Two titles are on the line this weekend at UFC 320 with Magomed Ankalaev looking to defend the light-heavyweight title against former champ Alex Pereira in a rematch, and dominant men’s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili looking to extend his streak against Cory Sandhagen.
Both of the reigning titleholders are the listed betting favourites and expected to defend their respective belts, according to oddsmakers. Pereira is a two-to-one underdog and Sandhagen a three-to-one dog on the eve of the event.
Saturday’s main card from Las Vegas also features Jiri Prochazka vs. Khalil Rountree Jr., Josh Emmett vs. Youssef Zalal and Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Joe Pyfer.
Standout middleweight knockout artist Ateba Gautier is looking to improve to 3-0 in the UFC when he takes on newcomer Treston Vines in preliminary action.
Watch UFC 320 on Sportsnet+
Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira meet in a championship rematch and Merab Dvalishvili looks to defend his title vs. Cory Sandhagen. Watch UFC 320 on Saturday, Oct. 4 with prelim coverage beginning 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and pay-per-view main card starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
Purchase the event
Below is the projected bout order plus full UFC 320 predictions.
MAIN CARD
-- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira (five rounds for light-heavyweight title)
-- Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen (five rounds for bantamweight title)
-- Jiri Prochazka vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
-- Josh Emmett vs. Youssef Zalal
-- Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Joe Pyfer
PRELIMINARY CARD
-- Ateba Gautier vs. Treston Vines
-- Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Andre Muniz
-- Chris Gutierrez vs. Farid Basharat
-- Daniel Santos vs. Joosang Yoo
-- Macy Chiasson vs. Yana Santos
-- Patchy Mix vs. Jakub Wiklacz
-- Punahele Soriano vs. Nikolay Veretennikov
-- Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Austin Vanderford
-- Veronica Hardy vs. Brogan Walker
Ahead of each UFC event in 2025, UFC reporter Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter), producer Dan Fernandes (@DanFernandes__) and writer/editor Mike Johnston (@MikeyJ_MMA) will peruse the odds and make four betting predictions using fantasy dollars: one best bet, one favourite, one underdog and one dart throw wager. REMINDER: Sportsnet is committed to promoting and educating audiences about the importance of betting responsibly. Sources for responsible gambling can be found HERE.
AARON'S PICKS
Cage Lock: Ateba Gautier to win -1667
Favourite: Punahele Soriano -275
Underdog: Jakub Wiklacz +260
Dart Throw: Khalil Rountree Jr. by decision +450
While every lock has a key, Gautier outright is about as confident of a pick as I could make. … Soriano has looked reinvigorated at welterweight and I expect that he gets the job done against Veritennikov. … Patchy Mix looked terrible in his UFC debut and while I think that he could return to form here against Wiklacz, I cannot ignore the high-level wins that Wiklacz has from his time fighting in his native Poland. He is a bigger underdog than I expected. … Rountree and Prochazka have to respect each other's power and both have become much more refined fighters. I would not be surprised to see this go the distance and for Rountree to outpoint him.
DAN'S PICKS
Lock: Veronica Hardy -667
Fave: Patchy Mix -300
Dog: Alex Pereira +210
Dart: Josh Emmett TKO/KO +625
Veronica Hardy is the biggest betting favorite on the card, so I’m just going to set and forget this pick without getting too technical. Even though Hardy is coming off a decision loss, her vast experience against an 0-2 opponent is too much to overlook here. … After losing his highly anticipated UFC debut, perhaps no fighter on the card needs a win more than Patchy Mix. He’s simply too good to fall to 0-2 and his opponent Jakub Wiklacz is far less credentialed than Mario Bautusta, who caused Patchy Mix all sorts of problems last time out. … Alex Pereira was on a dominant title run prior to losing to Ankalaev earlier this year. I think he will make the necessary adjustments to deal with Ankalaev’s wrestling and takedown attempts. I think +210 is amazing value for such a talented fighter. … Josh Emmett will probably have to chase Youseff Zalal a bit. But all he needs is one shot to change the narrative here. Emmett is experienced enough to wait patiently for his opportunity. With a KO being Emmett’s likeliest path to victory, this is worth a dart throw in my opinion.
MIKE'S PICKS
Cage Lock: Punahele Soriano -275
Favourite: Jiri Prochazka -175
Underdog: Cory Sandhagen +315
Dart Throw: Ramiz Brahimaj by KO/TKO/DQ +1200
It makes total sense why Cory Sandhagen is the underdog but he is being significantly overlooked here, in my opinion. I believe Sandhagen is a top-20 pound-for-pound talent in the entire sport despite not being a champion. I see Sandhagen avoiding being on the defensive the entire time and giving Merab his toughest fight to date. This is a phenomenal matchup. … If Prochazka’s chin and shins hold up (low kicks could be a big part of the game plan for Rountree) then I see him ultimately having a few more paths to victory. Either that or Rountree’s getting a highlight finish. … Nikolay Veretennikov had trouble with a much smaller Francisco Prado his last time out and now he’s going up against Punahele Soriano, a former middleweight that carries big power down at welterweight. … Ramiz Brahimaj is a live dog this weekend and even though he’s known for his grappling, I can see him getting his second career KO win. He’s powerful and Austin Vanderford has been clipped a couple times in the past.
CAGE LOCKS PARLAY
Three legs: Gautier + Hardy + Soriano
Parlay odds: -151 (to win: $66.21)
2025 STANDINGS AFTER 32 EVENTS
CAGE LOCKS PARLAY
2025 record: 17-15 (W1)
2025 winnings: +$111.58 (on $100 bets)
AARON'S RECORDS/TOTALS (65-61-2, +15.81 units)
Cage Lock: 26-5-1 (+$35.24)
Favourite: 16-16 (-$734.46)
Underdog: 15-16-1 (+$680.24)
Dart throw: 8-24 (+$1,600)
DAN'S RECORDS/TOTALS (66-58-4, -10.58 units)
Cage Lock: 27-5 (+$33.27)
Favourite: 19-11-1 (-$131.86)
Underdog: 17-14-1 (+$730.24)
Dart throw: 2-28-2 (-$1,690)
MIKE'S RECORDS/TOTALS (52-72-4, -25.85 units)
Cage Lock: 22-10 (-$282.23)
Favourite: 17-15 (-$303.03)
Underdog: 12-18-2 (+$435)
Dart throw: 1-29-2 (-$2,435)
Cage Lock: The pick deemed to be the wager most likely to win regardless of what the odds look like. The Cage Locks parlay will combine Aaron’s, Dan’s and Mike’s respective best bet for each event.
Favourite: A fighter with winning odds shorter than -300 but not longer than -110. On chalkier cards with a dearth of available moneyline favourites that meet those criteria, prop bets are allowed to be selected.
Underdog: Any fighter with longer odds than their opponent’s.
Dart Throw: Any prop bet or moneyline wager with odds of +400 or longer.
(Betting odds above are via BetMGM, submitted at various times throughout week, and subject to change prior to the fights)
