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More than a month after the infamous UFC 329, the promotion heads to Philadelphia for UFC 330 on Saturday, August 15. The 12-fight card is headlined by two championship bouts, with Islam Makhachev and Mackenzie Dern both looking to defend their titles in the main and co-main events. Fans appear to feel the first UFC event in Philadelphia since 2011 is top-heavy, with several anticipated fights pushed to later dates.
Even so, UFC 330 is shaping up to be one of the more exciting cards in recent memory and features some of the promotion’s brightest young talent, particularly on the prelims. Here are the best props and DFS picks with under 30 hours until fight time.
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Vincent Luque vs. Tresean Gore – Under 1.5 Total Rounds (+135)
Luque will look to win back-to-back fights when he steps into the octagon for the second time this year, having secured a first-round submission back in April. The 34-year-old has had an up-and-down UFC career but has always been a dangerous presence in the middleweight division. Thirteen of his 17 promotional victories have come within 1.5 rounds.
He now faces the considerably less experienced Tresean Gore, who is just 4-4 across his first eight UFC fights, with only four of his 11 career bouts ending within 1.5 rounds. Facing a veteran like Luque will demand a more technical approach from Gore, especially after suffering two knockout losses since joining the promotion. Luque’s blend of striking and grappling should expose Gore’s Muay Thai style, and a fast start favors the Brazilian, given Gore’s history of struggling when fights become chaotic.
Chidi Njokuani vs. Joel Álvarez – Exact Method of Victory: KO/TKO/DQ (+130)
Since arriving in the UFC in 2019, Álvarez has built a solid résumé with some impressive wins. The Spaniard, primarily known for his BJJ, came to the promotion and has since shown real striking instincts, picking up four wins by knockout. He still finishes opponents on the ground when needed, but has produced some of the welterweight division’s most exciting moments on the feet. He now faces an opponent who prefers to stand and trade and has a long history of finishes throughout his career.
The 37-year-old Njokuani arrives having lost his last two fights and now faces one of the division’s more dangerous prospects. His primary path to victory in the UFC has been via knockout, with four of his six wins coming by early stoppage. With Álvarez’s ability to finish without relying on submissions and Njokuani’s preference to stand and trade, this fight has all the ingredients for one of the two men to get dropped and stopped.
Neil Magny vs. Ramiz Brahimaj – Fight to Start Round 3: No (-120)
Magny and Brahimaj both look to bounce back from their previous losses with a finish on Saturday. The two veterans carry extensive UFC experience, with Brahimaj having made his name as a submission specialist. He faces Magny, who has shown vulnerabilities on the ground and was submitted as recently as last December. Magny has now been finished in three of his last five fights.
Despite that trend, the other two results in that stretch were knockouts of his own. The 37-year-old still carries real finishing power, and Brahimaj could find himself on the wrong end of it. The American will look to keep this one on the ground to avoid a second UFC knockout loss. Whether Magny finds the right punch or Brahimaj gets the fight to the mat, this one looks destined to end before the third round.
Saturday’s UFC 330: Makhachev vs. Machado Garry DFS Picks
Our UFC 330 DFS lineup is headlined by Argentine fighter Esteban Ribovics. The talented lightweight contender is one of the division’s most exciting prospects and takes on an aging Edson Barboza, who appears to be in the final stretch of his career. The ten-year age gap and form heading into the fight are major factors in Ribovics’ pricing. Barboza has lost three straight and now faces an up-and-coming finisher with an 80% finish rate throughout his career.
Álvarez earns a spot in the lineup for many of the same reasons discussed in our best props section. The Spaniard simply has too many weapons for his opponent, and like Ribovics, holds an age advantage in this one as well. At his best, Álvarez looks like one of the division’s top contenders, and a statement win against an opponent who has been struggling will be a significant step up the rankings. He comes off a tough loss that ended a four-fight winning streak and should bounce back in a big way against Njokuani.
Makhachev also makes our lineup as the reigning Welterweight Champion looks to break the UFC record with his 17th consecutive win on Saturday. Like Álvarez, Makhachev has an answer for everything Machado Garry will bring, and many consider him the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now — an argument that is difficult to dispute given his run over the past decade. The 34-year-old should have no trouble defending his belt and should accumulate solid points through control time and a likely submission.
Luque is our budget selection and a solid fit for our top-heavy lineup. As discussed, his fight with Gore is a strong candidate for a strong finish, and the Brazilian has a real chance of coming out on top despite entering as a slight underdog. Gore has not shown enough in his short UFC tenure to suggest he is ready for a veteran like Luque. Luque is dangerous both on the feet and on the ground, and should find a finish early.
Kaué Fernandes takes on Jalin Turner on the main card, riding a three-fight winning streak. Turner will be his toughest test yet, and Fernandes enters as an underdog, but he has a clear path to victory. Turner is known for burning out after his aggressive early bursts, and if Fernandes can survive the opening exchanges, the Tarantula has shown plenty of vulnerabilities as fights wear on. The Brazilian has four knockouts in his last six fights and has the power to pull off the upset.
Our final selection for UFC 330 is Rafael Tobias, the young Brazilian looking to reintroduce himself to the promotion following a loss in March. The 23-year-old arrived in the UFC as a highly touted prospect at 13-1 with 10 career finishes, and earned his contract with a submission on Dana White’s Contender Series. A unanimous-decision loss in his first official UFC fight left some questioning the hype, but Tobias has the tools to remind everyone why the promotion signed him, as he now faces UFC debutant Lucas Fernando.
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