UFC 297 Odds, Prediction: Chris Curtis vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
Curtis is a -200 favourite to win on the MMA odds and Barriault is a +165 underdog.
Chris Curtis UFC 297 Odds
Sean Strickland is the current UFC middleweight champion with Curtis ranked 14th in the division. The 36-year-old from Cincinnati has fought a whopping 41 times in his pro career and is 30-10 with a no-contest. He’s a former welterweight champion in CES MMA, Z Promotions and Premier MMA Championship.
“The Action Man” comes off the first no contest of his career in June 2023 against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 289 from Vancouver. Imavov seemingly was in control of the fight but accidentally drove his head above the right eye of Curtis while the two fighters were against the cage, leaving a gash. Curtis wanted to continue fighting and pleaded with the referee but could clearly not see out of that eye.
Head butts seem to be an issue for Curtis as in his fight before that, he lost to Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 287 but appealed the defeat due to an accidental headbutt that may have altered the course of the bout. All three judges awarded Gastelum both Rounds 1 and 2, but Curtis believed that headbutt is what cost him Round 2 and potentially the fight. The appeal was denied.
The 5-foot-10 Curtis has a reach of 75 inches and his fights average 10:29. He lands 5.36 significant strikes per minute with 50 per cent accuracy and absorbs 6.30 (!) with 54 per cent defence. His takedown average is zero, and his takedown defence is 92 per cent – the highest rate in divisional history. Curtis wants to fight standing up.
He has eight losses by decision, one by submission and one by KO/TKO with 17 wins by KO/TKO (includes three of his four UFC wins) 12 by decision and one by submission. For Saturday, his favoured method of victory is by decision at +125, followed by KO/TKO/DQ at +250 and submission +1800. To win in Round 1, he’s +450, Round 2 +750 and Round 3 +1200. A draw is +5000.
Curtis said he has taken a break from social media in the lead-up to his UFC 297 fight: “Being off social media is such a godsend.”
Marc-Andre Barriault UFC 297 Odds
The 33-year-old Barriault, from Quebec, is unranked in the division and a former TKO Major League MMA middleweight and light heavyweight champion with a 16-6 record and one no-contest himself – against Oskar Piechota in June 2020. That was originally Barriault’s first UFC win, but he tested positive in-competition for Ostarine, accepted a six-month USADA suspension and the fight was changed to a no-contest. The USADA eventually cut the suspension way down because of various circumstances surrounding the positive test.
Barriault is on a two-fight winning streak and was last in the Octagon in June 2023, taking out Eryk Anders by unanimous decision at UFC 289 in Vancouver. Barriault set the tone early in the first round with a body kick-right hand combination that put Anders on his back. Barriault swept the scorecards with scores of 30-27. That was Barriault’s third time fighting in Canada in the UFC and his first win.
“Power Bar” believes he will get into the middleweight rankings with a victory Saturday: “This is the type of fight that I want specially at this stage in my career. I don’t want to pick and choose my fights, but this one is like candy for me. I think we have kind of the same style. Pressure fighter, we’re both tough, so that’s going to be fireworks for sure. “I know I’m going to pick up the pace and I’m going to pick up a huge victory.”
The 6-foot-1 Barriault has a reach of 74 inches and his fights average 11:15. He lands 5.95 significant strikes per minute with 47 per cent accuracy and absorbs 5.22 with 53 per cent defence. His takedown average is 0.24 per 15 minutes with 25 per cent accuracy, and his takedown defence is 67 per cent.
Barriault has four losses via the judges and one each by KO/TKO and submission. He has 10 wins by KO/TKO, five by decision and one by submission. His TKO victory at the 4:56 mark of Round 3 at UFC 260 against Abu Azaitar marked the second latest stoppage in UFC middleweight history behind Garreth McLellan (4:58, Round 3) at UFC Fight Night 76.
For Saturday, Barriault’s favoured method of victory is by decision at +400, followed by KO/TKO/DQ at +450 and submission at +1600. To win in Round 1, he’s +750, Round 2 +1000 and Round 3 +1600. That the fight ends by decision regardless of either winner is -135 with KO/TKO/DQ at +125 and submission +850. To go the full three rounds, it’s -135 with no at +100.
