The UFC will be heading to Salt Lake City for UFC 278, with Karamu Usman defending his welterweight title in a rematch with Leon Edwards. Let’s dive into the MMA betting lines and get into a few of the best UFC 278 predictions and UFC bets for Usman vs. Edwards 2 on Saturday, Aug. 20.
UFC 278 Predictions & Bets for Usman vs. Edwards 2
Paulo Costa vs. Luke Rockhold Prediction
If both fighters make weight, there will be a high-level middleweight bout between Paulo Costa and former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. Rockhold will be returning to the UFC after a layoff of over three years, and in that bout he moved up to light heavyweight and got knocked out by Jan Blachowicz. Prior to that, his last middleweight fight was a knockout loss to Yoel Romero back in February 2018. The biggest issue Rockhold had was his durability. As soon as someone connected on his chin, the lights shut off. It is unlikely his durability will improve now at 37 years old.
Rockhold will be taking on Costa, a knockout artist who will be looking to get back in the title picture. Costa was obliterated by Israel Adesanya in their title fight, and then he lost a five-round decision to Marvin Vettori. Per his social media accounts, he looks to be in incredible shape and hopefully will not have to fight the scales. If Costa can find Rockhold’s chin early, he will most likely win by knockout. Rockhold’s path to victory is on the mat, but he is not a very good wrestler, landing only 0.67 takedowns per 15 minutes. This fight has all the makings of finishing early, either with Costa winning by knockout or Rockhold via ground and pound.
Best UFC 278 Betting Prediction: Costa/Rockhold Under 1.5 Rounds +110 (Caesars)
Marcin Tybura vs. Alexander Romanov Prediction
In a battle of ranked heavyweights, surging prospect Alexander Romanov will take on veteran Marcin Tybura. Romanov is 5-0 in the UFC and 16-0 in his professional career, although his fight against Juan Espino was dicey. His other four fights in the UFC were all finished in the first two rounds. Romanov has very good wrestling and top control, but there were questions about his cardio after the Espino fight. As a result, Romanov really trimmed down before his last fight against Chase Sherman. If he continues staying in very good shape, the sky is the limit for him.
He will be taking on Tybura, a veteran who has won five of his last six fights. He lost his last fight to Alexander Volkov by decision, which really isn’t a terrible loss because Volkov is one of the toughest matchups in the division. Prior to that, he finished Greg Hardy and Walt Harris back-to-back. And though those finishes were solid, Hardy is no longer with the UFC and Harris is on a three-fight skid, getting finished in all three. Tybura defends takedowns at an 82% clip, which is good, but he has not faced a wrestler like Romanov before. Romanov will be looking to get the fight down early and often, and if he does, there is a good chance he can finish the fight via ground and pound or submission. If Romanov cannot get the fight down early, or if Tybura can survive the first round, Romanov can tire. In that event, there is a good chance Tybura can take over late.
Best UFC 278 Betting Prediction: Tybura/Romanov Under 2.5 Rounds -126 (FanDuel)
