UFC on ESPN 43 (UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Sandhagen) is on Saturday. The event will be hosted at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. There are 13 fights scheduled for UFC on ESPN 43.
Marlon Vera will fight Cory Sandhagen in the main event at bantamweight. The co-main event will feature two of the top women bantamweights. Holly Holm will fight Yana Santos.
Here are my top three best bets for the UFC on ESPN 43 main card:
Vera vs. Sandhagen Predictions
Fight Odds: Vera (+145) vs. Sandhagen (-170)
Vera (20-7-1) is on a four-fight win streak. He’s coming off a KO win against Dominick Cruz. Sandhagen (15-4) is 1-2 in his last three fights, but he’s coming off a win against Yadong Song (TKO).
Sandhagen averages more strikes landed (6.15 SLpM vs. 4.28 SLpM) and he absorbs less strikes (4.21 SApM vs. 5.01 SApM). He utilizes excellent footwork to keep his opponents guessing.
Vera does have a lot of power, though. He has 8 TKO/KO wins and he’s capable of landing submissions as well. However, Sandhagen has been only stopped once and that was against Aljamain Sterling.
Best Bet: Sandhagen By Decision (+130)
Holm vs. Santos Predictions
Fight Odds: Holm (-240) vs. Santos (+200)
Holm (14-6) is just 2-2 since 2019. She’s coming off a loss to Ketlen Vieira (Split Decision). Santos is 4-3 since joining the UFC in 2018. She’s coming off a loss against Irene Aldana (TKO).
Santos’s last five losses have been by stoppage, with the last three being by TKO. Holm has 8 TKO/KO wins, but she hasn’t won by TKO/KO since 2017 when she defeated Bethe Correia.
Santos isn’t a finisher and her last five wins have been by decision. Santos averages 4.28 SLpM and 2.94 SApM, while Holm averages 3.24 SLpM and 2.86 SApM. This fight will be closer than the odds indicate.
Best Bet: Santos ML (+200)
Perez vs. Kape Predictions
Fight Odds: Perez (+155) vs. Kape (-180)
The second fight on the main card features two top ten flyweights. Alex Perez (24-7) has lost his last two fights by submission against Deiveson Figueiredo (November 2020) and Alexandre Pantoja (July 2022).
Manel Kape (18-6) has strung together three consecutive wins after losing his first two UFC fights. Two of the wins have been by TKO/KO. Kape has 11 TKO/KO wins, but Perez has only lost by TKO/KO once.
Kape will have the edge in striking along with a 3” reach advantage. Perez averages 2.84 takedowns per 15 minutes, but he has been submitted five times and Kape has five career submission wins.
This is another close fight that could swing either way, but I’m going with Kape to win again.
Best Bet: Kape ML (-180)
UFC on ESPN 43 Betting Lines
Here are the betting odds for all of the fights scheduled for UFC on ESPN 43 this Saturday:
Marlon Vera (+145) vs. Cory Sandhagen (-170)
Holly Holm (-240) vs. Yana Santos (+200)
Nate Landwehr (-200) vs. Austin Lingo (+170)
Andrea Lee (+220) vs. Maycee Barber (-270)
Alex Perez (+155) vs. Manel Kape (-180)
Chidi Njokuani (-155) vs. Albert Duraev (+130)
Daniel Pineda (+230) vs. Tucker Lutz (-280)
Steven Peterson (-155) vs. Lucas Alexander (+130)
Trevin Giles (-110) vs. Preston Parsons (-110)
CJ Vergara (-260) vs. Daniel Lacerda (+210)
Manuel Torres (-145) vs. Trey Ogden (+120)
Victor Altamirano (-105) vs. Vinicius Salvador (-115)
Hailey Cowan (-115) vs. Tamires Vidal (-105)
