UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie Fight Card Odds and Picks

Last Updated on August 24, 2023 1:06 pm by Erwin Noguera

After a banger of an event in this last UFC 292, we are taking a trip out of our regular UFC areas to witness a fight card taking place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

This event will be headlined by the Korean Zombie, who is fighting Max “Blessed” Holloway, which is quite an entertaining clash between Featherweight contenders.

The Co-main event has Anthony Smith and Ryan Spann fighting it out on a Light-heavyweight bout, and there is a possible barn-burner clash taking place right before that, as Giga Chikadze clashes with Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres for another Featherweight clash that gets us all hyped up.

With an exciting 13 bouts fight card split with 6 main event fights and 7 prelims, we have quite an event ahead of us, and we do have a ton of Talent from the Asian regions, so it’d be a good moment to keep track of their names as they make their statement this Saturday.

You can check all the UFC/MMA bets, the analysis of each fighter, and the final bet you can make in these fights.

UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie Fight Card Odds and Picks – Info

When: Saturday, August 26th, at 5:00 am ET

Moneyline odds:

Max Holloway -833 / Chan Sung Jung +507

Anthony Smith +105 / Ryan Spann -133

Giga Chikadze -250 / Alex Caceres +188

Rinya Nakamura -833 / Fernie Garcia +496

Erin Blanchfield -156 / Taila Santos +122

Junior Tafa -151 / Parker Porter +118

Waldo Cortes-Acosta -256 / Łukasz Brzeski +195

Toshiomi Kazama +140 / Garrett Armfield -181

Chidi Njokuani -107 / Michał Oleksiejczuk -119

Kenan Song +234 / Rolando Bedoya -312

Yusaku Kinoshita -140 / Billy Goff +110

Na Liang +397 / JJ Aldrich -625

Seung Woo Choi -172 / Jarno Errens +135

Where can I watch it?

UFC Fight Pass

UFC Fight Night: Max Holloway vs. Chan Sung Jung

Why Bet on Max Holloway?

Max Holloway (20-7 UFC) has been exclusively competing in main events or title matches for nearly seven years. It’s intriguing to consider that he’s still only 31 years old, as he is a massive talent and former Champion who has fought almost everybody in the division.

Over the past few years, he’s been taking on up-and-coming challengers before Volk can touch them and has been demolishing them on the feet: Calvin Kattar, Yair Rodriguez, and most recently, Arnold Allen.

To be honest, it has put a damper on some of the title fights, outside of Volkanovski vs. Makhachev, of course.

Why Bet on Chan Sung Jung?

Chan Sung Jung (7-4 UFC), known as “The Korean Zombie,” will make his comeback to the ring after a break of approximately 16 months. In April 2022, he contended for the featherweight championship but was defeated via TKO in the fourth round by reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Max Holloway vs. Chan Sung Jung Betting Analysis:

Holloway possesses an impressive level of speed, especially in his boxing with exceptional hand speed. In the upcoming fight, he will have ample room to capitalize on this advantage and deliver punishment to his opponent, The Korean Zombie.

It’s worth recalling that Holloway established a UFC record for the highest number of total strikes landed when he dominated Calvin Kattar. We forecast that Max Holloway will secure victory in the first round through a knockout.

UFC Fight Night: Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann

Why Bet on Anthony Smith?

“Lionheart” has struggled to string wins together in recent years, going 4-5 in his last nine fights, which plays a big role in his being unranked at the moment.

Things looked promising when Smith rattled off three consecutive wins a few years ago, culminating with the victory over Spann. Unfortunately, the 36-year-old veteran hasn’t won since that encounter, losing to Magomed Ankalaev (via TKO) at UFC 277 before a unanimous decision loss to Johnny Walker just three months ago.

Why Bet on Ryan Spann?

Spann’s in search of some consistency at this point in his career. After beginning his UFC run with an impressive 5-0 start, the 31-year-old has fought to a .500 record (3-3) in his last six fights. On one hand, he has impressed during that span, finishing three opponents (two via KO/TKO, one via submission) and earned “performance of the night” honors twice.

On the other, he was also finished in each of those losses — including when he was most recently submitted by Nikita Krylov back in March.

Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann Betting Analysis:

Smith and Spann aren’t exactly strangers. The two previously collided in the main event of UFC Vegas 37, ending in a first-round submission victory for Smith after locking Spann into a rear-naked choke.

Smith is at a physical disadvantage in this fight as Spann stands an inch taller with a three-inch reach advantage. And while the duo’s striking numbers are similar, Spann has the wrestling edge, averaging more takedowns and submissions per 15 minutes with better takedown accuracy, too.

While Smith got the last laugh in the first meeting, we’re taking Spann to get some revenge this weekend.

UFC Fight Night: Giga Chikadze vs. Alex Caceres

Why Bet on Giga Chikadze?

Chikadze took the UFC featherweight division by storm with 7-straight wins after signing with the UFC in 2019. After his first top contender fight with Calvin Kattar didn’t go as planned, he took extra time off to recover and regroup.

Now, he has a professional MMA record of 14-3 with nine TKO/KOs and one submission.

Why Bet on Alex Caceres?

Caceres is one of the most fun fighters to watch on the entire UFC roster. Now, at age 35, the #15 ranked featherweight has a professional MMA record of 21-13 with four TKO/KOs and seven submissions. He started his UFC journey back in 2010 when he was winning fights on TUF.

“Bruce Leeroy” is now 7-1 in his last eight appearances inside the octagon, stepping in against arguably his toughest test in years.

Giga Chikadze vs. Alex Caceres Betting Analysis:

The technical side of this matchup is probably the most intriguing of the whole card. Chikadze has some of the best kicks we have seen, and Caceres has his unorthodox style that seems to change a little every fight.

This is an orthodox vs. southpaw matchup, much like we saw when Caceres beat the skilled Julian Erosa at the end of last year. This stance matchup will open up body kicks from both men, who both love their rear hands and rear legs as primary weapons. Chikadze will be able to kick hard from both stances, though.

It will be interesting to see if Chikadze still has all the explosiveness and speed he did before his long layoff. Caceres will need to come into this weekend with a game plan where he can counter those heavy kicks from Giga.

We are expecting one hell of a fight from both men, but think that Chikadze will walk out with his hands raised once the bout ends.

UFC Fight Night: Rinya Nakamura vs. Fernie Garcia

Why Bet on Rinya Nakamura?

Nakamura is one of the most interesting Japanese MMA prospects we have ever seen. Coming from a freestyle wrestling background where he won the U23 World Championships in 2017, he then retired from wrestling to pursue MMA,

Rinya brings a skillset that pretty much no fighter has from that region of the world.

Why Bet on Fernie Garcia?

Garcia is a DWCS alum and earned his contract by producing a beautiful first-round KO. Since then, the 10-3 bantamweight has lost both of his UFC fights via decision.

The 31-year-old has three submissions and one TKO victory in his career and is surely fighting for his job this weekend in Singapore.

Rinya Nakamura vs. Fernie Garcia Betting Analysis:

Nakamura is an elite athlete and fights like it’s life or death every time he steps foot inside a cage.

The speed, power, and sharpness of his striking are enough to take him far in this sport–but the world-class wrestling in Nakamura’s back pocket makes him very scary.

Keep in mind that Garcia tends to start kind of slow and just doesn’t have the same pop on his strikes or athletic ability as the Japanese man does. His lack of athleticism in this matchup will force him to take some big chances if he wants to come away with his hand raised.

It’s tough to see this not being a sprint from the opening bell, and Nakamura will probably be hunting Garcia down from the start; our pick says he finds his moment and capitalizes.

UFC Fight Night: Erin Blanchfield vs. Taila Santos

Why Bet on Erin Blanchfield?

Erin Blanchfield is only 24 years old and has been on a rocket ship since her dominating performance over Molly McCann in Madison Square Garden, leading to an even more impressive main event submission win over Jessica Andrade earlier this year.

Blanchfield has a professional MMA record of 11-1, with two KOs and four submissions under her belt. The high-level grappler trains out of Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and has been traveling around the world training with great teams, learning from many people as she develops at such a young age.

Why Bet on Taila Santos?

Santos was the toughest opponent Shevchenko faced up to that point last year in June, and many people believe that Taila should have gotten the nod on the scorecards that night in Singapore.

Now back in the same place where the fight took place, she is bringing in an impressive 19-2 professional MMA record with 10 KOs and three submissions at the age of 30.

Erin Blanchfield vs. Taila Santos Betting Analysis:

Blanchfield’s likely strategy is swift takedown for ground control and fight dominance. With strong grappling skills, she faces her career’s toughest test: controlling the larger opponent. Santos will probably look to keep the fight standing and win it with her dangerous striking abilities. She has some serious power in her right hand and can hurt Blanchfield with knees and elbows in the clinch.

Taila is the more experienced fighter who went toe-to-toe with the division’s GOAT last year. But Blanchfield has shown so much skill and potential. We will get to see if the new era of young MMA fighters will continue to take over the sport with how this plays out on Saturday.

That being said, we believe that Blanchfield will get the job done and win a hard-fought decision over Santos.

UFC Fight Night: Junior Tafa vs. Parker Porter

Why Bet on Junior Tafa?

Junior Tafa is a finisher who is coming back after a failed debut against Mohammed Usman to get things right. He has had 5 fights in his career, only losing his UFC debut so far.

Tafa is quite a fast finisher, as he ended 3 fights in the first round and one in the 2nd round, having a 100% finishing rate when he wins his fights.

Why Bet on Parker Porter?

Parker Porter got back into the winning column after a quick finish of Braxton Smith in his last fight, after coming in from a loss against another quick finisher also named “Tafa”.

Porter does have success in the later rounds as both a finisher and a fighter who can take the fight to the judge’s scorecards.

Junior Tafa vs. Parker Porter Betting Analysis:

Both of these fighters are finishers, but with Junior Tafa in the mix, we expect no fan to be blinking during the first round, as the pace at that moment will be at its peak.

Both fighters are dangerous at first, but to be honest, we are not thinking that this fight will be over soon, despite the credentials of both fighters.

We are leaning towards a late finish or decision victory for Parker Porter, who is likely to use his experience on the Octagon to take advantage of a less experienced and eager Tafa.

UFC Fight Night: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Łukasz Brzeski

Why Bet on Waldo Cortes-Acosta?

Cortes-Acosta has had some frustrating performances in the UFC thus far, but that is mostly thanks to “Salsa Boy” having the talent to get more done.

Decision victories over Jared Vanderaa and Chase Sherman were closer than they needed to be, particularly since Cortes-Acosta is prone to taunting and showboating at inopportune times.

However, Cortes-Acosta’s first professional loss, which came in the past April against Marcos Rogerio de Lima, was at least some cause for long-term optimism when it comes to the former Dominican baseball prospect.

Why Bet on Łukasz Brzeski?

Lukasz Brzeski has struggled to find success at the UFC level thus far, but he checks a lot of boxes in terms of size, athleticism, and durability as far as heavyweight prospects go.

He has not done much to impose upon his opponents—something that cost him in a controversial split decision loss to Martin Buday in his UFC debut in 2022.

Karl Williams simply outwrestled him, so Brzeski comes into this fight desperately needing to find a second gear, lest his UFC career turn out as a bit of a bust.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Łukasz Brzeski Betting Analysis:

This could turn into a bit of a slog between two fighters who find their most successful leaning on their durability and outlasting their opponents.

The lean is that Brzeski can keep up a slightly higher pace to end up on the right side of the scorecards, so we are taking Brzeski via decision as our pick for this clash.

UFC Fight Night: Toshiomi Kazama vs. Garrett Armfield

Why Bet on Toshiomi Kazama?

Undaunted by the flying knee knockout he’d suffered less than two months prior, Toshiomi Kazama (10-3) grappled his way past Maimaitituoheti Keremuaili to earn a spot in the Road to UFC Bantamweight finals.

There, he met ultra-prospect Rinya Nakamura, who flattened his countryman in just 33 seconds. Five of his eight professional stoppage wins, including his last three, have come via submission.

Why Bet on Garrett Armfield?

Two months after picking up his third straight win, Garrett Armfield (8-3) stepped up on short notice to battle former amateur rival David Onama in the Octagon.

Unfortunately for Armfield, “Silent Assassin” left him 0-2 in their rivalry via second-round arm-triangle choke. This marks his first appearance in 13 months.

Toshiomi Kazama vs. Garrett Armfield Betting Analysis:

For the sake of disclosure: We’re rooting for Kazama here. His style is so unique and fun that we want to see as much of it as possible in the Octagon.

Luckily he has good chances here, as Armfield’s ground game is by far his most prominent weakness. And while we get that there was a considerable size difference at play, getting manhandled by a pure striker like Onama is a bad look.

Kazama was never going to beat an absolute freight train like Nakamura. Against Armfield, he should have considerably more success getting inside, finding a grip, and bringing his super-slick Brazilian jiu-jitsu to bear.

This might be pure optimism talking, but expect Kazama to slither onto Armfield’s back and force an early tap.

UFC Fight Night: Chidi Njokuani vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk

Why Bet on Chidi Njokuani?

It was a bit absurd that a battle-vested vet like Njokuani had to go through Dana White’s Contender Series to earn a UFC contract, but the former Bellator headliner hit the ground running upon making it to the UFC roster.

“Chidi Bang Bang” scored quick knockouts of Marc-Andre Barriault and Dusko Todorovic, then split Gregory Rodrigues’ face open before losing a back-and-forth war.

However, Njokuani’s career has been full of ebbs and flows, and his last fight against Albert Duraev was another downswing—a slow-paced affair where he never picked things up into another gear.

Why Bet on Michał Oleksiejczuk?

Oleksiejczuk is still finding his level after a cut down to middleweight, as he hit a bit of a plateau as an undersized light heavyweight and seemed to relish being a bit of a bully once he cut down to 185 pounds.

The Pole’s attempts at technical improvement mostly went out the window in the quick finishes of Sam Alvey and Cody Brundage.

The Brundage win, in particular, suggested that Oleksiejczuk could get by as a physical force against stronger wrestlers, but he instead got controlled and submitted by Caio Borralho in April.

Borralho is a strong bully in his own right, so it is a bit difficult to calibrate exactly how well Oleksiejczuk’s physicality will hold up going forward at middleweight, which makes it an open question as to how much success he will find.

Chidi Njokuani vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk Betting Analysis:

Add in Oleksiejczuk’s gas tank concerns— if only because it was sometimes an issue at 205 pounds and all of his middleweight fights have been over fairly quickly—and that is enough to give Njokuani the nod in terms of stringing together 15 consistent minutes.

This is a close fight, but the pick is “Chidi Bang Bang” Njokuani via decision.

UFC Fight Night: Kenan Song vs. Rolando Bedoya

Why Bet on Kenan Song?

Song has lost two straight, and he leaves his face so wide open on the feet that he gets pieced up by accurate strikers. He is a decent counterstriker, but over three rounds he just takes too much damage.

Why Bet on Rolando Bedoya?

Bedoya looked great in his UFC debut as he almost beat Khaos Williams in a fight he took on short notice. He wasn’t scared of the moment and looked fantastic on his feet with his striking.

Kenan Song vs. Rolando Bedoya Betting Analysis:

Bedoya showed good striking defense against Khaos so we don’t think he eats a big shot from Song, but he didn’t show much power, so we can’t be sure he gets the early finish either.

We are taking sides with Bedoya to win, but this fight will likely go the distance, and we think it’d be a unanimous decision.

UFC Fight Night: Yusaku Kinoshita vs. Billy Goff

Why Bet on Yusaku Kinoshita?

Kinoshita — whose only defeat at the time came due to grabbing the fence while otherwise legally stomping Ryuchiro Sumimura into unconsciousness — sparked Jose Henrique Souza on Contender Series to win a UFC contract.

He entered the Octagon as a huge favorite over Adam Fugitt, only to fall to the latter’s ground and pound late in the first.

All of his wins — both professional and amateur — have come inside the distance.

Why Bet on Billy Goff?

Struggling through a 2-2 professional start, Billy Goff (8-2) ignited his career upsetting Robson Gracie Jr. in Bellator, then went on to win and defend CES’ Welterweight title.

He found himself dropped early by Shimon Smotritsky on the Contender Series, but powered through to score his fourth consecutive knockout and a UFC contract.

Yusaku Kinoshita vs. Billy Goff Betting Analysis:

Kinoshita is still just 22 years old and — even if he was unprepared for Fugitt’s wrestling — he still has the tools to be a real threat at 170 pounds.

It also helps that Goff seems like a much more forgiving match; though he boasts a solid wrestling pedigree of his own, Goff is also incredibly linear in his attack and regularly gets hurt early in fights.

That’s not a great issue to have against Kinoshita, who is similarly linear but boasts quite a bit more one-shot power.

While we could see Goff physically overwhelming Kinoshita if it gets into the later rounds, Goff’s preference for marching right into the fire is just begging for Kinoshita to melt him with the same sort of counter that felled Souza.

Kinoshita blows him away before Goff can build any momentum.

UFC Fight Night: Na Liang vs. JJ Aldrich

Why Bet on Na Liang?

Na Liang (19-6) — who’s ended all but one of her professional wins inside the first round — joined UFC amid a five-fight win streak. “Dragon Girl” is still chasing her first Octagon win, though, having suffered knockout losses to Ariane Carnelossi and Silvana Gomez Juarez.

She fights for the first time in 14 months.

Why Bet on JJ Aldrich?

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 23 veteran, J.J. Aldrich (11-6), slowly worked her way up the ranks with a 7-2 run, highlighted by an upset decision over Gillian Robertson in 2022. Then came a submission loss to Erin Blanchfield, followed by a decision loss to a resurgent Ariane Lipski.

She’s ended two professional fights via knockout, though none since 2016.

Na Liang vs. JJ Aldrich Betting Analysis:

Aldrich is quite the huge favorite and we honestly can’t disagree. Na’s armbar-or-bust attack just isn’t cutting it in the Octagon; for example, Carnelossi and Gomez Juarez are notoriously poor grapplers and Na still couldn’t put them away.

Against a rock-solid technician like Aldrich — who completely neutralized Robertson’s grappling — it’s hard to imagine Na finding the submission.

As much as we all love to see extremely focused specialists succeed, moving to 125 pounds isn’t going to fix what ails Na. In the end, Aldrich shuts down Na’s submission attack before pounding her out as soon as her gas tank empties.

UFC Fight Night: Seung Woo Choi vs. Jarno Errens

Why Bet on Seung Woo Choi?

Seung Woo Choi (10-6) went from starting his UFC career winless (0-2) to winning three straight, among them a bonus-winning, 97-second knockout of Julian Erosa. “Sting” now finds himself winless in his last three, most recently losing a one-round shootout to Michael Trizano at Madison Square Garden.

All six of his professional finishes have come by knockout.

Why Bet on Jarno Errens?

Jarno Errens (13-4-1) rode a 5-1-1 run into his Octagon debut, which pitted him against French standout William Gomis.

Despite stinging “Jaguar” early in the second with a clean right hand, Errens struggled with his foe’s wrestling attack en route to a decision defeat.

Seung Woo Choi vs. Jarno Errens Betting Analysis:

Nobody on Earth can question Choi’s heart or power, but it’s become clear that he just doesn’t have the technique to back it up. He fell apart the second Alex Caceres got him to the ground and Joshua Culibao dismantled him on the feet for long stretches of their fight.

Though Errens isn’t anything special himself, he’s a high-volume striker with a great gas tank and no (technical) knockout defeats on his record, which is enough to earn my nod. Choi’s signature left hook will be an excellent weapon in the matchup, as Errens isn’t exactly a defensive wizard.

That said, we’re not convinced Choi can put him away and we don’t trust Choi to overcome a fundamentally sound striking attack. In short, Errens shakes off a few heavy blows to out-work Choi down the stretch.