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UFC Austin Best Bets: Beneil Dariush vs. Arman Tsarukyan Prediction

By Iain MacMillan

May 14, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Beneil Dariush during weigh ins for UFC 262 at George R Brown
May 14, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Beneil Dariush during weigh ins for UFC 262 at George R Brown / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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Strap in folks, we have a great night of fights ahead of us as the UFC heads to Austin, Texas for UFC on ESPN 52!

There's no title on the line tonight, but that doesn't mean there aren't great fights to watch and bet on. The main event will feature an electric lightweight scrap between Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan.

I have three best bets for the event that I'll break down in this article.

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UFC on ESPN 52 Best Bets

  • Julia Avila -135 vs. Meisha Tate
  • Rob Font -125 vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
  • Beneil Dariush +245 vs. Arman Tsarukyan

Avila vs. Tate prediction

Miesha Tate will be fighting for the first time since July of last year and her return from her retirement hasn't gone to plan, going just 1-2 in that stretch. At 37 years old, her prime is well behind her and I can't find much of a reason why she's worth a bet tonight.

Julia Avila may not be as seasoned as Tate, but she has the power to put Tate away and she also showed off her submission capability in her latest win against Julija Stoliarenko. I'll back Avilia as a slight favorite in this one as I expect further regression from the former bantamweight champ.

Pick: Avilia -135

Figueiredo vs. Font prediction

If Figuiredo is a nightmare matchup for anyone who's going to stand across from him and try to pick his shots. Where he runs into trouble is when he fights guys who can overwhelm him with pure volume, which exactly what Brandon Moreno was able to do in his latest loss.

That makes Rob Font a bad matchup for the Brazilian. Font averages a blistering 5.71 significant strikes landed per minute while also sporting 3 inches of reach advantage against him. Styles make fights and this time the advantage goes to font.

Pick: Rob Font -125

Tsarukyan vs. Dariush prediction

I'm going to take a shot on the big underdog in this one in Dariush. The key for any fight involving Tsarukyan is whether or not he can take his opponent to the ground. He has recorded a combined 11 takedowns in his last two wins. This time, it's going to be a lot harder for him to do that.

Dariush has a takedown defense of 80% and even if he does get taken down to the ground, he has a great arsenal of submissions he can rely on as well. If he keeps this fight standing, which I think he can do, he has a chance to pull off the upset.

Pick: Dariush +245

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

You can check out all of Iain's bets here!

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