Expert picks and best bets for UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Borralho - ESPN

Rising UFC middleweight contender Caio Borralho looks to keep ascending in the rankings when he takes on Jared Cannonier in the main event at UFC Fight Night in the UFC Apex on Saturday in Las Vegas (10 ET on ESPN/ESPN+, with prelims at 7 on ESPN+).

Borralho, unranked by ESPN, is undefeated inside the Octagon and is coming off a second-round knockout win over Paul Craig in his last bout. Cannonier, No. 7 in ESPN's division rankings, enters the fight following a fourth-round knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov in June.

Andreas Hale spoke to UFC analyst and former UFC fighter Alan Jouban to get his perspective on the UFC main event. ESPN betting expert Ian Parker adds his insight and analysis on the UFC main event and other intriguing bets he likes on this weekend's fight card.

Editor's note: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.

How Cannonier wins: Cannonier generally likes to fight in the open, but he also enjoys pressuring his opponents into the cage and using his physicality to slow them down. Against Borralho, he'll have to cut off the Octagon and push him against the fence to win some rounds. When the fight is in the center of the cage, Cannonier will need to use his jab and try to chop the legs down with kicks. He couldn't do that consistently against Imavov and that's when everything went haywire. Cannonier has to stick to the game plan and if he gets Borralho against the fence, keep him there.

Middleweights Jared Cannonier and Caio Borralho go head-to-head on Saturday to determine who will move closer to a title shot.

UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Borralho
Saturday, August 24, UFC Apex, Las Vegas
• Main card: 10 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+
• Prelims: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+

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