UFC Singapore: Three Best Moneyline Bets

Seung Woo Choi (10-6) vs Jarno Errens (13-4-1)

Riding a three-fight losing streak, including two finishes against him, Choi is in desperate need of a win here. At his best, he does a great job of using his muay thai striking to out-strike his opponents. He has a mean check left hook that he has hurt and finished many opponents with in the past. However, he shows some flaws in his grappling game as well as his defensive striking.

Coming in on short notice for his UFC debut back in September, Errens lost to a hometown kid but still showed decent skills. Now on a full training camp, I look forward to seeing a much more complete version of him. He has solid striking, good combinations, but is also a black belt in Judo. He has great control when he’s able to ground his opponents and has some slick submissions up his sleeve.

Unfortunately for Choi, I think this will be the end of the road in the UFC for him. He could have some success early, but I expect Errens to eventually find the target to drop Choi. Even if he doesn’t have success on the feet, I think Errens is strong enough to drag this fight to the mat where he’ll have a distinct advantage over Choi.

Throughout fight week, we’ve seen Errens go from +210 down to +125, it seems like he is a favorite amongst the public. I agree.

The Pick: Jarno Errens +125

Giga Chikadze (14-3) vs Alex Caceres (21-13)

Returning after 20 months away from the cage, Chikadze is trying to bounce back from his first loss in the UFC. Calvin Kattar then butchered him in January 2020. That halted a nine-fight winning streak for the Georgian, who was looking unstoppable. He has a nasty kickboxing game, highlighted by his body kicks that he calls the “Giga Kick”.

It’s clear he needs to work on his grappling, which is what Kattar successfully implemented in the early going to slow down Chikadze and take away the power. It will be interesting to see how the 35-year-old rebounds from the loss but also the extended layoff.

Looking career-best as of late, Caceres holds a 7-1 record over his last 8 fights. His only loss was to Sodiq Yusuff, and still had plenty of positives to take from the octagon. Caceres has been in the UFC since 2011 but is finally exuding confidence like never before.

From trusting his striking game to wrapping opponents up in submissions, Caceres looks like he’s flowing effortlessly in the cage. He has a boat load of experience against the best that 135 and 145 have to offer, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him put another run together.

This is a dangerous fight early for Caceres, but it’s not something I think he can’t overcome. His durability is on point, fueled a lot by his unorthodox movement that makes it hard for his opponents to hit him clean. The last and only time he was knocked out was eight years ago, I suspect it will be just as hard for Chikadze to find the shot to put him down.

At anything better than +150, I think Caceres holds value with his overall game. I think he can strike with Chikadze but more importantly drag this into the grappling realm where he can wear on Chikadze and maybe find a submission.

The Pick: Alex Caceres +210

Anthony Smith (36-18) vs Ryan Spann (21-8)

Coming up short in his last two outings, Smith is looking to regain his footing this weekend when he faces off against someone he has already defeated. Smith has had many resurgences throughout his career and now fresh off his 35th birthday, he’s looking for another.

He is a solid all-around fighter but I’d say his one flaw is that he gives up on himself pretty easily nowadays when things are not going his way. When he is confident and comes in with a mean streak about him, he is tough to defeat, but you can almost tell when he is defeated going into fights.

Spann went on a two-fight winning streak after losing to Smith back in 2021, but most recently lost to Nikita Krylov by submission. That was a high-paced fight from jump, and it seemed like Spann was starting to gas out, immediately tapping when he got put into the triangle choke. Spann is a kill or be killed fighter. 8 of his 10 UFC fights have finished under 1.5 rounds, with only 1 of those 8 reaching the second round.

Throwing with a lot of heat in his hands, he also has a nasty front choke series he is able to implement when he can extract desperation takedowns from his opponents. He showed it against Devin Clark and most recently against Ion Cuteleba last year.

Little has changed and the main x-factor in this matchup is Smith’s confidence. He will come into this fight knowing he already has a leg up on Spann, but that will allow him to trade in the pocket and capitalize on the lack of striking defense from Spann.

I expect a similar result to the first fight, a club and sub victory for Smith. Taking the under 1.5 at chalk is not a bad idea either, or even Smith to win in round 1 around +300, but I think taking Smith straight up is not a bad idea, especially at underdog money.

The Pick: Anthony Smith +110