Marlon Vera vs Cory Sandhagen Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for UFC on ESPN 43 (Can "Chito" Pull Off the Upset?)

Marlon Vera vs Cory Sandhagen Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for UFC on ESPN 43 (Can "Chito" Pull Off the Upset?)

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Vera vs Sandhagen Fight Info, Date & Time

UFC on ESPN 43 — Main Event Bantamweight Bout
Marlon Vera (20-7-1, 8 KOs) vs. Cory Sandhagen (15-4, 7 KOs)
Date: Saturday, March 25, 2023
Fight Time: This will be on the main card, which begins at 7 p.m. ET.
Venue: AT&T Center — San Antonio, Texas
Coverage: ESPN+, ESPN

Vera vs Sandhagen Odds & Prop Bets

All UFC on ESPN 43 odds, lines and prop bets are available on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline:
- Marlon Vera: (+138)
- Cory Sandhagen: (-178)

Method of Victory:
- Vera by KO/TKO: (+375)
- Vera by Points: (+650)
- Vera by Submission: (+650)
- Sandhagen by KO/TKO: (+500)
- Sandhagen by Points: (+135)
- Sandhagen by Submission: (+950)

Vera vs Sandhagen Prediction

Marlon Vera has been on a roll over the last two years. He heads into UFC on ESPN 43 riding a four-fight winning streak. He's earned 'performance of the night' honors twice over that stretch, including when he knocked out Dominick Cruz in his last outing back in August.

Meanwhile, Cory Sandhagen bounced back from back-to-back losses with a TKO win over Song Yadong at UFC Vegas 60. Sandhagen outstruck Song 94-54 and even managed to land a takedown en route to the victory.

This fight should be a close one as both fighters are evenly matched. While Sandhagen averages more strikes, Vera is more accurate with his blows. The bantamweight foes also average similar grappling stats. Having said that, I'm going with the underdog in this fight.

Vera is the hotter fighter at the moment and will be motivated to win his biggest UFC bout to date. As great as Sandhagen can be when he's on his game, two losses in his last three outings are too much to be ignored.

It'll be a close fight, but Vera has what it takes to grind out the victory.

Winner: Marlon Vera

Vera vs Sandhagen Best Bet

With an upset win as the prediction, there's decent value to be had by backing Vera at +138 on the moneyline. If that isn't exciting enough, I could also see Vera winning by points at +650. After all, Sandhagen has only been finished once and with both fighters looking evenly matched, I'd say that's a recipe for a bout that goes the distance.

Bet: Marlon Vera ML (+138) or Marlon Vera by Points (+650)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.