UFC 313 Main Event and Co-Main Event Best Bets – Saturday, March 8, 2025

UFC 313 will offer explosive fights throughout the night, with the main card featuring a light heavyweight title bout between current champ Alex Pereira (12-2-0) and top-ranked Magomed Ankalaev (20-1-1). The action takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the main card at 10:00 PM ET on Saturday, March 8. Pereira is slightly favored with a moneyline at -115 at MyBookie.

Main Event Betting Preview

Ankalaev is as deadly as it gets in the lightweight division, but some argue that Pereira is a step above him. He typically utilizes his strong wrestling skills, with some solid striking. He is not as dominant in that regard when standing up, but has a healthy balance of kicking and striking to ease opponents into a grappling position.

In order to win this fight, Ankalaev must wrestle from start to finish and not allow Pereira to gain any momentum. He cannot allow him to bully his way in striking.

Pereira knows he has to defend against an aggressive grappler. The key here will be for him to timely counter strong shots to the head when Ankalaev attempts his grappling.

This could arguably be one of the best fights of the year thus far, as both fighters have been slaving away in the gym for some time preparing for this opportunity. If Ankalaev controls the pace early, Pereira will need something special with his strikes to gain it back.

Co-Main Event Betting Preview

The co-main event will feature a rematch between 11th-ranked Rafael Fiziev (12-3-0) and third-ranked Justin Gaethje (25-5-0). These two met in 2023, where Fiziev (at least a moderate favorite of -200) was beaten by a majority decision.

Fiziev steps in on short notice to fill in for Dan Hooker. He has only fought once since losing to Gathje, but lost to Mateusz Gamrot by TKO (leg injury also sidelined him for quite some time from this fight).

Gathje has an edge in every fight he competes in with his aggressive striking. He is not as technical as Fiziev, but always has an opportunity to win by his hands.

After beating Fiziev, he knocked out Dustin Poirer but then lost to Max Holloway by TKO in the next one. His victory over Fiziev also earned the Fight of the Night honors.

For this matchup, the odds are much closer than it was previously. Fiziev is still a favorite at -160 and Gathje is an underdog at +125.

Odds, Series Trends, and Free Pick

MyBookie gives you the best UFC 313 betting odds, with exciting fights to check out. Pereira is appealing here, but it could go either way.

As for the co-main event, Gathje should be in good shape to win this matchup once again. Consider Pereira at -115 and Gathje in the co-main at +125.

Final Pick: Alex Pereira -115, Justin Gathje +125