He was 30 seconds from winning his 20th straight fight until Kamaru Usman felt the head kick from hell. Leon Edwards had the upset of 2022 and will now fight in front of his hometown crowd as the welterweight champion of the world. But before that we have a stacked card featuring the most violent man in MMA Justin Gaethje.

Here are some specifics. The early prelims start at 5:30pm and the prelims start at 8. main card is at 10pm . All of it is on ESPN+ and it cost $80

I will give you my predictions in the order the fights are to take place. All odds are courtesy of Bet MGM. The King of Sports Books! For new users head on over there and use the promocode PatEgan and get your first bet RISK FREE up to $1K

In 2022 I hit on 58% of picks. In 2022 I hit on 65% of “locks”. Admittedly its been a SLOW start in 2023 but its a minor setback for a MAJOR comeback.

This season im 36-29-1 (12-9 locks)

(8-5

Been on a rough stretch but damnit we’re righting the ship! #UFCLasVegas

Carleton Harris 🔒
Bruno Silva
JJ Aldrich
Victor Henry 🔒
Sedriques Dumas
Davey Grant
Karl Williams
Vitor Petrino
Mario Bautista
Said Nurmagomedov
Ryan Spann 🔒
Alexandr Ramanov 🔒
Merab Dvalishvili

PRELIMS

Veronica Hardy

Jai Herbert

Joanne Wood

Jack Hadley

Dusko Todorovic

Lerone Murphy (lock)

Mo Mokaev (lock)

Yanal Ashmoz

Omar Morales

MAIN EVENT TIME

• Jack Shore vs. Makwan Amirkhani

  Ill always respect Makwan Amirkhani for his tapology picture because its the most G thing in the sport. But hes a mediocre fighter. This fight is nothing more than a gimme fight for the hometown kid in Jack Shore who is coming back to the area after being the Cage Warriors Champion. Shore lost his first fight of his career in his last fight and got tapped out by a very tough Ricky Simon. But Simon is MUCH better than Amirkhani. With that said, Shore has to keep away from Amirkhani on the ground because thats where he thrives. His ground game is elite. The rest of it is….meh. I think Shore tunes him up and gets the crowd into it to kick off the main card.

  Jack Shore (Lock)

• Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze

  Marvin Vettori is an incredibly talented fighter but hes became a gatekeeper to contendership. Hes only lost to the best; Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. No doubt in my mind that if he fought Alex Perreira he would lose that as well. So Roman Dolidze is trying to break into true contendership and he can do so with a win. Hes run through recent opponents but he isnt running through Vettori. Whos cardio is insane and whos ground game is elite. He wears opponents down with a relentless pace, and he will do the same on Saturday.

  Marvin Vettori (lock)

• Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O'Neill

  Even though she has only had 4 fights in the UFC, Casey O’Neill has proved to be a PROBLEM. She has steamrolled competition and made vets look stupid. But she’s never faced someone of Jennifer Maia’s caliber. The former title challenger is a BIG flyweight. She will have the size advantage in this one and the road to victory for her is wearing O’Neil down in the clinch and then getting it to the ground and keeping her there. O’Neill though is well rounded and I think she causes problems for Maia and takes home the win solidifying her contendership.

  Casey O’Neill

• Gunnar Nelson vs. Bryan Barberena

  Gunnar Nelson is….cooked. And its not like Bryan Barberena is a world beater, but I think he is slightly better than Nelson. Frankly, its a gross fight and it shouldnt be on the main card. Im really picking Barberena because I still think he has the passion for getting in there and I dont see that with Nelson. I think Nelson is in there for a paycheck.

  Bryan Barberena

• Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev

  The most violent man in MMA is BACK. Justin Gaethje is worth the ridiculous price that UFC is now charging for PPV’s. My biggest issue with this fight is its only 3 rounds. Thats a blessing in the sense that it means we may get Gaethje back sooner than later because youre taking out 2 potential rounds for damage, but it also sucks because Gaethje is someone you WANT to watch. In Rafael Fiziev youve got a guy who is looking to jump into the title picture and has been on a war path. a 6 fight win streak that includes a TKO win against the former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Santos. He’s done it with heavy hands and elite striking. BUT in Gaethje youve got a guy who can take a punch and dish it out and then some. Since working with coach Trevor Whitman hes changed his approach a bit. When he first stepped into the UFC he threw caution to the wind and just went in swinging, looking to get 50K with a “if I die, I die” mentality. He started racking up some losses and realized he needed to make a change. Whitman has taught Gaethje that he can still keep that wild pace, but do so wisely. Not looking to get hit to prove a point. I think Gaethje’s pace gives Fiziev real problems and I think he takes it.

  Justin Gaethje

• Leon Edwards (C) vs. Kamaru Usman

  Kamaru Usman is the best welterweight in the world and he proved that in their last fight for 24 and a half minutes. Unfortunately for Usman he got head kicked into the abyss and lost his belt and win streak. But dont get fooled by the highlight reel knock out. Usman is elite. He is the best in the world. I think their first fight was a fluke and this is one way traffic.

  Kamaru Usman (lock)

• Parlays!

  Since BET MGM is the king of parlay’s here is how the parlay odds look!

  if you take every one of my picks and parlay them on BetMGM, wagering $100 you’d win $3,124,236 (+3124136)
  If you just parlay the prelims, using all my picks and wagering $100 you would walk away with $89,673 (+89573)
  Parlay the main card, taking all my picks and wagering $100 you would cash in $3,483 (+3383)
  And if you just want to take my locks and parlay them on BetMGM, wagering $100 you would win $411 (+311)

  Odds subject to change. Good luck!

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