Former heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis will attempt to get back on track Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak when he takes on rising prospect Sergey Spivak. The battle of ranked contenders will anchor the main UFC Fight Night card (1 a.m. ET start) from the promotion’s Apex facility in Las Vegas. The No. 7-ranked Lewis has long been one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster because of his devastating one-punch knockout power inside the cage and because of his irreverent sense of humor outside of it. But he has stumbled to losses in three of his past four and will likely drop out of the top-10 rankings should he fall to the No. 12-ranked Spivak, who has won five of his past six.
Spivak is a -235 betting favorite (risk $235 to win $100), while Lewis is priced at +195 in the latest UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak odds from Caesars Sportsbook. In the co-main event, light heavyweight prospects take the cage as Da Un Jung (-235) meets Devin Clark (+195). Before locking in any UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak picks, make sure you check out the MMA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine expert Kyle Marley.
Marley won the first-ever “ToutMaster” UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and daily Fantasy shows. He watches every single fight for every professional MMA card and does extensive research before each event.
Over the past four years, $100 bettors who have followed Marley’s picks are up nearly $12,000. Last year, the accomplished MMA analyst launched the UFC season by telling SportsLine members to support Calvin Kattar (+200) against Giga Chikadze (-240) in the featherweight main event. Kattar’s lopsided unanimous-decision victory gave Marley’s followers another easy winner. Anyone who has followed him has seen massive returns.
Now, with UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak looming, Marley has studied the card from top to bottom and revealed his top picks and predictions. Marley’s UFC Fight Night picks are only available at SportsLine.
UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak preview
The heavyweight division is now in a transitional phase following the departure of former champion Francis Ngannou, who left the promotion and the title vacant after he was unable to come to terms with the UFC on a new contract. Top-ranked Ciryl Gane will face former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who hasn’t fought in more than three years, for the heavyweight belt at UFC 285 in March.
The sizable group of viable contenders below them will be vying for position on the rankings, in hopes of landing the next title shot or perhaps a title eliminator. Either Lewis or Spivak can enter the title-shot conversation with an impressive performance Saturday.
Lewis (26-10-1) is a nine-year UFC veteran who has faced off against some of the division’s biggest names, but he has twice come up short in title fights against Gane and former champion Daniel Cormier. His resume includes a knockout win over No. 4-ranked Curtis Blaydes and a decision victory over Ngannou.
His explosive power makes Lewis a threat in any matchup, but recent results have many MMA observers wondering whether the 37-year-old’s best days are behind him. Each of his past three losses have come by stoppage to younger contenders inside of three rounds. Lewis can halt that narrative should he get past the versatile Spivak (15-3), who is 6-3 in nine UFC appearances but has faced mostly modest competition to this point.
The highlight of the Russian fighter’s resume is a second-round submission against No. 5-ranked Tai Tuivasa, who knocked out Lewis at UFC 271 in February of last year. But Spivak also has suffered losses to the likes of veteran Marcin Tybura and fellow prospect Tom Aspinall. You can only see who to pick at UFC Fight Night at SportsLine.
UFC Fight Night predictions
We’ll share one of Marley’s UFC Fight Night selections here: He is backing Denis Tiuliulin (+175) to get his hand raised against Jun Yong Park (-210) in a battle of middleweight prospects on the preliminary card.
Tiuliulin (10-6) is a sinister power puncher who has registered nine knockouts among his 10 professional MMA victories. The Russian fighter has split his first two UFC outings and is coming off a second-round stoppage of fellow prospect Jamie Pickett last September.
Park (15-5) is a versatile prospect who has seen his stock rise on the strength of wins in five of his past six UFC appearances. The South Korean fighter notched a second-round submission against Joseph Holmes in October.
“Park is the favorite because he should have the wrestling and grappling edge. But the striking is close and Tiuliulian hits hard. If he can keep this fight standing, I like his chances,” Marley told SportsLine. See who else to back here.
How to make UFC Fight Night picks
Marley has strong picks for Lewis vs. Spivak and every other bout on the UFC Fight Night card. He’s also backing a fighter who “is the better striker with higher volume” to emerge with a big victory. Marley’s picks and MMA analysis are only available at SportsLine.
Who wins UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC Fight Night, all from the incomparable expert who’s up nearly $12,000 on MMA in the past four years, and find out.
UFC Fight Night odds, fight card
See full UFC Fight Night picks, predictions, best bets here.
Sergey Spivak (-235) vs. Derrick Lewis (+195)
Da Un Jung (-235) vs. Devin Clark (+195)
Marcin Tybura (-140) vs. Blagoy Ivanov (+120)
Doo Ho Choi (-195) vs. Kyle Nelson (+165)
Yusaku Kinoshita (-285) vs. Adam Fugitt (+230)
Anshul Jubli (-115) vs. Jeka Saragih (-105)
Rinya Nakamura (-440) vs. Toshomi Kazama (+335)
Hyun Sung Park (-205) vs. Sung Guk Choi (+170)
Jun Yong Park (-210) vs. Denis Tiuliulin (+175)
Ji Yeon Kim (-265) vs. Mandy Bohm (+215)