Best Bets for UFC 277: Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena 2

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

You’ve made it this far, so you’re clearly into the concept of risk vs. reward.

And while favorites and moneylines are worthwhile options, a lofty prop or parlay is nice too.

This card isn’t hurting for options, even outside the top three bouts.

Here are a few we’d suggest you take a look at:

Adam Fugitt (Moneyline) +450

There’s plenty of reason to like Michael Morales in his early-prelim bout.

The Ecuadorian is 13-0 as a pro and 1-0 in the UFC, having graduated from Dana White’s Contender Series to handle Trevin Giles in one round at UFC 270 in January. Meanwhile, Fugitt is taking the fight on short notice.

But the 33-year-old underdog is no soft touch. He’s 8-2 in a pro, has won four straight and arrives to the UFC with four KOs and three submissions. He’s a southpaw, too, which could give Morales just enough trouble to make taking a flier worthwhile.

Rafael Alves (To Win by Submission) +400

There’s nothing like a battle of rugged 30-somethings to liven up the prelims.

Drew Dober is a veteran of the UFC wars, having debuted with the promotion on The Ultimate Fighter in 2013 and gone 10-6-1 in 17 subsequent bouts. He’s a predictable commodity and is often in entertaining fights that end in KOs or decisions if he’s successful.

Alves, though, presents an interesting challenge. He’s split two UFC fights after a long career in other promotions and has earned eight of 20 career wins (including his one in the Octagon) by submission. Dober, conveniently enough, has been submitted four times in the UFC and as recently as 2021. Good enough for us.

Alex Perez (To Win by Decision) +350

Not that long ago, Perez was one of the elites.

In his last fight, in fact, he was atop a pay-per-view show facing Figueiredo in a match for the flyweight championship. But he’s been inactive since that loss at UFC 255 in November 2020 and gets the division’s No. 4 contender, Alexandre Pantoja, as a return foe.

The Brazilian is 8-3 in his five-plus years in the promotion and has faced high-level opponents, including both Moreno (W UD 3, 2018) and Figueiredo (L UD 3, 2019). So he’s no joke. But Perez is slightly busier with both strikes and takedowns and we’re figuring returning to a PPV main card slot will be enough to combat the ring rust element well enough.

Stats via UFC Stats.

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