Rafael dos Anjos and Vicente Luque say their matchup Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night presents a prime opportunity to get their careers back on track. Their five-round battle tops the main UFC fight card starting at 7 p.m. ET from the Apex facility in Las Vegas, and the winner will have a step forward towards title-contention in the welterweight division. Dos Anjos is a former lightweight champion and one-time welterweight title challenger who will try to make one final late career run at another belt. Luque is a seasoned veteran who hopes to end a two-fight skid and potentially move into the top-five welterweight rankings.
Dos Anjos is a -125 favorite (risk $125 to win $100), while Luque is priced at +105 in the latest UFC Fight Night: Luque vs. Dos Anjos odds. In the co-main event, featherweight sluggers take the spotlight as prospect Hakeem Dawodu (-230) meets veteran Cub Swanson (+190). Before settling any UFC Fight Night: Luque vs. Dos Anjos picks, make sure you see the MMA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine expert Daniel Vithlani.
Vithlani is a highly analytical UFC bettor who profited more than $6,200 for $100 bettors in 2022. This includes a documented 24-14 record on his well-respected, two-leg parlays. Every pick was documented on his public Instagram account.
From breaking down film and following fighters and their camps closely, to tracking sharp action and betting market signals, Vithlani covers the breadth of the MMA betting landscape top to bottom. He also trains amateur boxers and speaks regularly with MMA fighters to understand the sport’s nuances.
In his SportsLine debut for UFC 283 in January, Vithlani swept the main card and his 5-0 ledger included advising SportsLine members to support Jamahal Hill (-125) against Glover Teixeira (+105) for the vacant light heavyweight title in the main event. Anyone who has followed him has seen massive returns.
Now, with UFC Fight Night: Luque vs. Dos Anjos in sight, Vithlani has scoured the UFC fight card from top to bottom and released his top MMA picks. Vithlani’s UFC Fight Night picks are only available at SportsLine.
UFC Fight Night: Luque vs. Dos Anjos preview
Dos Anjos (32-14) remains widely regarded as one of the most complete fighters in the UFC. His arsenal starts with a strong stand-up base that is formidable enough to compete with world-class strikers. But he’s even more lethal on the ground, using his elite wrestling and grappling to secure 11 submissions among his 24 career victories.
The 38-year-old Brazilian lost his first two UFC outings but responded with a run that saw him win 13 of 16 fights and capture the lightweight title with a decision win over Anothny Pettis in March 2015. He made one successful defense against Donald Cerrone before dropping the belt to Eddie Alvarez.
Dos Anjos moved up to welterweight and used a three-fight winning streak to land an interim title shot but dropped a close decision to Colby Covington in June 2018. He has split his last eight fights and notched a win over veteran Bryan Barberena at welterweight last December. A victory Saturday would likely give dos Anjos a top-10 welterweight ranking and present a path to title contention.
But it won’t be easy against a venerable ranked competitor in Luque. He used a stretch of nine wins in 10 fights to achieve a top-five ranking, but saw his momentum stalled behind consecutive losses to veteran contenders Belal Muhammad and Geoff Neal.
Luque (21-9-1) is noted for numerous highlight-reel finishes, and the explosive striker has 11 knockouts and eight submissions on his record while earning eight UFC performance bonuses. The 31-year-old has a 93% finish rate, which ranks second in UFC history. Gerald Meerschaert leads that category with finishes in all 10 of his UFC victories. You can only see who to pick at UFC Fight Night here.
Top UFC Fight Night predictions
We’ll share one of Vithlani’s UFC Fight Night predictions here: He is siding with Iasmin Lucindo (-190) to get past Polyana Viana (+160).
Lucindo (14-5) is a versatile and powerful fighter who has 10 stoppages among her 14 professional MMA victories. The 21-year-old Brazilian entered the UFC on a seven-fight winning streak before splitting her first two outings with the promotion. She earned her first UFC win with a decision over Brogan Walker in April.
Viana (13-5) is a similarly balanced fighter who has eight submissions and five knockouts to account for her 13 victories. She has never won by decision but has come up short on the scorecards in four of her five losses. The five-year UFC veteran overcame a three-fight skid by winning three of her past four. She notched a first-round knockout of Jinh Yu Frey in 47 seconds last November.
“Lucindo also has excellent takedowns and can look to control Viana on the mat. I see Lucindo out-boxing and out-wrestling Viana for a decision win,” Vithlani told SportsLine. See who else to back here.
How to make UFC Fight Night picks
Vithlani also has strong picks for Luque vs. Dos Anjos and other bouts on the UFC Fight Night card. He’s backing a fighter who “is in great physical shape” to emerge with a dominant victory. See Vithlani’s picks and analysis at SportsLine.