The Octagon is back at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas this Saturday night for UFC San Antonio: Vera vs. Sandhagen. The two namesakes of the event, Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen, headline the card, and there are 12 other undercard bouts. 

For our latest UFC picks at Bookies.com, we’ll give our main event pick and two undercard fight picks.

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UFC San Antonio Main Event Best Bet

Cory Sandhagen (-165) vs. Marlon Vera (+140)

The headliner of UFC San Antonio features top-five ranked bantamweights Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera going at it for five rounds or less. Sandhagen is a -165 favorite on sports betting sites, and I like him to get the victory.

Sandhagen has been one of the top bantamweights in the UFC ever since entering the Octagon in 2018. The 30-year-old American is coming off of a big TKO win over Song Yadong to snap a two-fight losing skid against top fighters Petr Yan and TJ Dillashaw.

He has awesome striking skills and he also has a really good ground game, making him very well-rounded. His only losses came against former champions, something that Vera is not. That being said, his opponent is still very dangerous and Sandhagen will have to be careful here.

Vera has actually been in the UFC since 2014, but he is really starting to come into his own as a legitimate title contender now. The 30-year-old Ecuador native has won his last four fights in a row, putting on impressive performances against Dominick Cruz, Rob Font, Frankie Edgar, and Davey Grant. 

He is one of the most exciting and dangerous fighters in the UFC bantamweight division as he is able to beat his opponents on both the feet and on the ground. One thing to note, however, is that Vera has a negative striking differential, meaning he gets hit more often than he lands back on his opponents. 

That’s worked out OK for him because he has fight-ending power that can change things, but it might be a bad sign facing Sandhagen. If this fight is a point-for-point battle, Sandhagen might come out on top if Vera can’t get the finish.

Look for a competitive battle that hits the scorecards, but ultimately it will be Sandhagen who takes the judges’ decision. Give me Sandhagen at -165 and take him by decision for a prop.

UFC San Antonio Best Bet: Cory Sandhagen wins at -165 at DraftKings Sportsbook

UFC San Antonio Best Prop Bet: Cory Sandhagen wins by decision at DraftKings Sportsbook

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Other UFC San Antonio Best Bets

Holly Holm (-225) vs. Yana Santos (+185)

The co-main event of UFC San Antonio is a women’s bantamweight bout between Holly Holm and Yana Santos. Holm is a -225 UFC betting favorite, and I believe she will get her hand raised.

Holm is the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion. At age 41, she is one of the oldest fighters in the division, but she’s still a solid fighter. In her last outing last year, she lost a controversial split decision to Ketlen Vieira in a fight that many fans felt she won. 

Prior to that, Holm had beaten Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana by decision, and those are two of the best fighters in the weight class. While she might not be a champion again, Holm’s elite striking skills and solid grappling should keep her at the top of the division for a few more years.

Santos is returning to the Octagon for the first time in nearly two years after taking time off after giving birth. The last time we saw her, the 33-year-old Santos was brutally knocked out by the aforementioned Aldana. Before that, she won a controversial decision over the aforementioned Vieira, and she’ll be looking to regain the momentum she lost after her last defeat. 

Santos is a hard-working fighter, but she doesn’t really excel in any area of the game. She now faces a far superior striker in Holm, so this could be a tough matchup if she can’t implement her grappling.

Even though Holm is getting up there in age, I still think she has a few wins left under her belt before she retires from MMA, and I believe she will outpoint Santos and get the win in this fight. Go with Holm to win the fight at -225, and take her to win by decision for a prop.

UFC San Antonio Best Bet: Holly Holm wins at -225 at DraftKings Sportsbook

UFC San Antonio Best Prop Bet: Holly Holm wins by decision at DraftKings Sportsbook

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Chidi Njokuani (-165) vs. Albert Duraev (+140)

Opening up the main card is a middleweight bout between Chidi Njokuani and Albert Duraev. Njokuani is a -165 betting favorite, and I like him to come away with the win.

At age 34, Njokuani is a late bloomer in the sport, but he is trying to make up for lost time with some big wins in the Octagon. Njokuani joined the UFC last year and quickly jumped into the mix in the middleweight division with knockout wins over Marc-Andre Barriault and Dusko Todorovic. 

After winning his first two UFC fights, he lost via knockout to Gregory Rodrigues in a war. He now looks to get back into the win column against Duraev. His key to victory will be to keep the fight standing and beat his opponent to the punch. If he is able to stop the takedowns and keep this fight on the feet, Njokuani has a very good chance to win.

Duraev is also 34 years old, so he’s a late bloomer just like Njokauni. He picked up a big win in his UFC debut over Roman Kopylov by decision, but then suffered a fairly one-sided TKO defeat to Joaquin Buckley in his last appearance. 

Duraev is a dangerous fighter who does his best work on the ground once he gets his opponents to the mat. However, his striking isn’t great, and neither is his defense or gas tank. Going up against a bigger, taller, longer opponent in Njokuani, Duraev is going to need to get this fight down to the ground if he’s going to win.

If he can keep this fight standing, Njokuani should win. Njokuani was on a roll before his last fight, and I believe he will get back in the win column with a TKO over Duraev to open up this card. Give me Njokuani at -165 on betting apps and take him to win by knockout if you like betting on props.

UFC San Antonio Best Bet: Chidi Njokuani wins at -165 at DraftKings Sportsbook

UFC San Antonio Best Prop Bet: Chidi Njokuani wins inside the distance at DraftKings Sportsbook

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