After a rough go at UFC 324, we went 5-2 in our UFC 325 best bets for +3.21 Units. We now sit at +0.46 Units in 2026 with UFC Vegas 113 up next.
UFC Vegas 113 is the first card in the UFC META Apex this year and features a solid slate of fights. Mario Bautista against Vinicius Oliveira headlines the card, with Amir Albazi against Kyoji Horiguchi as the co-main event. The entire main card brings top fighters in the UFC looking to make a jump in the rankings, which always makes for exciting fights. Let’s take a look at the UFC Vegas 113 main card and, as always, check back later in the week for our best bets.
MAIN CARD BREAKDOWN
Dustin Jacoby
1.54
2.54
Julius Walker
This is a massive step up in competition for Julius Walker. He’s only fought in the UFC twice and is 1-1. He beat Alonzo Menifield in a close split decision and recently beat Raffael Cerqueira in a fight where he should have been able to find a finish. His cardio is questionable, but he has a good mix of wrestling and durability that allows him to get into a brawl. He showed that in his previous two fights, but Dustin Jacoby is a different beast.
Jacoby has only lost to solid fighters at the UFC level. While his loss to Alonzo Menifield hasn’t aged well, he was still competitive in a decision loss. Outside of that, He’s got a split decision loss to Khalil Rountree Jr, a decision loss to Azamat Murzakanov, and a knockout loss to Dominick Reyes. Since then, He finished Vitor Petrino in the third round, and recently knocked out Bruno Lopes in the first. His striking is elite, and his ability to avoid the ground is what allows him to dictate the pace on the feet.
Walker’s best path to victory is to use his wrestling and force Jacoby into a grappling match. Pinning him against the fence and fighting for takedowns while avoiding the striking battle is the best way to neutralise Jacoby. If he doesn’t, Jacoby’s technical kickboxing style will surely pose problems for Walker. He doesn’t have good striking defence. Jacoby will pick him apart. In terms of early looks, Jacoby looks like one of the best parlay pieces on the entire card.
Jean Matsumoto
3.40
1.33
Farid Basharat
This is a battle of two up-and-coming prospects looking to make a name as contenders. Jean Matsumoto has been pitted against solid veterans early in his career, but he has looked the part. He’s 3-1 in the UFC, with a controversial split decision loss to Rob Font. Last time out, he beat Miles Johns via split decision, which is a solid feather in his cap. He’s durable, has great wrestling, and has been able to hold his own against tough competition on the feet.
Javid Basharat is cut from the same cloth and has similar experience in his UFC career. He’s undefeated at 14-0 and is on a 5-0 UFC run. While his early fights weren’t as competitive as Matsumoto’s, his most recent win against Chris Gutierrez proved his versatility and cage IQ. He avoided the hard leg kicks, used his wrestling, and found ways to dominate the fight en route to a unanimous decision win.
This is a competitive fight, but the odds suggest that Basharat’s ability to find ways to win trumps anything Matsumoto can do to make it close. The major difference between the two fights is that Matsumoto finds ways to edge out victories, while Basharat is keen on dominating the fight where he sees fit, while avoiding any offensive prowess his opponent brings to the table. While it wouldn’t be surprising to see Matsumoto pull off a major upset, he just hasn’t been able to dominate fights the way Basharat has so far in his career.
Michal Oleksiejczuk
1.27
3.85
Marc-Andre Barriault
Since making the move to the Fighting Nerds, Michal Oleksiejczuk has a newfound energy that makes his fights exciting while also being the smarter fighter. After a tough 2024, where he lost all three fights to high-level competition, 2025 was a good reset. He went 2-0 with two first-round finishes, but against lesser competition. His boxing has always been impressive, but he struggled with ground fighters in the past. It was a clear path to victory for his opponents, but after starching two good grapplers, he could be turning a new leaf.
Marc-Andre Barriault is at a different stage of his career. He’s been around the UFC for a long time, and he could be on the hot seat after another tough loss. He’s 1-4 in his last five, with his only win coming against a fading Bruno Silva. He’s 6-9 in the UFC, but his exciting fights have kept him around. He has a good mix of striking and grappling, but as the competition gets tougher, he hasn’t been able to string together consecutive wins.
Barriault has been finished by powerful strikers in the past, and this could be another tough outing if he doesn’t find ways to get it to the ground. He should be the better grappler, but it will take a lot of pressure to get this fight to the mat. Oleksiejzuk will come out firing and look for the finish early, but as the fight goes on, Barriault’s chance of winning increases. He needs to weather the storm and find ways to wrestle if he hopes to pull off the upset.
Jailton Almeida
1.67
2.24
Rizvan Kuniev
This line is the most surprising of the entire card. The only real explanation here is both of their fights against Curtis Blaydes. While Jailton Almeida dominated the first round, only to lose in the second via knockout, Rizvan Kuniev defended takedowns and kept the fight competitive, ultimately losing via split decision.
Almeida is a top contender in the heavyweight division, but his split loss to Alexander Volkov last time out set him back. Volkov is an elite kickboxer who has learned how to avoid being taken to the ground over the years. The major issue with Almeida’s style is that even when he gets it to the ground, he doesn’t have much offence. He doesn’t ground and pound to steal points in the round or find submissions at a high rate. In this era of MMA, takedowns and ground control just aren’t enough, especially when your opponent finds ways to land big shots from the bottom position.
Kuniev hasn’t fought much in the UFC, and his prior use of banned substances is well-documented. He’s 2-0 in the UFC, but has only fought twice since 2023. There have been three cancelled fights in his UFC career, but none of them were his fault. With primarily the Blaydes fight as an example, his ability to avoid the ground was solid, defending 13 of Blaydes’ 15 takedowns. While his cardio is a big question mark, he was competitive on the feet and landed big shots when he could.
This fight will come down to the same thing. Can Kuniev defend Almeida’s takedowns, and if he does, who will win the cardio battle? If Almeida can get the fight down at will, he needs to have more finishing prowess to keep the fight in his favour. If he continues to fight for position, but Kuniev wins the striking battle on the feet, it will be another close decision or loss. The odds suggest that Kuniev can keep this competitive, and the main area would be when the fight stays standing. With Almeida’s body of work and athleticism advantage, he seems like the right side, but this is still a heavyweight fight with both guys showing plenty of room for improvement.
Amir Albazi
3.85
1.27
Kyoji Horiguchi
Talk about another wide line. Kyoji Horiguchi is getting all the respect in the world against Amir Albazi. With double the amount of MMA fights, there is a massive experience gap in this flyweight battle. Not only is Albazi less experienced, but you can argue that this is his toughest fight to date. The same can’t be said for Horiguchi.
Horiguchi made his way back to the UFC after spending time with RIZIN and Bellator. He has been regarded as one of the best flyweights in the world and trains with Alexandre Pantoja at American Top Team. He has a strong kickboxing game but is well-rounded everywhere. He’s 8-1 in the UFC over both stints, and his only UFC loss is against Demetrious Johnson. While he has a few losses outside of the UFC, they have all been in high-level fights, and he’s avenged both his losses to Kai Asakura and Sergio Pettis. He has only been finished 3 times in 40 fights and immediately jumped in the rankings upon his return to the UFC.
Albazi has a massive opportunity to play spoiler. While the activity and experience leave much to be desired, he’s still 17-2 and considered a top flyweight in the division. His controversial win over Kai-Kara France is still regarded as a complete robbery, but he’s still 5-1 in the UFC after losing to Brandon Moreno via decision. The red flags in that fight were that he struggled with the volume and was unable to respond both on the ground and on the feet.
While the betting line suggests a sprinkle on Albazi in a massive underdog spot, it’s hard to see his path to victory. He should have the skills to keep it close, but Horiguchi, at his best, is a world-class fighter. He should have an edge in versatility on the feet, and if he’s able to mix in the takedowns, it will be tough for Albazi to create any offence. His best chance is to turn this into a dog fight and not let Horiguchi dictate the pace and where the fight takes place.
Mario Bautista
1.54
2.54
Vinicius Oliveira
This is a big opportunity for Vinicius Oliveira. He’s 4-0 in the UFC, but hardcore MMA fans have loved every minute he’s been in the cage. All of his fights are exciting, competitive, and an absolute dog fight. After beating Benardo Sopaj, Oliveira has gone on to beat Ricky Simon, Said Nurmagomedov, and Kyler Phillips in a battle of attrition and skill. He continues to push a pace and looks good everywhere. While he takes far too much damage, his chin seems to hold up, and he forces his opponents to enter an absolute war as the fight progresses.
Mario Bautista is coming off a loss to Umar Nurmagomedov in what was a chance to enter the title picture as fresh blood. This time out, he takes the veteran route to prevent Oliveira from entering the top of the rankings. Outside of his surprise loss to Trevin Jones, Bautista’s only losses have come against Cory Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov. Elite competition, to say the least. He is incredibly technical, continues to improve his striking, and is a great wrestler.
With this being five rounds, it will come down to how well Oliveira can pace himself and if Bautista can weather the storm. Oliveira will start fast and look for the finish, but Bautista is hard to put away. If Oliveira isn’t careful, he could gas himself out, putting Bautista in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the fight. It will be interesting to see if Bautista chooses to test Oliveira’s wrestling. It’s been a tough go for everyone before him, but he has the skills to make this a technical fight and avoid the dog fight Oliveira loves. This is an incredible main event with both fighters bringing different styles to the table. It should be an absolute war for how long it lasts.
Coming off two numbered cards, fans are used to taking the foot off the gas, but UFC Vegas 113 has plenty of fights to get excited about. While there could be some duds, overall, this is a fantastic card with plenty of hungry fighters trying to move up the rankings. Check out our main card breakdown on SlotsFighter.com, and UFC Vegas 113 best bets. We’re just getting started in 2026. Keep it locked to SlotsFighter to get all the best bets for UFC cards, and don’t forget to follow SlotsFighter and SOOKY MMA on Instagram.
