The UFC heads to Atlanta on Saturday for a UFC Combat Evening (10 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+; prelims at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+) headlined by a pair of top-10 welterweights in ESPN’s divisional rankings. Former champion Kamaru Usman (20-4) will probably be again in motion for the primary time in a 12 months and a half towards Joaquin Buckley (21-6), who enters the weekend on a six-fight successful streak that features 4 early finishes.
One other former champion, Rose Namajunas (14-7), will probably be in motion within the co-main occasion towards Miranda Maverick (17-5), who’s within the midst of her personal four-fight win streak.
The PFL World Match can be again this week (Thursday at 10 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN+; prelims at 7 p.m. on ESPN+) with semifinal bouts within the welterweight and featherweight divisions. Prospect Thad Jean (9-0) and former Bellator champion Jason Jackson (19-5) meet within the welterweight essential occasion, whereas 2023 PFL featherweight champion Jesus Pinedo (24-6-1) takes on the person he beat for the title, Gabriel Braga (16-2), within the rubber match of their three-fight collection.
Brett Okamoto spoke to former UFC fighters Din Thomas and Anthony Smith to get their UFC essential occasion predictions. ESPN betting skilled Ian Parker provides perception and evaluation on the struggle evening for Atlanta and intriguing bets from the PFL semifinals.
Welterweight: Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley
Smith’s choose: Usman by choice
Usman can have a troublesome time early with Buckley’s velocity and athleticism, however as soon as they settle into the struggle, I feel the veteran savviness of Kamaru will take over. And this isn’t actual technical evaluation, X’s and O’s, however [consider] how lengthy Kamaru spent on the aspect. What number of fights did he not take? What number of alternatives did he go on earlier than he selected this struggle? There is a cause he likes this matchup. There’s one thing he sees that the remainder of us do not see. He is calculated with [taking] fights, and for some cause, this one was value his time. I feel that issues. — Anthony Smith
Thomas’s choose: Buckley by choice
Buckley’s motion goes to be somewhat an excessive amount of for Usman to maintain up with, and Buckley goes to be touching [Usman] up whereas he strikes. I do not assume it is gonna be that thrilling of a struggle, with Buckley executing a sensible sport plan by which he’ll narrowly win every spherical. — Din Thomas
Betting evaluation
Odds correct as of June 12. Go to ESPN BET for essentially the most up-to-date UFC Combat Evening odds and PFL 2025 semifinals odds.
Parker: Buckley to win (-280). A brand new guard is rising within the welterweight division, and the 31-year-old Buckley is seeking to comply with the trail of Jack Della Maddalena and Sean Brady, who each beat former champions of their most up-to-date fights. Buckley has been extraordinarily spectacular since making the transfer from middleweight to welterweight in 2023, and I do not see his six-fight successful streak stopping right here. So long as this struggle stays on the ft and Buckley does not permit Usman to carry him towards the cage, Buckley ought to win this as the higher striker. Can Usman flip this right into a wrestling match and keep aggressive? It’s attainable. However given he is 38 years previous, he hasn’t fought since October 2023 and is taking up a youthful and harmful fighter in Buckley, Usman will probably be on the dropping aspect right here.
Parker’s finest bets on the remainder of the cardboard
Girls’s flyweight: Rose Namajunas vs. Miranda Maverick
Namajunas to win (-255). Namajunas has seen the scorecards in every of her previous six fights (three wins and three losses), and I do not assume this time will probably be any completely different. Not like her final struggle towards Erin Blanchfield, by which Blanchfield had the sting in grappling, Namajunas ought to have the benefit in every single place and anyplace the struggle towards Maverick goes. Towards Blanchfield, Namajunas was up two rounds to none on the judges’ scorecards then misplaced the ultimate three rounds. She will not make the identical mistake towards one other grapple-heavy wrestler. As an alternative, Namajunas will management the tempo and switch up the placing quantity en path to a call victory.
Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Andre Petroski
Below 2.5 rounds. Both Shahbazyan will get the knockout or Petroski will get the submission. I can’t see this struggle going three rounds as a result of each fighters end or get completed virtually each outing. For Petroski, he must get Shahbazyan to the canvas t early. If he can get dominant place on the bottom in Spherical 1, he can have loads of alternatives to get the submission. If Shahbazyan forces him to field, Petroski will get knocked into the shadow realm.
Males’s bantamweight: Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Kris Moutinho
Wellmaker below 1.5 rounds. Wellmaker made an enormous impression on “Dana White’s Contender Collection” then topped that with a first-round knockout in his UFC debut that earned him a efficiency bonus and allowed him to stop his day job. On Saturday, he’ll tackle a sport and sturdy Moutinho, however I do not assume Moutinho will be capable of keep away from getting caught clear by Wellmaker for 3 rounds. Moutinho, who’s returning to MMA after a three-year retirement, was knocked out by Guido Cannetti and Sean O’Malley in his two earlier UFC fights. If Cannetti may end him, Wellmaker can do it sooner. Until this turns right into a jiu-jitsu match, which I do not see occurring, search for Wellmaker to get this achieved below 1.5 rounds.
Parker’s finest bets for the PFL 2025 semifinals
Welterweight: Thad Jean vs. Jason Jackson
Jean to win (+135). In essentially the most extremely anticipated struggle of the PFL World Match, former Bellator champion Jackson will tackle homegrown PFL prospect Jean. This struggle will come down as to whether Jackson can flip this right into a wrestling match. If he can efficiently take and maintain Jean down for quarter-hour, Jackson will win the struggle. I do not see it occurring. Jean is not as well-known, however he has the power to defend takedowns and an underrated jiu-jitsu sport to again it up. If this struggle stays on the ft, the benefit goes to Jean.
Featherweight: Jesus Pinedo vs. Gabriel Braga
Pinedo to win (-275).Within the co-main occasion, is a trilogy struggle between Pinedo and Brada. Each fighters are enjoyable to look at and all the time on the lookout for the end. Pinedo avenged his 2023 PFL regular-season loss to Braga within the featherweight championship that season, and now they are going to meet a 3rd time with a spot within the 2025 finals and an opportunity at $500,000 on the road. Braga is definitely the extra technical striker, however I am unable to go towards the managed chaos and KO energy of Pinedo. Until Braga can make the most of his jiu-jitsu to get Pinedo to the canvas, search for Pinedo to bull rush in and switch this struggle right into a brawl.
Welterweight: Logan Storley vs. Masayuki Kikuiri
Storley to win inside the space. Sitting at a -1000 favourite, Storley will probably be seeking to make straightforward work of Kikuiri and transfer on to the finals. Storley ought to be capable of dominate this struggle with none points, as Kikuiri struggled in his final struggle towards a lesser opponent. It is a large alternative for Storley to not solely win however get a end and make a press release heading into the finals.
Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Tae Kyun Kim
Khaybulaev to win (-225). Kim appeared distinctive in his final struggle towards Nathan Kelly, getting the submission win and placing the division on discover. Nonetheless, Kelly is just not Khaybulaev. The chances are rather a lot nearer for this semifinal than anticipated as a result of Khaybulaev is coming off a two-year layoff and his first 2025 match efficiency towards Jeremy Kennedy was lower than stellar. However I see him bouncing again right here and controlling the struggle together with his dominant wrestling.
