READ MORE: Check out our free UFC tips from the biggest fights
UFC 278 Betting Tips & Predictions
Kamaru Usman v Leon Edwards UFC 278 Betting Tips
Kamaru Usman will make the sixth defence of his UFC welterweight title when he takes on Jamaican-born British fighter Leon Edwards at UFC 278.
Usman was crowned champion when he claimed a points decision win over Tyron Woodley at UFC 235. Since then, he has beaten Colby Covington twice, Jorge Masvidal twice and Gilbert Burns.
People are worried that Usman will never be beaten. Covington did push him all the way in their second fight, but in the end the champ got his arm raised.
Leon Edwards is fighting in his first UFC title bout. I do believe that Edwards would make a good champion and it might be in his future, but not until Usman retires.
Edwards has a professional record of 23 fights, 19 wins, three defeats and one no contest. That no contest came against Belal Muhammad when he accidentally poked the American in the eye.
That would have been a tough test for Edwards, and we would be able to see if he was capable of taking Usman’s title off him.
I feel Edwards will push him all the way and even trouble him at times, but I am backing ‘The Nigerian Nightmare to successfully defend his title with his 11th points victory.
Paulo Costa v Luke Rockhold UFC 278 Betting Tips
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold returns to the Octagon for the first time since 2019 on August 21 when he takes on Paulo Costa at UFC 278.
Rockhold was crowned champion at UFC 194 when he stopped Chris Weidman. He lost the belt to Michael Bisping in his first defence at UFC 199.
His last title opportunity took place at UFC 221 when he was knocked out by Yoel Romero. He then opted to move to light heavyweight for his next fight and was viciously knocked out by Jan Blachowicz.
He stepped away from the Octagon for a while after that fight, but if he is expecting a fairytale return against Costa, then he will be disappointed.
Costa has a professional record of 15 fights, 13 wins and two defeats. Those defeats were in his last two bouts against Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori.
There is no embarrassment in losing to those fighters, but he will feel ashamed and he knows only a convincing victory will see him rewarded with bigger fights in the future.
Rockhold was a decent fighter back in the day, but his time out of the Octagon will cost against him. I expect Costa to knock him clean out in the second round.
