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Wake yourself up bright and early, or just don’t sleep at all, for this weekend’s UFC event because it will start bright and early in North America. UFC Fight Night 162 or UFC on ESPN+ 20 will be held in Singapore on October 26. It will be a 5:30 a.m. start in the Eastern Time Zone for the prelim card and the main card will go off at 8 a.m. At least you can make it a full day of sports with college football after that.

In any event, we’ll break down this card with a main event of Demian Maia vs. Ben Askren and 10 additional fights. We usually see a lot of local fighters on UFC cards, but that really isn’t the case this week.

Heavyweights Raphael Pessoa and Jeff Hughes get underway, with Hughes the -250 favorite at 5Dimes Sportsbook. Pessoa is coming off of his first career loss, which came at the hands of Ciryl Gane, who will be a rapidly rising prospect in the heavyweight division, if he isn’t already. Hughes, a Dana White Contender Series find, seems like a big favorite here, given that he’s 0-1 with a Could Not Continue in his official UFC fights. Pessoa is a live dog here.

In the strawweight division, Aleksandra Albu and Loma Lookboonmee make up one of the two women’s fights on the card. Lookboonme hails from Thailand and is 3-1 in her career. At the age of 21, it would seem like she’s giving up some experience to the 29-year-old Albu, but Albu only has four official MMA fights on her resume. She lost to Emily Whitmire earlier this year in her first fight in 18 months. She’s technically 2-1 in UFC. This is a really hard fight to call, with little to go on with each girl. Lookboonme is a -125 favorite.

Maurice Greene is +195 to Sergei Pavlovich’s 13-1 in another heavyweight fight. Pavlovich is giving up four inches to Greene, but his long limbs could serve him well as he still maintains a reach advantage. Greene, who was on cycle 28 of The Ultimate Fighter, lost in the semifinals, but impressed enough to get a contract. He’s won all three fights since then. Pavlovich beat Marcelo Golm earlier this year after a loss to Alistair Overeem to start his UFC career. It is best to look to the dog in fairly even heavyweight fights and that’s true of this one as well.

Undefeated Movsar Evloev is a -175 favorite against Enrique Barzola at 145 pounds. Barzola is 17-4-1 in his career and has fared well of late with wins in four of his last five. The 25-year-old Evloev had a nice win over Seungwoo Choi and is now stepping up in class a bit as he tries to keep his perfect 11-0 record in tact. He was a titleholder with several defenses in M-1 and looks like a good parlay piece here.

Alex White is +170 and Rafael Fiziev is -200 in this lightweight matchup at UFC on ESPN+ 20. The 31-year-old White has suffered all five career losses in UFC since joining the promotion in 2014. He is coming off of a nice win over Dan Moret to snap a two-fight winning streak. For Fiziev, this is his second career UFC fight after getting knocked out in 86 seconds my Magomed Mustafaev. He’s a big favorite to bounce back here, deservedly so, and looks like a good pairing with Evloev in the previous fight.

The main event of the prelim card is the only other women’s fight on the docket with Randa Markos against Ashley Yoder. Markos was originally scheduled to face Yan Xiaonan, but Yan pulled out of the fight about a month ago due to injury. Markos is -155 in this one as she looks to avoid falling to .500 in her pro career. She’s 2-2-1 in her last five fights, including a win over Angela Hill and a loss to Claudia Gadelha this year. Yoder lost three straight decisions before beating Amanda Cooper and Syuri Kondo in her last two fights. She’s on an upswing, but Markos is just the better all-around fighter.

Laureano Staropoli (+155) vs. Muslim Salikhov (-175)

The entire card is on ESPN+, but this is the first fight of the main card between Laureano Staropoli and Muslim Salikhov. This is the third fight in the UFC for Staropoli, as he has wins over Hector Aldana and Thiago Alves, both by unanimous decision. Staropoli is 9-1 in his career and has a little bit of a height advantage here. His reduced striking ability in his first two UFC fights could be the reason for the underdog line here, as it’s hard to fault most of what he’s done in his career. That being said, this is the first time he’s fought twice in a year since 2015.

Muslim Salikhov has showcased the punching and striking power in the UFC. Salikhov has back-to-back knockout wins after suffering his second career loss in his UFC debut. Salikhov’s most recent knockout, a first-round win over Nordine Taleb, came at UFC 242. That makes this a quick turnaround for him of less than two months, but he didn’t take any punishment in that Taleb fight.

Pick: Muslim Salikhov

Don’Tale Mayes (+300) vs. Ciryl Gane (-360)

Ciryl Gane is a big prospect in the heavyweight division and it’s extremely difficult to see him losing anytime soon until steps up in class a little bit more. Don’Tale Mayes was very impressive in his third try on the Dana White Contender Series. He’ll get his chance here to really prove himself, but the 27-year-old will likely be outgunned here by Gane.

Pick: Ciryl Gane

Frank Camacho (+140) vs. Beneil Dariush (-160)

Frank Camacho scored his first knockout win in nearly three years with his second-round victory over Nick Hein back in June. He’ll try to do the same here, but it won’t come easy against Beneil Dariush. Camacho had lost three of four fights before the matchup against Hein.

This line seems light with that in mind, doesn’t it? Maybe Dariush hasn’t been the fighter that everybody thought he’d be earlier in his career. He’s just 2-2-1 over his last five fights. But, he’s still an extremely talented fighter, just one that hasn’t lived up to his potential as of yet. Dariush is riding wins over Drew Dober and Thiago Moises, so he hasn’t beaten good fighters, but he’s gotten some confidence back and maybe that will be enough.

Pick: Beneil Dariush

Stevie Ray (+250) vs. Michael Johnson (-310)

Stevie Ray has dropped three of his last four fights and it looks like he is very likely to drop another one in this bout. He’s a +250 underdog in this matchup against Michael Johnson. Ray has lost to Leonardo Santos, Kajan Johnson, and Paul Felder, with a decision win over Jessin Ayari in his last few scraps. He hasn’t been impressive.

Johnson’s record is unimpressive, but the 33-year-old has lost to the likes of Justin Gaethje and Nate Diaz in his career. He’s just 3-5 in his last eight fights, with losses to Dariush and those aforementioned losses to Gaethje and Diaz. This is a step down in class for him, as the line suggests. He’s an open parlay piece or something to pair with some of the lesser fighters on the undercard.

Pick: Michael Johnson

Demian Maia (+160) vs. Ben Askren (-185)

How does Ben Askren respond from his first career loss? The One Championship champion made his UFC debut and beat Robbie Lawler. Then he lost in five seconds to Jorge Masvidal. He’ll get a chance to get back on the right track against Demian Maia. Maia, who is 41 years old now, is fighting for the third time this year. He’s actually won both of his previous fights over Lyman Good and Anthony Martin. Before that, Maia was losing to quality fighters like Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, and Tyron Woodley.

It is interesting to see how Askren will do here as he gets another chance. Askren spent a lot of time being a champion in smaller promotions. He’s 1-1 in UFC and seems to have a big head about his ability and has been very selective with who he wants to fight. It seems he wants Maia, who had his time in the spotlight and is now on the downside of his career, despite the two wins. In all honesty, looking at Maia here does make some sense.

Pick: Demian Maia

UFC Fight Night 162: Maia vs. Askren Betting Odds, Picks & Preview

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Don't miss out on the NHL showdown between the Coyotes and Jets. The game is starting at 6:00 ET on ESPN+, and it's hosted by the Jets at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, MB. Get ready to place your bets! The over/under for this matchup is currently set at 5.5 goals and the Jets are the -1.5 favorite to win at home vs. the Coyotes.<h3>ARIZONA COYOTES VS WINNIPEG JETS BETTING PICK</h3>The Pick: Winnipeg Jets -1.5This game will be played at Canada Life Centre at 6:00 ET on Sunday, February 25th.<h3>WHY BET THE WINNIPEG JETS:</h3><ul><li>With the Jets being favored by 1.5, our NHL analytics models has this one playing out 4-3 in favor of the Jets.</li><li>Take the Jets on the moneyline</li><li>On the spread, we like Coyotes (+1.5)</li></ul><h3>Can Arizona Pull Out the Win as Road Underdogs?</h3>Arizona comes into this game with a record of 23-29-4, which puts them in 13th place in the Western Conference and 7th place in the Central Division. On the road, the Coyotes are 8-15-4 this season and have lost two straight games away from home. Over their last ten games, Arizona has lost ten straight games and has dropped six straight games overall.

As the underdog, the Coyotes have gone 13-28-3 this season and have lost six straight games as the underdog. Against other Western Conference teams, Arizona has gone 14-19 this season.On the road, the Coyotes have a puck line record of 15-12 this season, and their average scoring margin on the road is at -0.6 goals per game. So far, Arizona has gone 28-28 against the puck line this year, and they have 12 wins by multiple goals.

As the underdog, the Coyotes have a puck line record of 23-21, and they have dropped their last two games vs. the puck line. In their last ten games, Arizona's puck line record is 3-7, and they have gone 6-4 against the puck line in their last ten road games. This season, Arizona's games have an average of 6.2 goals per game. The average over/under number for the season is 6.2. The Coyotes come in with an over/under performance of 30-23-3.Across their last three road contests, Arizona has a 2-1 record vs the spread. Their overall mark in these games was 0-3, while averaging 3 goals per game.On offense, the Coyotes are averaging 2.9 goals per game which is 25th in the NHL. In terms of shots on goal per game, they are 31st in the league. Coming into the game, the Coyotes have a 10-4 record when they have more shots on goal than their opponent. When they have fewer shots on goal, they are 13-22.The leading scorer for Arizona's offense is Clayton Keller. Coming into the game he has 22 goals, ranking 42nd in the NHL. In addition to his goal scoring, Keller has 30 assists this season.The Jets defense is currently 26th in goals allowed. Opponents are averaging 29.1 shots per game against Winnipeg. In terms of shutouts, they come into the game ranked 17th with 3 shutouts.Goalie Connor Ingram comes into the game having made 33 starts this season. So far, his record is 17-13 and he has a save percentage of 0.85%.<h3>Will the Jets Win at Home?</h3>At home, the Jets have been nearly unbeatable this season, going 19-7-2 in their 28 games. In the Central Division, Winnipeg is in second place, two games behind the Blues.

Over their last ten games, the Jets have gone just 5-5, but they have won each of their last two games. Overall, Winnipeg has a record of 35-15-5, giving them 75 points on the year.Winnipeg enters this game with an overall puck line record of 29-26, including going 19-19 as the favorite. So far, the Jets have won 24 games by multiple goals and have an average scoring margin of +.7 goals per game.

At home, Winnipeg has a puck line record of 16-12 and an average scoring margin of +1.0 goals per game. In their last ten home games, the Jets have gone just 5-5 vs. the puck line. On average, Winnipeg's games have finished with 5.4 goals per game. The season's average over/under line stands at 6. In total, the Jets come in with an over/under record of 18-30-7.Arizona has a 0-3 record in their last three road games. In this stretch, they averaged 3 goals per game while allowing 4. The team also performed well vs the puck line at 2-1.Offensively, the Jets come into the game at 3.1 goals per contest placing 19th in the NHL. In terms of shots on goal per game, they are in 21st position in the league. Winnipeg's offense is currently ranked 24th in power play goals. When it comes to shorthanded goals, they are 24th in the league.Winnipeg's current leading scorer is Kyle Connor. This season, he has 21 goals, which puts him 48th in the NHL. Connor also comes into the game with 17 assists.Defensively, the Jets are currently 26th in goals allowed. On average, opponents are taking 29.1 shots per game against Winnipeg. They also are 17th in shutouts, coming in with 3 shutouts.Goalie Connor Hellebuyck comes into the game having made 41 starts this season. So far, his record is 27-11 and he has a save percentage of 0.944%.

Arizona Coyotes vs Winnipeg Jets Betting Pick & Prediction 2/25/24

Don't miss out on the NHL showdown between the Stars and Blues. The game is starting at 8:00 ET on BSMW, and it's hosted by the Blues at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO. Get ready to place your bets! The Stars are the favored team in this Central divisional contest against the Blues. The game's over/under currently sits at 6.5 goals.<h3>DALLAS STARS VS ST. LOUIS BLUES BETTING PICK</h3>The Pick: St. Louis Blues +1.5This game will be played at Enterprise Center at 8:00 ET on Saturday, December 16th.<h3>WHY BET THE ST. LOUIS BLUES:</h3><ul><li>Despite being 1.5 goal underdogs, we predict the Blues to come out on top with a final score of 4-3.</li><li>We like the Blues on the moneyline (+114)</li><li>The Blues are also our pick on the spread at +1.5</li></ul><h3>Will the Stars Make it Happen on the Road?</h3>This season, the Stars have a mark of 17-8-3. When going on the road, Dallas has a record of 9-3-2 record, while they are 8-5-1 at their home arena. This record has them sitting 2nd in the Western Central division and 4th in the Western conference.Dallas is 11-17 against the puck line this season. On the road, their puck line record sits at 7-7 compared to 4-10 at home. The average goal total for Dallas' games is sitting at 6.7. The average over/under line for the season is 6.1. The Stars come in with an over/under record of 17-11-0.Through their last three road contests, the Stars offense has averaged 3 goals per game while allowing an average of 4. Dallas posted an overall record of 1-2 while going 1-2 ATS.In terms of their offensive performance, the Stars are averaging 3.5 goals per game this season, putting them in the 7th spot in the NHL. When it comes to shots on goal per game, they are ranked 26th in the league. Coming into the game, the Stars have 9-5 record when they have more shots on goal than their opponent. When they have fewer shots on goal, they are 8-3.Dallas' current leading scorer is Joe Pavelski. This season, he has 13 goals, which puts him 29th in the NHL. Along with his scoring, he has come up with 14 assists so far.Defensively, the Blues are currently 6th in goals allowed. On average, opponents are taking 32.3 shots per game against St. Louis. They also are 14th in shutouts, coming in with 2 shutouts.Heading into this matchup vs. St. Louis, goalie Scott Wedgewood has started seven games in this season. His current record is 6-1, and his save percentage stands at 0.444%.<h3>Taking a Look at the Blues Chances at Home</h3>This season, the Blues have put together an overall record of 14-14-1. When playing on the road, St. Louis has gone 6-9-1, while their home record stands at 8-5-0. Their current record places them 6th in the Western Central division and 9th in the Western conference.When it came to the puck line, St. Louis have posted a 14-15 record. Their road performance against the puck line stands at 7-9, while they are 7-6 at home. For the season, the average number of goals per game in matchups featuring St. Louis is 6.2. The season's average over/under line is currently at 6.3. The Blues come in with an over/under record of 10-17-2.Through their last three home games, St. Louis has an puck line record of just 1-2. However, their overall record was 1-2 while averaging 1 goals per game.On offense, the Blues are averaging 2.9 goals per game which is 26th in the NHL. In terms of shots on goal per game, they are 16th in the league. Looking at how the Blues' offense is performing during power plays, they are 31st in power play goals and 1st in shorthanded goals.St. Louis' current leading scorer is Robert Thomas. This season, he has 12 goals, which puts him 45th in the NHL. In addition to his goal scoring, Thomas has 18 assists this season.Defensively, the Blues come into the season ranked 6th in goals allowed. Opponents are averging 32.3 shots per game against St. Louis. For the season, they are ranked 14th in shutouts, coming in with 2 shutouts.Goalie Jordan Binnington gets the start and has made 20 starts this season. His record at this point is 9-9, and his save percentage is 0.989%.

Dallas Stars vs St. Louis Blues Betting Pick & Prediction 12/16/23

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