The world’s leading MMA promotion returns this weekend with a star-studded pay-per-view card. UFC 276 takes place this Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the event is stacked with two title fights at the top, as well as a number of other big-name fights littered throughout the card. 

For this week’s UFC betting picks, we will take a closer look at the two title fights set to go down, as well as one other preliminary card fight.

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UFC 276 Main Event Best Bet

Israel Adesanya (-380) vs. Jared Cannonier (+310)

The main event of UFC 276 features UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya against top contender Jared Cannonier. This should be a great fight for as long as it lasts, but I’m going with the champion Adesanya to defend his belt as a -380 favorite on betting sites.

Adesanya joined the UFC in 2018 and is 11-1 overall in the Octagon, including a perfect 11-0 as a middleweight. The 32-year-old New Zealand native is an elite striker who has won 15 fights by knockout in his MMA career. In the UFC alone, he has beaten the likes of Robert Whittaker, Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori. Adesanya has some of the best striking in the entire sport and he also has improved grappling skills. At 185lbs, he is by far the best fighter in his weight class, and he doesn’t appear to have many weaknesses.

As for Cannonier, the 38-year-old American is a bit of a late bloomer as he joined the UFC in 2015 but only made the move to middleweight in 2018. Since then, it’s clear that Cannonier has found his proper weight class as he’s 5-1 at middleweight with four wins by knockout, including over Derek Brunson, Jack Hermansson and Anderson Silva. 

Cannonier has big-time knockout power and he has great conditioning as well. He is a great fighter, but he does have one flaw in that he has been knocked down in many of his fights, and now he is taking on an elite striker in Adesanya. Cannonier has a puncher’s chance, but it’s more likely he’s the one who gets KO’d.

The Pick: Israel Adesanya wins at -380 with DraftKings

Alternative Pick: Israel Adesanya wins by knockout at +165 with DraftKings

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Other UFC 276 Best Bets

Alexander Volkanovski (-195) vs. Max Holloway (+165)

The co-main event of UFC 276 is a trilogy bout between UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Volkanovski has previously defeated Holloway twice by decision, and I believe he wins for the third time as a -195 favorite on sports betting apps.

Volkanovski has won 21 straight fights, including a perfect 11-0 record since joining the UFC in 2016. Since then, the 33-year-old Aussie has been the best featherweight in the UFC, as he’s beaten everyone in his path including Holloway twice, plus other great fighters like Brian Ortega, Jose Aldo and Chan Sung Jung. Volkanovski has no weaknesses in his game and he is solid everywhere, with excellent striking and wrestling skills. He already has two wins over Holloway, so he knows how to beat him, even though the second fight between them was very close.

As for Holloway, it’s hard to find anything negative to say about him as he is truly one of the best featherweights of all time. The 30-year-old Hawaiian joined the UFC in 2012 and since then he has put together a 19-6 record in the Octagon, with notable wins over the likes of Yair Rodriguez, Calvin Kattar, Frankie Edgar, and the aforementioned Aldo and Ortega. 

Holloway has some of the best striking skills in the featherweight division and underrated grappling, too. He also has an iron chin, having never been knocked out. However, he takes a lot of damage in his fights, and it’s possible that he is starting to slow down a bit at this point in his MMA career.

I’m picking Volkanovski to defeat Holloway for the third time as a -195 favorite. And just like the first two fights where he won on points, I’ll take Volkanovski to win by decision at +120.

The Pick: Alexander Volkanovski wins at -195 with DraftKings

Alternative Pick: Alexander Volkanovski wins by decision at +120 with DraftKings

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Dricus Du Plessis (-125) vs. Brad Tavares (+105)

On the preliminary card is a middleweight bout between Dricus Du Plessis and Brad Tavares. The odds are close, but I like Du Plessis to get the win here as one of our UFC picks.

Du Plessis is a 28-year-old South African fighter who joined the UFC in 2020. He knocked out Marcus Perez in his promotional debut and then followed it up with another knockout win over Trevin Giles last summer. While he has shown impressive knockout power during his UFC career, he is a well-rounded fighter who has won nine fights by knockout and seven fights by submission. 

He is an impressive physical specimen who is physically strong, and he appears to have great cardio, too. There is a lot to like about Du Plessis, and I believe he could potentially be a top-10 ranked fighter in the UFC middleweight division within the next year.

Tavares, meanwhile, has been a stalwart of the UFC’s 185lbs division since he first joined the promotion back in 2010. Over the years, the 34-year-old Hawaiian has been one of the best middleweights in the UFC as he’s put together a 14-6 record inside the Octagon. He is still performing at a high level, winning his last two fights over Omari Akhmedov and Antonio Carlos Jr. Tavares is well-rounded with good striking and solid wrestling skills. 

However, at some point, all of the wear-and-tear is going to catch up to him. As tough as Tavares is, he has been knocked out three times during his UFC career, and now he’s taking on a big power-puncher in Du Plessis, which could ultimately prove to be a bad matchup for him.

Give me Du Plessis to get his hand raised as a short -125 betting favorite, and if you want to take a shot on a prop, you can look at Du Plessis to win by knockout..

The Pick: Dricus Du Plessis wins at -125 with DraftKings

Alternative Pick: Dricus Du Plessis wins by TKO at +180 with DraftKings

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