Kamaru Usman will defend his welterweight throne against Leon Edwards in Salt Lake City next Saturday. The two clash in the headliner of the UFC 278, one of the biggest spectacles this year. Apart from this event, we have more great fights, among them the bantamweight battle between Jose Aldo and Merab Dvalishvili and the middleweight bout Paulo Costa VS Luke Rockhold.

All of them promise a good spectacle and enjoyable time, but we are here to present a few picks that would be of use to you. 

Preview

Usman VS Edwards

Both of these guys are coming in with a double-digit unbeaten streak. Kamaru won his last 19 bouts, while Edwards had 10 in a row without a loss. 

Usman is the No.1 on the UFC pound-for-pound rankings and is, without a doubt, the most dominant guy in the organization. For the moment, we don’t have a fighter that controls the division like he does. 

Fast, strong, and powerful, Kamaru has it all, and it is no wonder why he still remains undefeated in the UFC. His wrestling is great due to the unmatched cardio and raw power this guy possesses. On the other side, his punching power is devastating as well, and we saw him breaking rivals with jabs or overhand hits on numerous occasions. For the moment, Kamaru defended the title five times.

Leon Edwards has nine wins and one no-contest bout in the last 10 appearances in the octagon. His previous loss was against Kamaru via unanimous decision back in 2015, and since then, the English fella was always in the combination for attacking the belt, but he never quite got the chance until now. Rocky is a very strong and aggressive guy, who knows to do his job both on his feet and on the ground. And also, his cardio is excellent, which is why 10 of his 19 wins are via decision.

This one will probably go to the distance, but even if it doesn’t, we are pretty sure that Kamaru is going to win it and post another successful defense to his tally. This guy is fantastic, and there aren’t any obstacles he can’t pass. For the moment, we believe that the Nigerian Nightmare is on another level compared to all the rivals in the division, and that’s why his win here is a logical pick.

Pick: Kamaru Usman wins 1/4 at BetXchange

Paulo Costa VS Luke Rockhold

This is a middleweight bout between the former title challenger, Costa, and the former champion, Rockhold. The Brazilian lost his last two bouts, one against Adesanya in September 2020, and the latter in October 2021, to Marvin Vettori. On the other side, Rockhold has been away since 2019, which is a long time, and until then, this guy didn’t have too much success.

He lost the middleweight title against Michael Bisping, bouncing back later against David Branch. Yet, he suffered two devastating KOs to Yoel Romero and Jan Blachowicz. 

We don’t have any doubts here, Costa will beat Rockhold, who isn’t in some particular shape, and we believe that the Brazilian is going to finish the battle via KO.

Pick: Paulo Costa wins 1/3 at BetXchange

Jose Aldo VS Merab Dvalishvili

Aldo would like to have another shot at the bantamweight title, and so would Dvalishvili. The Brazilian lost to Petr Yan in the title fight, while Merab never got to that level. 

Aldo won three in a row, beating Vera, Munhoz, and Font, while on the other side, Merab has seven wins in a row, the most recent to Moraes, and that one was via KO.

The Georgian is in fantastic physical shape, and that is the only reason we bet on his victory. This guy is one of the best wrestlers in the division, and we don’t think that Aldo has a chance against him and his cardio. 

Pick: Merab Dvalishvili wins 4/5 via BetXchange

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