There is no bigger stage for a sporting event than Madison Square Garden and the UFC returns to New York this weekend with two of its greatest ever athletes.
The best heavyweight of all time Stipe Miocic attempts to dethrone Jon Jones from atop the division and reclaim his belt at 42 years of age and in doing so, be the first man to defeat him.
After being forced to sit on the sidelines because of an inactive, and seemingly unmotivated Conor McGregor, Michael Chandler also returns to the octagon in a rematch with former UFC Lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.
The lights will shine bright inside the famous arena on Saturday night in the city that never sleeps and we’ve completed our homework on the best betting plays below.
Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic
We last saw Jon ‘Bones’ Jones at UFC 285 in March 2023, when he joined the elite group of fighters to win UFC titles in two separate divisions by submitting Ciryl Gane to win the vacant Heavyweight belt.
The only blemish in his historic 29 fight career came via a disqualification in 2009, a rule that has now been recently abandoned by the sport’s biggest promotion.
A complete martial artist, Jon Jones has conquered every challenger put in front of him over a remarkable time span and it is hard to find a flaw in his game.
The now 37 year old became the youngest UFC champion in history in 2011 with excellent wrestling prowess, dynamic muay thai skills and an innate ability to control distance when striking.
Stipe Miocic first won the UFC Heavyweight title in 2016 and defended the belt three times before Daniel Cormier took it from him.
Proving his greatest, he regained, and then defended his belt again against Cormier before eventually losing to Francis Ngannou.
That is the last time we saw Miocic in the octagon, over three years ago, and father time may be catching up to him at 42 years of age.
There can be no doubting his ability because he has been here and done it all before in this division and it will take a brave punter to deny his chances of winning this fight.
Jon Jones goes into the fight as a massive favourite, and rightfully so but he’s come up too short in the market.
Both of these guys have a huge fight IQ which has helped them climb to the top and stay there, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a feeling out process that takes place for the first part of the fight.
2 Units Fight Will Start Round 3 @ $1.96
Charles Oliveira vs Michael Chandler
A former champion in Bellator, Michael Chandler made an impact straight away when joining the biggest promotion in the world, not only by winning but by putting on exciting wars with top ranked opponents.
The record will show that he has more losses than wins inside the octagon so far but his fights against Charlis Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier could have easily gone his way if one of his vicious strikes had of landed flush like it did when he landed a brutal front kick against Tony Ferguson.
UFC gold has eluded him so far but he’s had plenty of time to think about it when waiting for Conor McGregor who we may never see again.
Chandler is the ultimate professional athlete which is evident in his explosive and quick striking ability as well as his fast twitch movements on his feet and on the canvas.
Charles Oliveira won the vacant title against Chandler in May 2021, and then went on to beat Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier before losing his title against Islam Makhachev.
He has more submission wins than any other UFC fighter of all time but he is not only a threat when the fight goes to the ground, and he has 10 wins via knockout on his resume.
It’s hard to believe that Chandler is older than Jon Jones but he always shows up in fantastic shape and I very much doubt he has been sitting on his hands during his time off.
The price that we are getting is too hard to ignore especially considering he was seconds away from ending the fight the first time they met.
1 Unit Michael Chandler To Win @ $3.00
Bo Nickal vs Paul Craig
Former three time division one wrestling gold medalist Bo Nickal has been unstoppable since arriving in mixed martial arts and comes into this fight with a perfect record of six wins without a loss.
He won a UFC contract via the Dana White Contender Series with a first round submission win and has finished all three of his opponents in the UFC so far.
Paul Craig is a veteran of the sport, having made his UFC debut in 2016 and has 17 wins from 26 career fights.
His grappling abilities are some of the best we have ever seen in the division and he not only gave Magomed Ankalaev his only career loss via submission but also broke the arm of former Light Heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill.
He does come into this fight with just one win from his last five fights and it’s fairly obvious that his inability to stand and strike puts him in a tough position.
Oftentimes he is lying flat on his back, willing his opponent into his guard like a spider and his web, and if Nickal can avoid falling for that trap he should be able to land the strikes that will end the fight.
2 Units Bo Nickal By KO/TKO
Viviane Araujo vs Karine Silva
37 year old Vivian Araujo made her UFC debut at UFC 237 in 2019 and has six wins from 11 fights inside the octagon.
This includes two victories from her last six fights.
Her first eight professional fights were finishes but amazingly her last 10 straight have required the judges decision.
Karine Silva is eight years younger than her opponent and brings in a nine fight win streak into this contest.
Four of those wins have been in the UFC and none bigger than her decision win over Ariane Lipski in April.
Another classic case of an emerging fighter being thrown in against a tough and experienced fighter but at the price, I’m going with the veteran in a close decision.
1 Unit Viviane Araujo by Decision
Mauricio Ruffy vs James Llontop
Brazilian Mauricio Ruffy brought a record of 8-1 into Dana White’s Contender Series and won a contract with a third round TKO victory.
He couldn’t have been any more impressive when dismantling Aussie veteran Jamie Mullarkey in his UFC debut, ending the fight in the first round.
James Llontop is only 25 years of age but he too won himself a contract through the same pathway, impressing Dana White enough with a decision win.
His UFC life may be on the line in this fight coming off two losses from as many fights in the octagon and this does look one of the easier picks on the entire card.
4 Units Mauricio Ruffy By KO/TKO or Submission