UFC Fight Night 244: Royval vs. Taira Main Card Betting Odds & Picks

After yet another pay-per-view headlined by Alex Pereira last week, the UFC is going into a bit of hibernation before they return for the highly-anticipated UFC 308 card. In the meantime, we have UFC Fight Night 244, which is headlined by a matchup between a pair of top five flyweights. While Brandon Royval comes in as the No. 1 flyweight contender, he’s a big underdog to Tatsuro Taira in this one. Did UFC betting sites get it right?

UFC Fight Night 244: Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira Main Events Betting Picks & Odds

All odds provided by Betway.

No. 1 Brandon Royval vs. No. 5 Tatsuro Taira Flyweight Bout Betting Odds

The headlining fight could also be its most exciting, as we get a pair of finishers going toe-to-toe for what one would assume would be the right to a title shot for the winner. Brandon Royval (16-7) comes in as the gritty, 32-year-old vet, while Tatsuro Taira (16-0) is a 24-year-old phenom with an unblemished record.

Taira has not slowed down since joining the UFC, winning all six of his fights and finishing four of them, including his last outing against former top 5 flyweight Alex Perez. That fight ended via injury DQ, but the way Perez was injured seemed to be an intentional move by Taira, so he should be credited with the finish there.

However, he was losing the first round on all three judge’s scorecards in before the doctor’s stoppage in Round 2, and other than Perez, Taira hasn’t fought anyone of note. Royval, meanwhile, is 3-3 against champs and title challengers in his career, and his only losses since 2019 have come against current champ Alexandre Pantoja and former champ Brandon Moreno, the latter of whom he beat in a rematch in a tough split decision during his last bout.

We think Taira should be able to take advantage of Royval’s sloppy defensive wrestling, and if he’s able to get comfortable on the ground, he should have tons of time to sink in a submission, as Royval has been known to try and fight off his back for much longer than he realistically should.

On the flip side, Taira could be in tough with Royval’s maniacal style if things stay on the feet. Both of these guys are trained killers, with the American finishing 13 of 16 wins and Taira finishing 12 of 16. Royval is tough, but he was finished twice, in 2021 and 2020, the former of which came via submission, which is Taira’s specialty. With sports betting sites offering no value on the moneyline either way, we’re taking this one to end before the final bell.

Best Bet: Fight To Go the Distance - NO (-180)

Brad Tavares vs. Jun Yong Park Middleweight Bout Betting Odds

In the co-main event, we see two middleweight journeymen that are coming off tough losses. 36-year-old Brad Tavares (20-9) has been going through a rough spell on the scoreboard: he enters this bout having won just one of his last four and three of his last eight. However, he has been much more competitive in those matchups than his overall record would indicate.

Across from him will be Jun Yong Park (17-6), a guy who is three years Tavares’ junior. The Seoul native comes into this one on the back of a split decision loss to Andre Muniz in which Park came in as the favorite.

Park has earned favorite status for this bout again, and, while probably rightfully so, probably not with odds as chalky as these. He’s got the power advantage here, and Tavares has shown he can wilt under heavy pressure. But Park prefers to do his damage more so in the submission game (he hasn’t won a fight by KO or TKO since 2018, a span of 10 fights), which will be tough against a guy like Tavares who defends over 80 percent of the takedowns attempted on him.

Another thing working in Tavares’ favor is the fact that Park uses a very boxing-style stance on the feet, which makes his lower legs easy targets for Tavares’ patented calf kicks, which should be coming early and often. The fight to go the distance is the safest bet here, but those -225 odds are better for a parlay, so we’re taking the underdog here as our best bet for a single.

Best Bet: Brad Tavares Moneyline (+162)