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

Veteran MMA fighters look to turn around their recent fortunes when they meet on Saturday. Middleweights Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum will battle at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with the main UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Gastelum fight card set to begin at 10 p.m. ET. Cannonier, 37, has lost three of his last six bouts, while Gastelum, 29, has lost four of his last five fights. Both lost by unanimous decision in their last match to Robert Whittaker, with Gastelum losing in April at UFC: Whittaker vs. Gastelum, while Cannonier was beaten in October at UFC 254.

Cannonier is a -155 favorite (risk $155 to win $100), while Gastelum is at +130 (risk $100 to win $130) in the latest Cannonier vs. Gastelum odds at Caesars Sportsbook. In a heavyweight bout on the main card, Parker Porter (+160) meets Chase Sherman, who is the -190 favorite in the UFC Fight Night Cannonier vs. Gastelum odds. Before locking in any Gastelum vs. Cannonier picks or any UFC Fight Night predictions, 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 UFC main-event selections, a stretch that includes a streak of five straight underdogs. 

Last month at UFC Fight Night, Marley told SportsLine members to expect a dominant performance from middleweight contender Sean Strickland (-210) against veteran Uriah Hall (+190) in the main event. Strickland controlled the action to win a runaway unanimous decision to give Marley’s followers another winner. He also accurately called a breakthrough win for prospect Cheyanne Buys (-180) against Gloria De Paula (+160) in the strawweight co-main event. Anyone who has consistently followed Marley is way up. 

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

Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum expert preview

Cannonier had been fighting well prior to the loss to Whittaker, having won his three prior fights. He won his middleweight debut by TKO over David Branch in November 2018. In May of 2019, he knocked out Anderson Silva at UFC 237. Four months later he knocked out Jack Hermansson to earn Performance of the Night at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier.

Cannonier has won a majority of his bouts by knockout since joining UFC in October 2014. He began his MMA career in 2011 and went unbeaten his first four years. He suffered his first defeat in a knockout to Shawn Jordan at UFC 182 in January 2015. He has won six of his last 10 bouts and has climbed to third in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Since winning his first pro fight in December 2011, Gastelum has compiled a 16-7-1 record, including six wins by knockout and six by decision. Like Cannonier, he tasted much success early, winning his first 10 bouts. He beat Uriah Hall by split decision to win the Ultimate Fighter 17 middleweight tournament in April 2013. Besides middleweight, Gastelum has also fought at welterweight and catchweight.

Gastelum had the opportunity to fight for the interim UFC middleweight championship, but lost by unanimous decision to Israel Adesanya at UFC 236 in April 2019. He has dropped three of his last four fights since that time. His only win was by unanimous decision over Ian Heinisch at UFC 258 in February 2021. You can see which Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum picks to make for UFC Fight Night at SportsLine.

UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Gastelum predictions

We’ll share one of Marley’s UFC Fight Night selections here: He is going with Josiane Nunes (+125) to win by TKO over Bea Malecki (-150) in a matchup of women’s bantamweight prospects. Nunes has compiled a 7-1 MMA record, winning her last six fights. She won by knockout over Quezia Zbonik 2:31 into the second round at Forze FC 1 on Nov. 28, 2020. Her only loss was in her second fight in November 2013, losing to Taila Santos at Copa Striker’s House.

Malecki (2-0) is off to a fast start to her MMA career, which began in June 2019. She won all three of her amateur bouts before losing an exhibition bout to Leah Letson in July 2018. After turning pro, she stopped Duda Santana and Veronica Macedo. Her last two bouts, however, have been cancelled, so she has not seen action in well over a year. 

“Malecki is going to have a seven-inch height and reach advantage in this matchup,” Marley told SportsLine. “She is going to be the more technical striker and can rack up volume as well. She is very hittable and sloppy at times, though, and Nunes throws heat. I do think this is a KO or bust type fight for Nunes, but I think she gets it.”

How to make UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Gastelum picks

Marley has additional strong picks for Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum and every other fight on the UFC Fight Night card. He’s also backing one fighter to “dominate the early rounds” and pull off a submission victory. You can only get those UFC Fight Night picks at SportsLine.

Who wins Jared Cannonier vs. Kelvin Gastelum? And how exactly 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

Jared Cannonier (-155) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (+130) 

Mark Madsen (-170) vs. Clay Guida (+145) 

Chase Sherman (-190) vs. Parker Porter (+160) 

Vinc Pichel (-115) vs. Austin Hubbard (-105) 

Alexandre Pantoja (-175) vs. Brandon Royval (+150) 

Luis Saldana (-120) vs. Austin Lingo (+100) 

Brian Kelleher (-175) vs. Domingo Pilarte (+150) 

Bea Malecki (-150) vs. Josiane Nunes (+125) 

William Knight (-180) vs. Fabio Cherant (+155) 

Roosevelt Roberts (-150) vs. Ignacio Bahamones (+125) 

Ramiz Brahimaj (-140) vs. Sasha Palatnikov (+120)