UFC Fight Night 226 Main Card Betting Odds & Preview

The UFC returns to France for the second time in two years after never having visited the country previously. That’s the power of Ciryl Gane. He’s not the only French fighter scheduled to fight on this card though: there are a total of six French fighters on the main card. In the co-main event, No. 3 women’s flyweight contender Manon Fiorot comes in as the favorite on the moneyline on most UFC betting sites and betting apps against former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.

UFC Fight Night 226: Ciryl Gane vs. Sergey Spivak Main Card Betting Odds - September 2nd

All odds provided by Sports Interaction.

No. 3 Manon Fiorot vs. Rose Namajunas Women’s Flyweight Co-Main Event Fight Odds

Manon Fiorot (10-1) hasn’t entered the octagon since last October, and her opponent, former two-time strawweight champ Rose Namajunas (11-5), hasn’t scrapped since May of 2022. 

Fiorot would seem to have a few advantages in this fight, being the taller and bigger fighter as the natural flyweight, and that should cause problems for Namajunas. “Thug” Rose was big for the strawweight division, and she often used her length and size to her advantage—but that won’t be the case in Paris.

The Frenchwoman also has the advantage of fighting in front of a home crowd, which should give her a little bit of extra juice. Both of these women prefer to stand and strike, but it might behoove Namajunas to try and get this fight to the ground, because Fiorot has looked like the best striker in the division recently.

Fiorot is coming off her most impressive win to date, dominating a very dangerous fighter in Kaitlyn Chookagian for the decision victory. Fiorot seems like she’s on a collision course with a women’s flyweight title shot, and Namajunas just hasn’t been at her best in recent fights, not to mention the 16-month layoff.

Unless Fiorot can body slam Namajunas the way Jessica Andrade did to take the belt from her back in 2019, Thug Rose is not going to be finished, so the play here would seem to be Fiorot’s +125 odds to win this one on the scorecards.

Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Thiago Moises Lightweight Fight Odds

This is a classic battle of grappler on grappler featuring France’s Benoit Saint-Denis (11-1, 1 no contest) and the Brazilian Thiago Moises (17-6). Saint-Denis has a lot of advantages here: he’s fighting in front of a crowd of his countrymen and women and he’s also the taller (5’11” to 5’9”), longer (73” to 70.5”), and younger (27 to 28) fighter.

Both of these guys are wrestle-first fighters, with Moises taking eight of his 17 victories by submission and Saint Denis doing the same with nine of his 11 wins. Both are very busy when it comes to attempting takedowns, but Saint Denis is definitely the one who’s more willing to mix it up and fight on the feet.

That could be where this fight is decided, because the elite grappling of both men could very well cancel each other out in this fight. Saint Denis is not only ferocious when he throws, but he throws with volume too, which is perfect against a guy like Moises who regularly gets outstruck by large margins.

Neither of these guys is likely to be able to submit the other just because of how good both are when it comes to Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and neither is likely to knock an opponent out either. With that in mind, Saint-Denis +240 odds to win by decision look very enticing. The fight to go over 2.5 rounds at +105 is also worth a look as well.

Volkan Oezdemir vs. Bogdan Guskov Light Heavyweight Fight Odds

In one of the more interesting matchups on the main card, 33-year-old veteran and No. 9 lightweight contender Volkan Oezdemir (18-7) goes up against UFC newcomer Bogdan Guskov (14-2). Oezdemir has really struggled in the last few years, losing three of his last four fights and six of his last nine. He has fought the best of the best, but he has not usually looked good doing it. The only reason he remains ranked is because he was able to squeak out recent wins against Aleksandar Rakic and Paul Craig.

Guskov, on the other hand, is only 30 and on a decidedly upward trajectory right now. He has finished every single one of his 14 wins, including the last four which came by way of first round stoppage. The Uzbekistani fighter looks like a great bet here given his plus odds and Oezdemir’s recent struggles. Oezdemir has been starched by a couple of guys, and we think Guskov will join their ranks on Saturday, so take him to win by KO at +225 odds.