UFC 300 Main & Co-Main Event Betting Preview & Odds

UFC fans around the world have been waiting for months for the epic card that is UFC 300. The biggest card in the promotion’s history will take place on Saturday, April 13 at their unofficial home of T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. There are amazing matchups up and down the main, preliminary, and early preliminary cards, but the main and co-main events are the biggest of the night: the top two light heavyweights will battle for that division’s strap, as will the top two in the women’s strawweight division.

UFC 299 Main Card Betting Odds - March 9

All odds provided by Sports Interaction.

( C ) Alex Pereira vs. No. 1 Jamahal Hill Light Heavyweight Championship Main Event Bout Odds

Alex Pereira (9-2) is a two-division champ in the UFC and he’s coming off of perhaps his most impressive win to date with a finish of former champ Jiri Prochazka. He showed that he could grind out a victory in the fight before that as well, a split decision win over another former champ in Jan Blachowicz.

The challenger, yet another former champ in a division that has seen a lot of turnover at the top recently, is Jamahal Hill (12-1, 1 NC). Hill hasn’t fought in over a year, with his most recent fight having taken place in January 2023, when he beat Glover Teixeira to claim the vacant championship belt. Unfortunately, he suffered a ruptured achilles after that, which forced him to vacate the belt.

Right off the bat, these two guys have no intention of reaching the final bell, with the two having gone the distance just seven times in 25 combined fights. The only times Pereira has gone to the third round was against grappling opponents that slowed proceedings down, and against one of the greatest to ever do it in Israel Adesanya. Hill is going to be looking for blood on the feet too, so the under 2.5 rounds for this fight, being offered at -145 odds with most betting apps, is a great bet.

In terms of the winner, the odds are pretty surprising to us, as Hill has not faced nearly the quality of opponent Pereira has, and he’s only nine months removed from a major Achilles injury. Hill has never fought a striker of Pereira’s caliber, with his biggest wins coming against a 44-year-old Teixeira and a 38-year-old Thiago Santos.

Hill has knockout power and size to match Pereira, not to mention that he’s a deceptively skilled striker despite his seemingly aloof demeanor in the cage. However, he tends to leave his right hand low in the stand-up, and he’s had trouble holding off the low kicks of opponents in the past.

That’s a recipe for disaster against Pereira, who has the best left hook you’re gonna see to go with an affinity for leg kicks. He’ll make Hill into a statue and then tee off, so expect Poatan to get a knockout win at +100 betting odds in this one.

( C ) Zhang Weili vs. No. 1 Yan Xiaonan Women’s Strawweight Championship Co-Main Event Bout Odds

In the co-main event, Zhang Weili (24-3) takes on her countrywoman Yan Xiaonan (17-3, 1 NC) in what should be another resounding victory for the champ. Weili may be 34, but she’s looked better than ever during her current three-fight winning streak, two of which were second-round finishes. Xiaonan is a solid fighter with good fighting IQ and solid boxing defense, but she’s simply not strong enough or aggressive enough to cause Weili problems here.

She can try the old hit and run technique, but 25 minutes is a long time to run, and eventually Weili is going to corral her and overwhelm her with varied striking and well-timed takedowns. Magnum has been known to get a submission finish, but we think that she’s more likely to beat Xiaonan with her striking, so our best bet here is the champ to win by KO/TKO at +125 odds.