UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Aliskerov Predictions, Picks and Betting Odds June 22

UFC Fight Night Betting Preview

UFC WagerTalk handicapper Andy Lang gives his UFC Fight Night predictions and picks for June 22nd with Robert Whittaker and Ikram Aliskerov headlining the main event in a middleweight fight. The main card starts up at 3:00pm ET from Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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Robert Whittaker vs Ikram Aliskerov: UFC Fight Night Main Event

Saturday, June 22	UFC Fight Night Betting Notes (Courtesy of Caesars)
Moneyline:	Robert Whittaker -135 vs Ikram Aliskerov +115
Rounds:	2.5 Rounds (Over -160 / Under +125)
Fight Time:	Main Card Starts at 3:00pm ET / 12:00pm PT
Arena:	Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
TV:	ESPN/ABC

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UFC Fight Night Predictions

Long Xiao -120 vs Chang Ho Lee +100

No real opinion here as both guys are coming off of Road To UFC, and they appear to be pretty evenly matched, and both like the clinch and wrestling game. I’ll lean with Long Xiao as I think his takedowns are a big stronger, but the speed advantage will be with Chang Ho Lee so the odds are correct on this fight. Maybe take this fight to go the distance, but this is probably a stay away.

Sedriques Dumas -218 vs Denis Tiuliulin +180

Friends don’t let friends bet on Dumas at -218…but friends also don’t let friends bet on Denis Tiuliulin. Denis has cardio and durability issues big time, and I give Dumas the edge just because of how washed I think Tiuliulin.

Dumas will probably try and strike on the feet, but eventually he should clinch and get this to the ground. Dumas makes some bad mistakes in fights so there’s no way I’m laying money on him, but since it’s a Denis Tiuliulin fight, take the unders. His last 10 fights haven’t gone the distance.

Magomed Gadzhiyasulov -345 vs Brendson Ribeiro +275

Brendson Ribeiro is a guy who goes for the early finish, and if he doesn’t find the finish, he gets pulverized. He’s 3-3 in his last 6 fights, and all have ended in the first round so expect him to go for the early finish.

Gadzhiyasulov comes from Contender Series where I wasn’t super impressed. He’s got decent striking, and he can take guys down, but he’s just not super crisp, and he’s 30 years old which is an old age to just now get a shot at the UFC.

He’s the rightful favorite, and sneaky way to play this is to take the over 1.5. Everyone expects a Brendson Ribeiro fight to get over quick, but Gadz may try and wear down Ribeiro with clinch and takedowns and I could see this fight getting extended.

Muin Gafurov -155 vs Kyung Ho Kang +130

I like the dog here as Gafurov has lost both his UFC fights, and I think Kang is going to be a bit too much for him on the feet.

Both guys lost to John Castaneda, but Kang was fresh at the end of the fight, and his striking is just a little more on point. Kang is going to be taller and he’ll use his longer arms and legs to keep Gafurov at distance, and I just don’t see what Gafurov does great.

His striking isn’t unique, and his size makes to where he has to rush in to land anything and Kang will be too fast with the counter strikes. I think the wrong guy is favored here, I like Kang to get the win.

Rinat Fakhretdinov -345 vs Nicolas Dalby +275

This should be a grueling matchup between two guys who can slug it out, and grapple and wrestle. Dalby likes to wear his opponents down, and sometimes is costs him the first round, but his toughness and cardio seems to overwhelm weaker opponents as he can get takedowns to tired opponents, and he showed his power in the clinch in his last fight where he knocked out Gabriel Bonfim.

This matchup is tough for him because Fakhretdinov will be able to go three rounds with him like he showed in his last fight against Zaleski.

I think it’s interesting that Fakhretdinov has done two grappling matchups this year, one against the legend Craig Jones, so I’m guessing that tells us what the game plan is. I like Fakhretdinov’s skillset in this matchup and I think he squeaks out a close win, but -345 is way too expensive for me.

Nasrat Haqparast -238 vs Jared Gordon +195

I think there’s a bit of value on Jared Gordon here as he’s 2-2-1 in his last five fights, but the losses were a submission loss to Grant Dawson and a decision loss to PAddy Pimblett where most felt like Gordon won.

He’s coming off a nice KO win to wrestling specialist Mark Madsen, and I think he can go toe to toe on the feet with Haqparast.

Haqparast has won three in a row, but it’s not impressive in the slightest as he went to decision against Makdessi and Quinones (making his UFC debut on short notice), and then a KO win against a washed Jamie Mullarkey.

Haqparast doesn’t have a lot of power as his KO in his last fight was his first since 2019, so I don’t see him knocking out Gordon and I think Gordon will have his moments. I do think taking this fight to go the distance is a good play, but the price is crazy to me. Gordon is a good underdog play.

Shara Magomedov -245 vs Joilton Lutterbach +200

Magomedov had a nice UFC debut as he showed his wide array of kicks against Bruno Silva, and I was even more impressed by his cardio and he even had a takedown with ground control.

Silva hasn’t looked good recently so it’s hard to figure out how good Magomedov really looked, but I think his offense is too much for Lutterback.

Lutterback has had 48 professional fights and he’s only 31 years old, and he fights in a lot of different MMA, Karate and Kickboxing organizations so he appears to be well rounded, but his competition hasn’t been that good.

He’s fought twice in the PFL and lost both those fights, and he fought Dricus Du Plessis years ago and lost that one so maybe he just doesn’t have the ceiling to beat Magomedov. Magomedov’s kicks are so unique and powerful that I would expect Lutterback to try and wrestle, but I don’t think he can do it for three rounds. Magomedov is the play.

Johnny Walker -120 vs Volkan Oezdemir +100

Both guys have concerns here as Walker’s questionable durability flared up in his last fight when Ankalaev knocked him out, and Oezdemir loses when he has a step up in competition, but he can beat guys like Bogdon Guskov and Paiul Craig.

I think Walker has the advantage on the feet, but Oezdemir has the advantage on the ground. Walker has good leg kicks, but he also got his leg damaged up against Ankalaev so I think Oezdemir has some opening he can take advantage.

This isn’t a fight I find value on in betting, but I thought Walker was tentative and on his back foot against Ankalaev, and that KO was brutal for Walker as his nose was broken pretty bad. Oezdemir is the pick.

Kelvin Gastelum -250 vs Daniel Rodriguez +205

I’m not a Daniel Rodriguez fan so I won’t betting on him in this fight. I was surprised to see that he’s had 11 UFC fights, and although he’s won 8 of them, he lost his last 2, and both by finish against Ian Garry and Neil Magny.

Gastelum is coming off a loss to Sean Brady where Brady showed off his brutal takedowns and wrestling, and it’s not really a comparison to how D-Rod will fight.

Gastelum is a striker, and on the feet I like him to be faster and have the better volume, and I think this fight is a good candidate to go the distance as Gastelum doesn’t seem have KO power these days, and Rodriguez probably doesn’t have the offense to finish Gastelum. Gastelum and the overs are the way I look to play this fight.

Sergei Pavlovich -238 vs Alexander Volkov +195

Pavlovich has been in 8 UFC fights, and none have gone into the 2nd round so taking under 1.5 rounds at -154 looks enticing to me. On the other side, Volkov’s last 4 fights haven’t gone into round 3, and 3 of the fights ended in the first round.

Pavlovich is going to look for the KO shot on the feet as he as one shot KO power, and Volkov will probably look to clinch and take him down where he will have the advantage on the ground. On the feet or on the ground, one of these guys is getting finished early.

UFC Fight Night Main Event: Robert Whittaker -135 vs Ikram Aliskerov +115

Aliskerov is coming off a quick finish on Contender Series, and 2 quick finish wins in the UFC, and his striking does look great, but let’s be honest about the competition.

Phil Hawes, and Warlley Alves is a far cry from Robert Whittaker. Aliskerov was training for Anthony Hernandez in February, then Andre Muniz, then Antonio Trocoli before all those fights were cancelled so the matchmakers were able to save the Whittaker fight after Chimaev pulled out.

This is such a tough ask of Aliskerov to get a last-second five round fight against a massive step up in competition that I don’t see how he pulls it off. His striking has looked great, but not against anyone nearly as good as Whittaker.

Whittaker is 14-3 in his last 17 fights with his losses being to Adesanya and Du Plessis, both former or current Champs. Whittaker just needs to stay out of trouble in the first round, and then I expect Aliskerov to start to slow down as the fight goes on.

Whittaker is ready for five rounds, and I don’t see how Aliskerov could be. I think Whittaker wins, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he finishes him in the 4th or 5th round.

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