It’s a great weekend for fans and bettors on mixed martial arts with Bellator 265 headlined by Cheick Kongo vs. Sergei Kharitonov on Friday night and then a good UFC Fight Night card Saturday from Las Vegas headlined by a middleweight bout between Americans Jared Cannonier against Kelvin Gastelum.

With the main card starting at 10 p.m. ET, this fight should get going around 11:45 p.m. Originally, this main event was to feature Paulo Costa and Cannonier, but in early June Costa withdrew from the bout reportedly for contractual reasons and was replaced “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen” middleweight winner Gastelum.

That being said, NitroBetting takes your MMA betting experiences to the next level with our previews. Get to know more about the event and the fighters, the latest UFC odds, important betting trends, and expert betting predictions that help you lock in on the best picks. Don’t forget to check out the rest of MMA odds and lines at our online crypto sportsbook.

UFC Vegas 34 Event Info

• When: Saturday, August 21, 2021, 10:00 PM ET (Main Card)
• Where: UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada
• TV: PPV
• Live Stream: UFC Fight Pass

UFC Vegas 34 Main Card Odds

UFC Vegas 34 Cannonier vs. Gastelum Preview

Jared Cannonier

• MMA Record: 13-5-9

The 37-year-old Cannonier is 13-5 in his pro career – he is ranked as the No. 3 middleweight fighter. He comes off an October 2020 unanimous decision loss to current No. 1 Robert Whittaker in the co-main event of UFC 254 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Cannonier had a lot of early success with leg kicks, but Whittaker’s jab and in-and-out movement eventually took over the fight. Whittaker caused Cannonier’s right eye to swell badly in the middle frame with the repeated use of his jab. After the fight, Cannonier revealed in an Instagram post that he suffered a broken arm from a kick that Whittaker landed in the first round.

Cannonier has nine wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 69% of his career total. Among those he has beaten: Jack Hermansson, Anderson Silva, David Branch, Nick Roehrick and Cyril Asker. Cannonier holds two other wins by submission and two more by decision.

This will be the third time in Cannonier’s past four fights that he has been matched up with either a former UFC champion or a contender who has challenged for a title.

Kevin Gastelum

• MMA Record: 17-7-0

The 29-year-old Gastelum is 16-7 with one no contest in his career and ranked as the No. 9 middleweight. Gastelum faced current champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 236 for the interim UFC middleweight title. He lost via unanimous decision in a back-and-forth fight but it was voted the 2019 Fight of the Year by multiple MMA media outlets

Gastelum’s most recent fight in April was a unanimous decision loss to Whittaker, a result that dropped Gastelum to just 1-4 in his past five outings. His lone win in that stretch was a unanimous decision win over Ian Heinisch at UFC 258.

Gastelum has four wins by submission, accounting for 25% of his career total. Three of those were by rear-naked chokes and one by kimura. Gastelum owns six other victories by knockout or technical knockout and six more by decision.

UFC Vegas 34 Co-Main Event

At lightweight in the co-main event, unbeaten Mark O. Madsen (10-0) from Denmark faces American veteran Clay Guida (36-2), with Madsen at -170 and Guida +145.

Madsen, 36, was an Olympic silver medalist for Denmark in 2016 and a four-time medalist (three silver and one bronze) at the World Wrestling Championships. Hence, the nickname “The Olympian.” Madsen comes off a unanimous decision win in March 2020 over Austin Hubbard despite suffering a broken jaw during the course of the bout.

Guida, 39, was the inaugural Strikeforce lightweight champion. “The Carpenter” is an MMA legend and Hall of Famer and has been professionally competing since 2003. He beat Michael Johnson in February by unanimous decision.

UFC Vegas 34 Expert Betting Predictions

This is a close fight to call, but looking at Strickland’s record against unorthodox fighters, Hall might find the opportunity to execute the knockout punch. After building up his confidence against Anderson Silva, ‘Prime Time’ gets a good chance at winning this fight. On the other hand, Strickland brings a lot to the table as well in terms of beating Hall on paper, making it tough to pick a clear-cut winner. But since Strickland is the hotter of the two, he gets a slight advantage here.

Where to Bet on MMA with Crypto

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This is just one of the many sports betting guides that you can read here at Nitrobetting news. Stay tuned for more MMA previews and articles, and don’t forget to check out the latest MMA betting odds on our crypto sportsbook.

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