UFC 318 Picks for Holloway vs. Poirier 3 and Other Fights on July 19

We’ve got some UFC 318 picks for you with fantastic odds. The July 19 event looks ideal for those chasing betting upsets. There are some fighters with plus-money odds that seem destined to shock everyone at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

Holloway vs. Poirier III: “The Diamond” Aims for the Perfect Exit

Max Holloway (26-8) holds the BMF title right now, but his “baddest mother****r” status is in jeopardy, especially after the KO loss to Ilia Topuria last year. It was his first-ever loss by this method.

Before that, the only fighter to get a finish against “Blessed” was Dustin Poirier in their first fight. In their second fight, Poirier won by decision thanks to doing better wrestling-wise. When it came to striking, Holloway landed three more significant strikes than the Louisiana native.

That’s no surprise as the Hawaiian fighter lands 7.16 significant strikes a minute on average, which is among the highest numbers in the UFC.

His volume is dangerous, but Poirier is a warrior who’s bigger and tougher than him. Plus, this is his last fight in the UFC, and this time he’s fighting in front of a Louisiana crowd that adores him.

That said, we think he’s gonna be fired up on July 19, and perhaps even aim for a finish. We could see him attempt his trademark finish and “jump the gully” one last time.

Paulo Costa’s “Secret Juice” to Work Against Roman Kopylov

The odds say Paulo Costa’s done, but we’ve seen this story before. Sure, he’s dropped four of his last five, but those losses came against elite opponents – Israel Adesanya, Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker, and Sean Strickland.

They’re all incredible strikers with incredible power, but excluding Izzy, no one beat him by KO/TKO. That said, we don’t think Roman Kopylov can do it either.

Sure, the Russian is a dangerous finisher with 12 KOs in 14 wins. But the fact is that he’s hittable and slower than Costa, who lands 6.22 strikes a minute.

The Brazilian also gets hit a lot, but if he plays it smart for once, he could grind out a win. This might be Costa’s last chance to stay relevant, and desperate fighters are dangerous. That’s why he’s one of our top UFC 318 picks.

Time for Marvin Vettori’s First-Ever Loss Inside the Distance?

Marvin Vettori’s been in some wars, but lately, he’s looked more like a punching bag than a contender. But the fact is that he’s incredibly tough.

The evidence of this is that he’s one of only four fighters in the Top 15 Middleweight Rankings who are still without a loss by either KO/TKO or submission. Even his UFC 318 opponent – Brendan Allen – was finished on three occasions.

The Italian is obviously hard as nails, but that chin’s been tested way too often. Brendan Allen isn’t invincible either, riding a two-fight skid, but when he’s on, his grappling is elite, and his finishing instinct kicks in.

Allen’s last two fights were snooze fests, and he lost both of them. Hopefully, he’s learned his lesson and will take more risks come July 19. We think he might, as he seems to hate Vettori’s guts.

If he pushes the pace and takes risks, he could be the first to stop Vettori. It might not happen early, but by Round 3, the cracks might finally show.

UFC 318 Picks for All Remaining Fights

• Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez – Kevin Holland
• Dan Ige vs. Patricio Pitbull – Patricio Pitbull
• Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber – Daniel Zellhuber
• Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira – Vinicius Oliveira
• Francisco Prado vs. Nikolay Veretennikov – Francisco Prado
• Ateba Abega Gautier vs. Robert Valentin – Ateba Abega Gautier
• Adam Fugitt vs. Islam Dulatov – Islam Dulatov
• Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio – Jimmy Crute
• Ryan Spann vs. Lukasz Brzeski – Ryan Spann
• Brunno Ferreira vs. Jackson McVey – Brunno Ferreira
• Carli Judice vs. Nicolle Caliari – Carli Judice

There you have it, all of our UFC 318 picks. In addition to Poirier and Costa, we’re backing another underdog – Patricio Pitbull. This man is a Bellator MMA legend whose UFC adventure started with a loss by decision to Yair Rodriguez.

But it’s not a shame to lose to “El Pantera.” He’s one of the greats of the UFC Featherweight Division, and he’s a much better fighter than Patricio’s next opponent, Dan Ige.

When it comes to all other UFC 318 picks, we’re backing betting favorites. The safest of those bets seems to be Brunno Ferreira, who we think is likely to get a win by finish. We also think Vinicius Oliveira will get a comfortable win, the same as Islam Dulatov.

One fight that we’d avoid is Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez. Our UFC 318 prediction is that Holland will win, but this guy’s fighting style is risky, and D-Rod can definitely take advantage of it.

We’d also stay away from the UFC 318 card opener – Carli Judice vs. Nicolle Caliari. While our prediction is that the first fight of the day will see a finish, we have no idea who’ll finish who. Odds favor Carli, but Nicole has a 100% finish rate.