UFC on ESPN 55 picks, predictions & best bets: Nicolau vs. Perez | Pickswise

UFC on ESPN 55 takes place on Saturday at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. This card features a flyweight fight between Matheus Nicolau and Alex Perez as the Main Event. Here are our best bets for this UFC card, which will include 3 fights on the Main Card.

Be sure to also check out the rest of our UFC predictions for all of the UFC on ESPN 55 Main Card fights.

UFC on ESPN 55 Main Card Best Bets

Karine Silva ML over Ariane Lipski (-148)

The fourth fight on the Main Card at UFC on ESPN 55 will see Ariane Lipski take on Karine Silva. This will be a fight in the UFC Women’s Flyweight division. Silva comes into this fight with an MMA record of 17-4 and she is 4-0 in the UFC. Silva is averaging 3.37 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 35%. She is absorbing 3.37 strikes and has a striking defense of 50%. Her grappling has also been solid, averaging 2.45 takedowns per every 15 minutes and 4.1 submission attempts during the same time period. Silva also has a takedown accuracy of 60%.

Silva is the moderate-sized favorite in this fight, but still looks to be the right side. Lipski has proven to be inconsistent in the UFC, while Silva has a perfect UFC record and has overall won 8 fights in a row. Because Silva has been in much better form, backing her to win will be our best bet.

Jhonata Diniz Win by KO/TKO over Austen Lane (-200)

The third fight on the Main Card at UFC on ESPN 55 will see Austen Lane take Jhonata Diniz. This will be a fight in the UFC Heavyweight division. Diniz comes into this fight with an MMA record of 6-0 and he is 1-0 in the UFC. However, this will also be his official UFC debut. Diniz is averaging 7.69 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 42%. He is absorbing 7.38 strikes and has a striking defense of 36%. He also has a takedown defense of 100%.

Diniz is the overwhelming favorite in this fight, but instead of backing him on the money line, we will be looking at a method of victory prop. Diniz has won all of career fights by KO/TKO, while Lane has four losses by KO/TKO, including his most recent fight. Based on that, backing Diniz to win by KO/TKO will be our lean.

David Onama vs. Jonathan Pearce – Fight to go the Distance – No (-175)

The second fight on the Main Card at UFC on ESPN 55 will see David Onama take on Jonathan Pearce. This will be a fight in the UFC Featherweight division. Pearce is the heavy favorite in this fight, but instead of backing him or Onama on the money line, we will be looking for this fight to end inside the distance. Onama has seen 11 of his 13 career fights end inside the distance, while Pearce has seen 15 of his 19 fights do the same. Because both fighters have a high finish rate, backing this fight to end inside the distance will be our best bet.