back in November of 2022. Cortes-Acosta is averaging 7.81 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 50%. He is absorbing 4.07 strikes and has a striking defense of 59%. He has yet to show any grappling ability through 3 UFC fights, but he does have a takedown defense of 66%.

Marcos Rogerio de Lima is a heavy favorite in this fight, but he severely lacks in the striking department. Cortes-Acosta is perfect in his career for a good reason, therefore backing him to continue his winning streak will be our play.

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UFC Fight Night 223 Preliminary Card best bet

Martin Buday ML over Jake Collier (-110)

Martin Buday comes into this fight with an MMA record of 11-1. He is 3-0 in the UFC, most recently beating Lukasz Brzeski by split decision back in August of 2022. Buday is averaging 4.59 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 48%. He is absorbing 4.88 strikes and has a striking defense of 55%.

This fight is evenly matched, but given the fact that Jake Collier is 5-7 in the UFC and 0-2 in his last 2 fights, backing Buday to win will be our play.

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