One of the most exciting upcoming UFC fights this weekend in Jacksonville will be a featherweight matchup between David Onama and Gabriel Santos. Both are rising contenders with a ton of potential and will look to continue their trek to the top of one of the toughest divisions in the UFC.
Read further for an analysis, preview, and the official Onama vs Santos betting prediction before making your UFC picks on this weekend’s betting slate.
Onama vs. Santos Information
David Onama vs Gabriel Santos
Location of the fight: Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, FL.
Date and Time: Saturday, June 24. 3:00 PM ET.
How to Watch: ESPN+
Last Fight Record
Onama is coming off a tough decision loss to Nate Landwehr last August.
Santos lost his UFC debut earlier this year after taking it on short notice.
David Onama vs. Gabriel Santos Betting Analysis
David Onama
Onama is a 29-year-old featherweight martial artist fighting out of Kansas City, Missouri. He has a professional MMA record of 10-2, with every win coming via finish. He demonstrates both power and submission skills in his fights and is one of the most athletic fighters in the division.
Making only his 5th appearance in the octagon, Onama is experiencing coming off a loss for the first time. He will have a four-inch reach advantage, which he can use well with his kicks and long straight punches. He averages 5.30 sig. strikes per landed per minute, but he only has a 45% takedown defense.
Gabriel Santos
Santos is bouncing back from a loss in his UFC debut, but he did the company a favor by stepping in on short notice. With no pressure behind him, he will have the opportunity to make his statement this weekend.
He is a Brazilian fighter with a record of 10-1 with 7 finishes under his belt. There are no secrets to his game; Santos is an elite grappler. He will wrestle his opponents until they submit to his pressure, but he also isn’t afraid to stand and trade. He landed 5 takedowns in his UFC debut.
Updates
No injuries have been reported to the UFC.
Onama vs. Santos Betting Preview
When you want to make the best UFC picks possible, take time to embed yourself into the sport and the fighters you want to make plays on. Study the available odds at your sportsbook, and find the best bet within those odds.
Santos is the -230 betting favorite this week over the very talented Onama, who is sitting at +195 according to UFC odds. The over/under is set at 2.5 rounds, with the under being the favorite at -130.
Clash of Grapplers
From a technical standpoint, the analytics behind Onama’s wrestling defense might be concerning, knowing that Santos is a heavy grappler. But you have to think about who Santos fought in his debut; Lerone Murphy has an even worse takedown defense than Onama.
Onama looks comfortable enough in wrestling scrambles to hold his own against Santos, but you can expect Santos to get the fight to the ground more than once.
In the striking exchanges, it’s the same to assume that Onama will have the slight edge. He is longer and faster than Santos. Santos also tends to keep his head still and is there to get hit a lot.
These are little thoughts that are necessary to think about when making your own Onama vs Santos betting prediction.
David Onama vs. Gabriel Santos Betting Prediction
After previewing this featherweight bout and looking at all the available betting lines to place bets on, it proves how difficult betting on MMA can be. These fights in the UFC are so high-level and competitive.
But even with all the factors in play, our official Onama vs Santos betting prediction is that Onama will get the job done and get his hand raised on Saturday afternoon. He is going to be able to hold his own in the wrestling scrambles, and even reverse some positions on the high-energy Santos.
Santos is going to get too fancy and run into a couple big shots from Onama, and the fight might even be finished if Onama is looking sharp. This is a great place for an underdog bet on Saturday.
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