UFC 279 Prelims & Early Prelims Predictions, Odds, Picks

The biggest stars in MMA today take over T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada on Saturday, Sept. 11 for UFC 279. As usual, it’s another UFC pay-per-view that’ll likely entertain from start to finish.

Unsurprisingly, most fans are looking forward to the welterweight main event between Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz. However, there are more intriguing bouts beyond that — including fights on both the preliminary and early prelims cards.

Here are the odds and picks for the upcoming UFC 279 prelims and early prelims fights.

UFC 279 Preliminary Card and Odds (Odds as of Friday, September 9)

The UFC 279 odds listed below are via BetOnline Sportsbook.

Featherweight: Hakeem Dawodu (-225) vs. Julian Erosa (+172)

Hakeem Dawodu (13-2-1) has slowly built himself up after joining UFC in 2018. After losing his debut, he’s gone 6-1 in the subsequent seven bouts, winning his most recent against Michael Trizano by unanimous decision.

"I'm looking to showcase everything. I'm looking for the finish and I'm looking to make a statement."

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On the flip side, Julian Erosa (27-9) is also on a hot streak, going 5-1 in his last six outings. He’s come a long way since his 1-3 UFC start, but time will tell if he can keep the positive results coming.

With Dawodu going the distance in each of his last four fights and winning three of them, I could see him doing it again.

Best Bet: Hakeem Dawodu by Decision (+145)

Catchweight (220lbs): Jailton Almeida (-850) vs. Anton Turkalj (+500)

Jailton Almeida (16-2) enters UFC 279 as the major favorite in his upcoming fight. He’s won 11 straight fights ahead of the weekend, including four of the last five by submission.

Meanwhile, Anton Turkalj (8-0) has been unstoppable. All but one of his eight victories have come by KO/TKO or submission, with five of those bouts ending in Round 1. However, he doesn’t have the experience that his opponent does.

I could see Almeida being too much for Turkalj to handle, winning by KO/TKO.

Best Bet: Jailton Almeida by KO/TKO (+250)

Middleweight: Denis Tiuliulin (+108) vs. Jamie Pickett (-138)

While Denis Tiuliulin (9-6, 1NC) has looked solid at times, that hasn’t been the case lately. The 34-year-old veteran has been on a bit of a slump lately, submitting in two of his last three fights.

Jamie Pickett (13-7) had won back-to-back fights before losing to Kyle Daukaus, by submission, in his last outing back in February.

At the end of the day, this should be an evenly matched fight that I could see Pickett winning in the end. He looked solid before the Daukaus loss, so I expect him to get back on track.

Best Bet: Jamie Pickett Outright (-138)

Heavyweight: Jake Collier (-430) vs. Chris Barnett (+300)

Jake Collier (13-7) is the heavy favorite in the lone heavyweight bout at UFC 279. The 33-year-old veteran fighter has alternated wins and losses since 2014, losing by split decision to Andrei Arlovski in his last fight five months ago.

Meanwhile, Chris Barnett (22-8) is coming off a technical decision loss to Martin Buday. He’s now dropped two of his last three fights since returning to the heavyweight division, indicating that he may not have what it takes to handle Collier.

Best Bet: Jake Collier by KO/TKO (+180)

UFC 279 Early Preliminary Card and Odds

Women’s Featherweight: Norma Dumont (-400) vs. Danyelle Wolf (+285)

Norma Dumont (7-2) has found success lately, winning three of her last four fights — all of which went the distance. Now, she must face former United States amateur boxing gold medalist Danyelle Wolf (1-0), who’s experiencing her second-ever MMA fight.

Until we see more from Wolf, I’m inclined to back Dumont. She has the experience and has looked strong lately, leaving time to tell if she can handle Wolf’s attack.

Best Bet: Norma Dumont by Decision (-120)

Bantamweight: Alateng Heili (-180) vs. Chad Anheliger (+140)

Alateng Heili (15-8-2) has experienced mixed results lately, going 1-1-1 in his last three fights. Nevertheless, he did score a TKO victory over Kevin Croom in his last fight.

Chad Anheliger (12-5) looks to stand in his way, though. Anheliger has won 10 straight bouts, leaving some bettors confused as to why he’s the underdog here.

While this fight can go either way, I’m taking Anheliger for the upset win.

Best Bet: Chad Anheliger Outright (+140)

Women’s Strawweight: Elise Reed (+138) vs. Melissa Martinez (-178)

Elise Reed (5-2) has struggled to find consistency in her recent fights, losing two of her last three outings by TKO. Things don’t get easier against the undefeated Melissa Martinez (7-0), who owns five career knockouts to her name.

Given Reed’s recent struggles and Martinez’s hard-hitting style, I’m backing the latter to walk out of UFC 279 with the KO/TKO victory.

Best Bet: Melissa Martinez by KO/TKO (+420)

Welterweight: Darian Weeks (-130) vs. Yohan Lainesse (+102)

Darian Weeks’ (5-2) MMA career started off 5-0, only for him to drop back-to-back fights by unanimous decision. Yohan Lainesse (8-1) also enjoyed an 8-0 start to his career, but suffered a TKO loss to Gabriel Green in his last fight back in April.

Considering how Lainesse has a win in UFC while Week doesn’t, I’m inclined to back the former here.

Best Bet: Yohan Lainesse Outright (+102)

UFC 279 Event Details

When is UFC 279?

UFC 279 will take place on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022.

Where is UFC 279?

UFC 279 will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.

What time does UFC 279 start?

• UFC 279 Early Prelims Start Time: 6 p.m. ET
• UFC 279 Prelims Start Time: 8 p.m. ET
• Start Time of UFC 279’s Main Card: 10 p.m. ET

How can I watch UFC 279?

The early prelims will be available on UFC Fight Pass, while the prelims will be available on both ESPNEWS and ESPN+, and the main card will be available via pay-per-view (which can be ordered through the ESPN+ app).