UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Chikadze predictions, odds, picks: Best bets on the fight card from MMA expert

A pair of veteran MMA fighters will look to continue their recent success when they meet in the Octagon on Saturday. Featherweights Edson Barboza and Giga Chikadze will battle in Las Vegas, with the main UFC fight card set to begin at 10 p.m. ET. Barboza, 35, has won two consecutive bouts after losing five of his previous six. Chikadze, 33, has won eight in a row after dropping his featherweight debut in 2018.

Barboza is a -120 favorite (risk $120 to win $100), while Chikadze is a +100 underdog in the latest Barboza vs. Chikadze odds at Caesars Sportsbook. Before you lock in any picks, you need to see what SportsLine MMA analyst Kyle Marley has to say.

Marley won the first-ever “ToutMaster” UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and daily Fantasy shows. He watches every single fight for every professional MMA card and does extensive research before each event.

Over the past 30 months, $100 bettors who have followed Marley’s picks are up more than $14,000. The accomplished MMA analyst has now connected on 34 of his last 57 UFC main-event selections, a stretch that includes a streak of five straight underdogs.

At UFC Fight Night last week, Marley hit on underdog Parker Porter (+160) over Chase Sherman (-180) in a heavyweight main card event. Anyone who has consistently followed Marley is way up.

Now, with Barboza vs. Chikadze fast approaching, Marley has studied the matchups from every angle and released his picks and predictions for the UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Chikadze card. His expert UFC picks are only available at SportsLine.

Edson Barboza vs. Giga Chikadze expert preview

Marley knows Barboza has seemingly turned his fortunes around, posting wins in his last two fights. He snapped a three-bout losing streak in October when he defeated Makwan Amirkhani by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen. He followed that up with a knockout of Shane Burgos on May 15 at UFC 262.

Barboza, who is No. 9 in the UFC featherweight rankings, has also competed at lightweight and is a former Muay Thai kickboxer. As a kickboxer, he compiled a 25-3 mark. He is 22-9 in MMA, including 13 wins via knockout. He opened his career by winning his first 10 bouts, but is just 3-5 since December 2017.

Chikadze, ranked 10th in the UFC featherweight division, has won a majority of his fights via knockout. He is 13-2 in MMA, including eight wins by knockout. He also had success as a kickboxer, going 38-6 with 22 wins by knockout. He has won his last two MMA fights by TKO.

At UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira in November, Chikadze defeated Jamey Simmons by TKO at the 3:51 mark of the first round to earn the Performance of the Night. He followed that up with a TKO triumph over Cub Swanson at UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Prochazka in May, also earning Performance of the Night. Chikadze’s only losses in MMA were in his professional debut in 2015 and in his featherweight debut in 2018. You can see which Edson Barboza vs. Giga Chikadze picks to make for the fight here.

UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Chikadze predictions

We’ll share one of Marley’s UFC Fight Night selections here: He is going with Jamall Emmers (-150) to win by unanimous decision over Pat Sabatini (+125) in a matchup of featherweight prospects. Emmers has compiled an 18-5 MMA record, winning five of his last six fights. In his last fight in August 2020, he recorded a unanimous decision victory over Vince Cachero at UFC Fight Night. He began his career in October 2012.

Sabatini (13-3) has won his last three fights, including a unanimous decision victory over Tristan Connelly at UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 in April. Sabatini began his career in 2014, after going 4-0 as an amateur. He is the 70th-best featherweight, according to the worldwide rankings.

“Both of these guys are good wrestlers and grapplers, and it could just come down to who is able to land takedowns,” Marley told SportsLine. “I think Emmers is the better wrestler of the two though and I also think he has a big advantage on the feet. I think his chin is a question mark, but I don’t know that Sabatini tests it and I would be more worried about Emmers being on his back.”

How to make UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Chikadze picks

Marley also has strong picks for Edson Barboza vs. Giga Chikadze and every other fight on the UFC Fight Night card. He’s also backing a fighter to “win more striking exchanges” and pick up an epic victory. You can only get those UFC Fight Night picks at SportsLine.

Who wins Edson Barboza vs. Giga Chikadze? And how does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC Fight Night, all from the expert who’s up more than $14,000 on MMA in the past 30 months, and find out.

UFC Fight Night odds, fight card

Edson Barboza (-120) vs. Giga Chikadze (+100)

Bryan Battle (-170) vs. Gilbert Ubina (+145)

Ricky Turcios (-160) vs. Brady Hiestand (+135)

Kevin Lee (-155) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (+130)

Andre Petroski (-500) vs. Michael Gillmore (+380)

Makhmud Muradov (-575) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (+425)

Abdul Razak Alhassan (+200) vs Alessio Di Chirico (-240)

Wellington Turman (-130) vs. Sam Alvey (+110)

Dustin Jacoby (-175) vs. Darren Stewart (+150)

JJ Aldrich (-400) vs. Vanessa Demopoulos (+310)

Jamall Emmers (-150) vs. Pat Sabatini (+125)

Mana Martinez (-270) vs. Guido Cannetti (+220)