Kansas City does nothing better than barbecue and fighting.
The UFC returns to the City of Fountains on Saturday for a big-time fight card that The Post’s Scott Fontana projects to be one of the best Fight Night cards of the year, with an event rating of 32 per his exclusive rating system.
An obscene 14 fights await us at UFC Kansas City, and there are plenty of ways to wager on the card.
Below, we get into our best bets and betting strategy for UFC Kansas City, beginning at 6 p.m. ET, with the prelims on ESPN+ and switching to ESPN2 for the main card.
UFC Kansas City predictions
Ian Machado Garry vs. Carlos Prates
Ian “Machado” Garry could be approaching superstar level with a win over Carlos Prates, who’s enjoying a meteoric rise.
Prates, who is with the “Fighting Nerds” team that also boasts contender Caio Borralho, has been improving dramatically over the course of his career.
He has clear knockout power and is exhibits high-level technique on his feet.
Garry will need to avoid the power early, as it could spell problems for him if he is getting clipped consistently.
Prates should be able to jump on Garry early, as he has shown to be hittable at different points of his career.
Where this gets dicey for Prates, who is a +105 underdog, is his completely untested cardio.
He has said he doesn’t like fighting full three-round fights because he gets tired.
Well, now Prates is saddled with a five-round fight against a top contender in the welterweight division.
Still, I’m far from convinced that Prates is incapable of going five rounds.
In fact, I’d say Prates gets ahead early here in the first two rounds and could steal one more as Garry takes damage from the extremely violent muai thai fighter.
Grab fight goes the distance here at +162 odds, and don’t be afraid to bet on a far too wide of a decision line in favor of Prates.
PICK: Fight goes the distance (+162, FanDuel) | Prates by decision (+750, DraftKings)
Giga Chikadze vs. David Onama
It wasn’t long ago that Giga Chikadze was climbing up the ranks as a potential UFC title challenger.
A few losses and injuries have stalled those hopes, but the UFC featherweight should not be a +150 underdog here.
Chikadze suffered a nasty loss to Calvin Kattar in 2022 that kept him out of the octagon for more than a year.
He has since won one and lost one, although he was competitive against perennial contender Arnold Allen.
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Chikadze has some rock solid kicks and he will beat up his opponents legs at any chance he gets, which could spell disaster for Onama, who loves to stand and trade.
If Onama grapples – he would be wise to do so – I’m not sure he possesses the necessary control to keep Chikadze on his back.
I suspect Chikadze picks Onama apart on the feet and wins this one as a betting underdog, and he could do so early on.
PICK: Giga Chikadze moneyline (+150, BetMGM) | by Round KO/TKO (15/1, Caesars Sportsbook)
UFC Kansas City full card picks
Ian Machado Garry vs. Carlos Prates: Fight goes the distance (+162, FanDuel) | Prates by decision (+750, DraftKings)
Anthony Smith vs. Zhang Mingyang: Pass
Giga Chikadze vs. David Onama: Giga Chikadze moneyline (+150, BetMGM) | by Round 1 KO/TKO (15/1, Caesars Sportsbook)
Michel Pereira vs. Abus Magomedov: Pereira inside the distance (+185, Bet365)
Randy Brown vs. Nicolas Dalby: Fight to be won by split or majority decision (+1100, DraftKings)
Ikram Aliskerov vs. Andre Muniz: Fight goes the distance (+350, BetMGM)
Matt Schnell vs. Jimmy Flick: Flick by submission in rounds two or three (+650, FanDuel)
Evan Elder vs. Gauge Young: Pass
Chris Gutierrez vs. John Castaneda: Fight goes the distance for parlays (-325, Fanatics Sportsbook)
Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Alatengheili: Blackshear by submission (+180, FanDuel)
Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Cameron Saaiman: Saaiman ML (+110, DraftKings)
Jaqueline Amorim vs. Polyana Viana: Fight goes the distance (+240, BetMGM)
Timmy Cuamba vs. Roberto Romero: Cuamba ML (+125, DraftKings)
Chelsea Chandler vs. Joselyne Edwards: Edwards by decision (-186, ESPN BET)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.
