Blaydes, Vieira heavy favourites on UFC weekend odds

UFC handicapper Adam Hill joins Follow The Money to discuss the best way to bet this weekend's main event for UFC Fight Night, Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis.

A pair of top heavyweight contenders are set to clash on Saturday as Curtis Blaydes takes on Derrick Lewis as -450 chalk on the UFC odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Blaydes has climbed to No. 2 in the UFC heavyweight rankings during his current four-fight win streak. "Razor" has also been pegged as a heavy favourite in each of his 12 previous octagon appearances going into Saturday night's bout at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The 29-year-old American saw action in championship rounds for the first time in his last outing. Blaydes claimed a five-round unanimous decision win over Alexander Volkov at UFC Vegas 3 as a -365 favourite at online betting sites, lifting his professional MMA record to 14-2 with one no-contest. Ten of his career wins have come by TKO and the only fighter to ever defeat him is Francis Ngannou, who spoiled his UFC debut in 2016 with a second-round TKO and subsequently knocked him out in 45 seconds in their 2018 rematch.

Lagging as a +325 underdog in the bout, Lewis looks to Saturday's matchup as the fourth-ranked fighter in the UFC heavyweight division. "The Black Beast" has recorded wins in each of his past three outings, ending a two-fight slide that started with his unsuccessful bid for the UFC heavyweight crown against Daniel Cormier at UFC 230.

Lewis is coming off a second-round TKO win over Aleksei Oleinik at UFC Vegas 6 that paid out on -205 odds. While that marked the first time the 36-year-old New Orleans native finished an opponent in six outings, he still holds the record for most knockouts in UFC heavyweight history with 11.

Elsewhere on the UFC betting lines for Saturday, Ketlen Vieira aims to strengthen her bid for a shot at the UFC women's bantamweight title as she takes on Russian veteran Yana Kunitskaya as -280 chalk.

Vieira kicked off her career with 10 straight wins before suffering a speedy first-round KO loss to Irene Aldana. "Fenômeno" rebounded well from her first loss as a pro, getting the unanimous nod from the judges in her clash with Sijara Eubanks at UFC 253, and now sits at No. 6 in the division rankings. A +220 underdog for Saturday, Kunitskaya has gone 3-2 in six UFC contests, and has seen each of her past four career wins come by decision.

Earlier in the evening, Oleinik will try to rebound from his loss to Lewis as he squares off against Chris Daukaus as a +155 underdog. As well, Charles Rosa aims to post consecutive wins for the first time since 2014 as he takes on fellow featherweight Darrick Minner as a -190 favourite.

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