UFC on ESPN 45 predictions: Is anyone picking Kai Kara-France over Amir Albazi?
Kara-France | Caceres | Altamirano | Silva | Nurmagomedov | |
MMA Junkie readers’ | 
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Matt Erickson | 
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Matthew Wells |
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Simon Samano |
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George Garcia |
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Nolan King |
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Mike Bohn  2014 Champion |
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Ken Hathaway 2018, 2022 Champion |
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Farah Hannoun |
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Danny Segura |
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Abbey Subhan |
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Brian Garcia 2017 Champion |
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Editor’s note: The main card fight between Jim Miller and short-notice replacement Jesse Butler was added too late for our picks deadline and is not included.)
After a week off, the UFC is back in Las Vegas with a key flyweight fight at the top of the bill.
UFC on ESPN 45 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, Kai Kara-France (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will try to bounce back into contention after an interim flyweight title loss to Brandon Moreno in July 2022 when he meets Amir Albazi (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who has yet to lose in the UFC.
Although the odds at most sportsbooks are a pick’em, it’s Albazi who is our closest thing to a unanimous pick on the main card this week. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have it as a 10-1 blowout for Albazi.
In the co-feature, Alex Caceres (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) meets Daniel Pineda (28-14 MMA, 5-5 UFC) in a featherweight bout. Caceres has won six of his past seven fights, is a -175 favorite at the betting window, and has a big 9-2 picks lead.
Also on the main card, Victor Altamirano (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on former flyweight title challenger Tim Elliott (18-12-1 MMA, 7-10 UFC). Elliott nearly is a 2-1 betting favorite, but our pickers have Altamirano in a 9-2 blowout.
Karine Silva (15-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) meets Ketlen Souza (13-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in an all-Brazil women’s flyweight scrap. Silva is more than a 2-1 favorite and has a big 9-2 lead from our staff members.
And to open the main card at welterweight, Abubakar Nurmagomedov (17-3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (23-7 MMA, 9-3 UFC). The fight has nearly even odds with Nurmagomedov at -115, but our staff members have him with a huge 9-2 picks win, as well.
In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Kara-France (56 percent), Caceres (75 percent), Elliott (60 percent), Silva (74 percent) and Nurmagomedov (59 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
