UFC 273 Prelim Betting Preview

Whilst UFC 273’s main card is what will draw the eyes of many fans, the preliminary card also contains a number of intriguing matchups that have some solid value to them. Young Irish prospect Ian Garry makes his second walk to the UFC octagon, whilst Aspen Ladd attempts to bounce back from a lackluster performance against Norma Dumont in 2021.

In the following article, we will be previewing the preliminary card of UFC 273 and sharing what we believe to be the best bets available. Whilst we will use Best Fight Odds for this article, if you are looking for betting lines outside of MMA, such as Esports, soccer, and more, then has you covered.

Ian Garry vs. Darian Weeks

Ian Garry (8-0) is one of the biggest rising prospects to recently come out of the Cage Warriors regional scene. Aptly nicknamed ‘The Future,’ Garry made his UFC debut at Madison Square Garden on the undercard of UFC 268. The undefeated Irishman knocked out Jordan Williams in the first round, although he did initially have to overcome some early adversity.

This weekend at UFC 273, Ian Garry will take on Darian Weeks (5-1). Weeks made his UFC debut in 2021, stepping up on short notice to face Bryan Barberena. The fight did not go the debutant’s way, as Berberana was able to pick up the unanimous decision victory. However, Weeks did show flashes of quality and potential throughout the fight.

There will likely come a time to fade Ian Garry, as the UFC will insist on pushing him due to his undefeated status and brash personality, quite possibly resulting in him being matched up with an extremely high level of competition before he is ready. However, for the time being, Garry is being matched up well. Weeks actually has less cage time than he does and could have done with a few more fights on the regionals before being called up to the UFC.

Garry is a heavy favorite, currently sitting at around -355. This is not a logical ML pick, but the undefeated Irishman does become the first leg of our Prelim Parlay.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Marcin Tybura

Top 10 ranked heavyweights clash in this preliminary bout of UFC 273. The odds are relatively close, with Jairzinho Rozenstruik coming in as a slight favorite at around -155. It is this line that we will be taking, due to Rozenstruik’s impressive track record against consistently high-level opposition.

Marcin Tybura is certainly deserving of his place in the top 15 of the heavyweight division. However, many of his wins have come about after his opponents over-exert themselves early on, and then succumb to Tybura’s dangerous ground and pound game. This is not a strategy that will work against Rozenstruik, who notoriously tends not to over-exert himself. He also has adequate takedown defense and hits very hard.

As a result, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, at -155, becomes the second leg of our parlay.

Aspen Ladd vs. Raquel Pennington

Raquel Pennington steps in on short notice to face off against Aspen Ladd in this UFC 273 top 10 women’s bantamweight matchup. Despite the short notice nature of this bout, Pennington is the favorite, currently sitting at -190.

This is likely due to the extremely lackluster showing Aspen Ladd put on against Norma Dumont in her most recent fight. Alternatively, Pennington is riding a three-fight winning streak, and is making a late-career run towards the title.

We will be taking Pennington in this fight, although -190 is a little wide. As a result, we will instead go for Pennington by decision, which is at about even money on most books. Ladd is a tough fighter and Pennington has gone the distance in six of her last seven fights.

Pennington by dec is leg three of our parlay.

Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott

Out of all the fights on the prelims of UFC 273, this is the hardest to call. I would advise parlaying the first three picks as your main bet, and taking a sprinkle on this pick as a four-leg parlay.

We are going to go with Mike Malott at a -195 favorite. Mickey Gall has routinely shown that he is unable to compete with UFC level competition, having come short in his bouts with Alex Morono, Mike Perry, Diego Sanchez, and Randy Brown. He is able to defeat fighters who are not yet ready for this step up in adversity, but Mike Malott is a solid prospect who already has some good experience under his belt.

Training out of Team Alpha Male, Malott has actually been a pro fighter since 2011, despite his 7-1-1 record. He holds wins over DWCS veterans Solomon Renfro and Shimon Smotritsky, who he defeated to claim a UFC contract. It would have been ideal to see Malott fight at least once in the UFC before making this pick, but we are going to take him at his ML.

Mike Malott at -195 becomes the final leg of our Prelim Parlay. With all four legs, bettors will find themselves at around +500 odds if they trail our picks.

Do you agree with our bets for UFC 273’s prelims?