This weekend, we get a very exciting card, with thirteen scheduled fights, in this next edition of UFC Fight Night (UFC Vegas 30). For this post, we will focus on the main card and provide early previews and picks for each fight. Circumstances, including weigh-ins and other health concerns during this pandemic, can greatly impact not only each fight on Saturday, but where they end up on the card. We will keep all of you up to date with relevant information through our social media accounts and then in our Game Picks on Saturday. Picks mentioned in this post are NOT our final picks:
Ciryl Gane(-155) vs Alexander Volkov (+125)
If you have not yet had the chance to watch Ciryl Gane fight, tune in for this one. Gane is not your typical heavyweight who impresses with power. Intead, the upcoming star separates himself with amazing athleticism, impressive speed, and even more noticeable fight IQ. Gane’s striking is unique and he always seems be landing combos, never just one shot. He is great in the clinch and has shown an ability to score takedowns. Gane is a complete fighter. His opponent, Volkov, is coming off the most impressive win of his career over an aging Alistair Overeem. Volkov is a powerful striker who likes to move forward. Volkov’s propensity to get hit will be his downfall this weekend against the talented Gane. Our pick is Gane. We would be interested in taking Gane by decision at +188.
Tanner Boser (-177) vs Ovince Saint Preux (+140)
Neither fighter in this heavyweight bout is particularly exciting at this point in their careers. Boer is coming off consecutive losses, most recently losing just a few weeks ago to a lesser known Ilir Latifi. Boser is a competitive striker, who throws both punches and kicks, but lacks any kind of mat skills. His opponent, OSP, has likely already seen his prime pass him by. We are far removed from the OSP who fought Jon Jones to a decision back at UFC 197 in 2016. OSP has lost considerable athleticism since then and has had trouble managing his weight lately. He missed weight in his last fight and is now fighting up a weight class. You know how we feel about guys who miss weight. We would rather sit back and enjoy this fight but if we had to make a pick, we will reluctantly take Boser, but it is more about fading an older OSP.
Raoni Barcelos (-230) vs Timur Valiev (+180)
Barcelos could be one of the better fighters on the UFC roster that nobody really knows about. He fights at a high pace, with good volume and solid striking. Barcelos shows skills in all facets of a fight. He has a strong chin and good cardio. Barcelos even has a BJJ black belt. His opponent, Valiev was impressive in his most recent fight, which was a win over Martin Day, but Valiev is not known for having much cardio. Valiev will come out strong and fade quickly after round 1. Barcelos will continue to pressure as the fight carries on. This could present a live bet option to get a better line, but we will take Barcelos even at this price.
Andre Fili (-230) vs Daniel Pineda (+180)
”Touchy” Fili is a true fighters-fighter. He fights with great volume, he has a strong chin, and tremendous. Fili is nearly impossible to stop. His opponent, Pineda, is at the tail-end of his career and has lost five of his last seven fights. Pineda is another fighter that starts strong and then burns out. Interestingly, Pineda has 27 career wins, all within the distance. That is an insane finishing rate, but it all speaks to his only path to victory: getting the finish. We do not think Fili is getting finished, so we will happily back the TAM fighter. We will even get some action here on Fili by decision at +162.
Tim Means (-137) vs Nicolas Dalby (+110)
Means is coming in on a two-fight winning streak, including an impressive win over Mike Perry. Means is an exciting fighter who has been in a handful of wars throughout his career. The damage is starting to accumulate and is cause for concern, but he possess excellent cardio and has shown to be durable in his career to date. His opponent, Dalby, is a technical striker, but has shown inconsistency throughout his career which has been credited to his battle with mental health issues. We would never speak down on such a serious health concern. If anybody needs help they should get it and we are certainly happy for Dalby who seems to be working through his troubles, but it leaves us unsure which version of Dalby will step into the cage this weekend. This fight is very close, we will not rush to put any bets on it, but if we had to pick, we will side with the veteran Means. Regardless of the outcome, we expect a violent fight that will be fun to watch.
Renato Moicano (-250) vs Jai Herbert (+195)
Kicking off the main card, we have another bout which features two fighters coming off losses. Moicano has lost three of his last four fights by knockout. Herbert was KO’d in his UFC debut by Francisco Trinaldo. Both guys have power, but both guys have questionable chins. Moicano definitely holds a technical edge over Herbert, who is still a young fighter with much to learn, but we will not waste any time breaking this one down any further. If we had to pick a fighter here, it would be Moicano, but our pick for this fight is violence. Our favorite bet is under 2.5 rounds at -135.
*Please do not mistake our opinions expressed here as our picks for the card. We will post all picks for this event and all UFC events in the Game Picks section of the website.
**Odds accurate at time of posting
***Also, let us know if you like this UFC preview! Would you want to see a full card breakdown in the future?