We’re on the cusp of UFC 288. If you want to make money off the pay-per-view, you’d be smart to explore the prop betting market. It’s loaded with opportunities, but we’ve gone ahead and hand-picked the three most worth betting on. Keep reading to get the best prop bets of UFC 288!
- What: UFC 288
- Where: Newark, New Jersey
- When: Saturday, May 6
Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo Prop Betting Pick
The main event features two fighters with a lot to prove — the bantamweight champion, Sterling, and the former champion, Cejudo, fresh off retirement. When it comes to this title clash, we’re pulled to betting on whether Cejudo vs. Sterling goes the distance. The odds are almost even at the most-used UFC online bookmakers:
Sterling, more so than perhaps any other three-time-defending champion in UFC history, is still not respected. Critics didn’t like his initial title win over Petr Yan by disqualification no his successful defenses against Yan again and TJ Dillashaw (who was injured). While we do think Sterling is beatable, there’s a lot to like about his matchup here. Sterling is the bigger fighter with a seven-inch reach advantage (more on that shortly).
Then there’s Cejudo, who is fighting for the first time in three years. No one besides his camp truly knows whether he’s still the dominant champion of old (or even close to it). Cejudo has stacked up Olympic wrestling gold medals and multi-division titles in the UFC, but Father Time and inactivity has never been kind to fighters.
To us, this fight is going the distance. We favor Sterling to win, and if so, it’ll be by decision. Sterling striking is advantageous because of the reach edge we mentioned before, but it’s not like he has stopping power either. Cejudo is the better wrestler but he might struggle to pin down a larger foe like Sterling. Either way, we sense it’ll take five rounds to decide the winner in this one.
Gilbert Burns vs. Belal Muhammad Prop Betting Pick
This co-main event was thrown together last-minute, at the detriment of both fighters stepping in on such short notice. The moneyline odds are almost at pick ‘em. But even better than that, the Burns-Muhammad exact outdoor prop has plus-money lines across the board. Here are all the betting options:
Outcome | |||
---|---|---|---|
Muhammad by Stoppage | +400 | +400 | +400 |
Muhammad by Decision | +200 | +200 | +200 |
Draw | +6600 | +6600 | +6600 |
Burns by Stoppage | +180 | +180 | +180 |
Burns by Decision | +250 | +250 | +250 |
We think the late-fight arrangement hurts Muhammad slightly more than Burns. You see, Muhammad wasn’t even in camp — and hasn’t been since late 2022 when he last fought. Cause of that, he was severely overweight when it was first put together only two weeks ago. He has to drop at least 19 pounds to make the 171-pound limit. Losing that type of weight so fast will leave his body feeling far from 100 percent come fight night.
Burns’ body was at least in fight mode. He defeated Jorge Masvidal a month ago at UFC 287. He took some damage that night, but not an overwhelming amount since Masvidal was noticeably slower (and hinted at retirement afterward). To us, this is Burns’ fight to lose more than anything else.
One thing bettors must realize about this specific bet: this is a five-round fight, not three. So if you’re betting decision outdone, just know it’ll take a few more rounds to hit. Our inkling is that Burns ends this early. Submissions are always a possibility with these jiu-jitsu experts, and as we said, Muhammad’s body will be vulnerable due to the drastic weight cut. Take Burns to win by early stoppage here.
Jessica Andrade vs. Yan Xiaonan Prop Betting Pick
Women strawweights also feature on the UFC 288 card. When it comes to Andrade-Xiaonan, we’re also sticking with the fight to go the distance prop. As it stands, odds say going the full three rounds is the more likely scenario:
We’ll go right ahead and say it: this fight will end before the judges can decide it. And it’s actually for a similar reason we mentioned last right: one of the fighter’s body might be susceptible. That fighter is the betting favorite, Andrade. Get this, it will be here third fight in five months. At that point, overactivity becomes a problem.
Plus, Xiaonan is the type of fighter that can make you pay dearly for a slip-up. Xiaonan is a striker, and so is Andrade. We favor an early stoppage win by Xiaonan, but Andrade will have her chances too. Either way, it’s best to just bet the no on this prop.
How To Bet On UFC 288?
We love the three wagers above, but there are all types of UFC bets available for Saturday’s show. If you want a complete list of UFC 288 bets, then start by visiting one of the bookmakers listed underneath. Any one of them will offer them all — not only for this show but future UFC cards too.
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