Amir Albazi vs. Alessandro Costa: UFC Fight Night 216 Odds, Prediction

The final UFC event of the calendar year is on tap for this Saturday and while they normally do an epic blowout, we’re merely getting a Fight Night to finish 2022. There are still a number of excellent fights on tap with Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland headlining the card.

The biggest favourite of the night is Amir Albizi, who is laying -450 against Alessandro Costa on the MMA odds. Is he worth a bet here or is the price simply too high?

Amir Albazi UFC Fight Night

Amir “The Prince” Albazi is an Iraqi fighter who has aspirations of becoming the UFC’s first Arab champion. He’s won all three of his UFC bouts so far and will be looking to push it to four in a row when he takes on Costa, who has arrived via the Dana White Contender Series.

This bout was originally supposed to be between Albazi and Brandon Royval, who is the No. 4 ranked flyweight. Royval had to pull out due to a broken wrist and Costa has come in on short notice. This is going to be a really tough ask of him to get the job done here.

Albazi has finished 13 of the first 15 fighters he’s faced and he’s likely going to add to that tally if this fight manages to go to the ground. He’s an expert wrestler and should be far more comfortable and skilled at that level than Costa.

One thing to keep in mind if you’re planning to bet this bout is that Albazi’s fights rarely last long. Of his 15 bouts, only three have made it to the third round. You might want to consider the under if you feel like it’s too much juice to lay with The Prince.

Alessandro Costa UFC Fight Night

Costa’s path to victory is more through his power. He does have some submission skills as he’s adept and jiu-jitsu. He has 12 wins in his career and six have come via submission while three others have come via knockout.

The main concern with Costa is simply the competition. He’s done most of his recent work in the Lux Fight League, so it makes it hard to really trust him in this spot. He’s spoken about just how little pressure he feels here and that’s understandable. He’s on short notice against a rising fighter. Lose the bout and nobody will fault him. However, if he springs the upset, this will be his big coming out party.

At the end of the day, it feels like too much of an ask for Costa to get the win here. We just don’t know enough about him in terms of how he looks against quality, UFC-calibre fighters. Albazi has already proven that to us by winning his first three UFC bouts.

Albazi vs. Costa UFC Fight Night Prediction

Albazi vis Submission.