Song Yadong (-360) meets Chris Gutierrez (+285) in the main event at UFC Vegas 83 this Saturday night. This is a Bantamweight showdown between two fighters looking to work their way up the rankings and get a world title shot. Here we look ahead to their scrap at the UFC Apex in Vegas and tell you who the best bet to win is in our latest UFC betting picks.
What: UFC Vegas 83
Main Event: Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez
Where: UFC Apex, Las Vegas, Nevada
When: Saturday, December 9th, 2023
Time: 10 pm ET (Main Card)
This is the last UFC Fight Night of the year and the final event before UFC 296, on December 16th. The main event at UFC 296 is Leon Edwards (-125) against Colby Covington (+105). The latest UFC Vegas betting odds are predicting the showdown will be a close contest. We will be previewing the fight here, so be sure to check back for our betting picks on the best of the action at UFC 296.
Back to UFC Vegas 83, and the main card is again stacked with top-quality matchups. This despite the change of location from Shanghai, and the fact that this resulted in four finals in the Road to UFC Season 2 getting pulled. For the UFC organization to put together a show of this quality at such short notice is remarkable.
Also on the card this Saturday is Anthony Smith (+190) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr (-225), Su Mudaerji (+200) vs. Allan Nascimento (-235), Nasrat Haqparast (-200) vs. Jamie Mullarkey (+185), and Park Jun-yong (-210) vs. Andre Muniz (+180).
More betting options for the main card can be found on our UFC odds table. The odds we have used are from the best UFC betting sites.
For a just-turned-26-year-old, Song Yadong is a very experienced MMA fighter with a record of 20-7-1-1. Song has been fighting in the UFC since 2017, with a record of 9-2-1 within the organization.
In his most recent performance, Song defeated Ricky Simon in April by TKO. This followed a disappointing loss to Cory Sandhagen, where the doctor called a halt to proceedings at the end of the fourth round. The Sandhagen defeat ended the Chinese fighter’s three-fight winning streak, which was a rebuilding job following his points defeat to Kyler Phillips at UFC 259.
Song is currently the No.7 ranked fighter in the UFC Bantamweight division. His career statistics breakdown shows his 20 wins came via nine knockouts, eight decisions, and three submissions. The breakdown of his seven losses is four by decision, two by knockout, and one by DQ.
Chris Gutierrez has a Mixed Martial Arts record of 20-5-2. The 32-year-old last fought in October, where he defeated Alateng Heili by decision on the undercard of Yusuff vs. Barboza. His points win was much needed, as it came after a loss to Pedro Munhoz in Kansas City last April. The loss to Munhoz ended an eight-fight unbeaten run dating back to November 2018.
Overall, Gutierrez is ranked 14 in this division by the UFC. His total career record shows ten of his 20 wins have come by decision, nine are by knockout, and one by decision. Four of his five losses came by decision, with the fifth by submission. So far, the American has not lost by knockout in his MMA career.
Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez betting
The odds are heavily stacked in favor of the younger man, Song Yadong. Yadong is -360 to win on the money line, with Chris Gutierrez the outsider to win at +285.
Song is the higher-ranked fighter and is probably the man with the most to lose. The Chinese fighter already has seven losses on his resume. He doesn’t need an eighth defeat. And if he wants to keep climbing the UFC rankings, this is a fight he has to win.
Chris Gutierrez is a replacement in this bout for the injured Petr Yan. The American only has one defeat on his resume in his last ten fights. Despite this, he is still down at 14 in the rankings.
A win over Song will see him climb higher up the rankings and put him back in the mix for a possible title shot in 2024.
Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez betting picks
On both of these fighters’ records, around half their wins have been by knockout. Therefore the expectation is this could be a striking contest. But both men also have a lot of decisions on their records as well, so there is also a possibility that it could go the distance.
Chris Gutierrez will also try to utilize his leg kicks, and this unconventional style may knock Song out of this stride. But Song hasn’t gone the distance now since 2021, and we feel he won’t want this fight to go to the judges.
We expect Song to be the more proactive fighter and will look to finish it early. He will know that Gutierrez has never lost by KO in his MMA career, and will want to be the first to achieve this. Therefore our betting pick is for Song Yadong to win by KO/TKO/DQ. If you prefer to play safe, back Song to win outright.
Dean has been writing betting tips for websites now for over 15 years. He started out writing and editing his own publications, but has now expanded to publishing articles on various well known websites where he covers everything from hot dog eating competitions to casino reviews.
Over the years Dean has learnt to adapt his skills. Using his extensive sports knowledge and his British sense of humor, Dean has developed into a trusted voice in the betting industry.