UFC Vegas 108 Best Bets and Props: Taira vs. Park

If you crave violence, artistry, and competition in its purest form, the Ultimate Fighting Championship might be for you.

Colloquially known as "UFC," the world's largest mixed martial arts promotion holds around a dozen MMA fights a vast majority of weekends throughout the year. The promotion has fathered some of the largest combat-sport stars of the 21st century, including Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Jon Jones.

There are plenty of ways to get in on the action every Saturday. FanDuel Sportsbook provides MMA odds including moneylines, round totals, and prop bets for each fight.

Without further delay, here are a few best bets from UFC Vegas 108: Taira vs. Park, taking place at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas on Saturday.

UFC Vegas 108 Betting Picks

Rodolfo Vieira vs. Tresean Gore

Vieira to Win (-215)

This is an extremely rare position for my model. It likes Rodolfo Vieira as a heavy favorite while largely in line with all the ways he can get his hand raised.

A huge part of that is because Tresean Gore has yet to be tapped in UFC -- and even has a pair of submission wins himself. However, we've seen other black belts crumble to "The Black Belt Hunter", and frankly, Gore's grappling competition leaves a ton to be desired.

Yet, Gore's chin is no given after he was on the wrong end of a sub-four-minute knockout by Cody Brundage (4-6-1 UFC), who has used several officiating gaffes to avoid the axe as one of the worst middleweights on the roster. Plus, he was on the wrong end of a decision against Bryan Battle in his UFC debut.

Still, this is a huge step down in competition for Vieira, who has 9 of his 10 pro wins by submission. The sub is +155 for a reason, but I'm actually a bit behind the market at just 35.2% likely. My model actually sees a tiny bit of value on knockout (10.8%) or decision (24.4%).

The responsible thing to do here is pay a bit of juice, and a first-round tap would still be a fine outcome. I've got Vieira at 70.4% likely (-240 implied) to win.

Neil Magny vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos

Magny to Win (+156)
Magny by Points (+270)

Neil Magny has fought a murderous strength of schedule, but 38-year-old Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos is much more in his wheelhouse.

The 37-year-old Denver native has fought Michael Morales, Carlos Prates, and Ian Machado Garry -- all top-10 welterweights -- in his last four fights. Zaleski dos Santos, coming off a second-round loss to Chidi Njokuani (6-4 UFC), wouldn't have fared any better against them than Magny's 1-3 record.

"Capoeira" Zaleski is more of a rhythmic striker with pedestrian takedown D (68%), and I believe he'll be too willing to fight this bout where Magny prefers, which is ugly against the cage -- or on the ground if possible.

Now, the Brazilian hasn't been submitted in 17 UFC starts, so I wouldn't project the ground advantage for "The Haitian Sensation" to get too far. Magny has recorded 17 decisions in 29 pro wins, so he's no stranger to the cards, either -- and might prefer to be there given his strong cardio.

I've got Neil modeled 46.2% likely to win, and it's a win by decision 34.3% of the time.

Karol Rosa vs. Nora Cornolle

Cornolle to Win (+168)
Cornolle Wins Inside the Distance (+700)

Not only is Karol Rosa my standard for fake UFC black belts, but Rosa's striking numbers are inflated, too.

The Brazilian lands 6.22 significant strikes per minute at 55% accuracy -- both of which are exceptional marks. She's lost four of her last seven decisions with that volume for a reason, though. It's mostly empty leg kicks like the 50.9% of her shots were in her last bout, which was a loss to Ailin Perez.

Nora Cornolle lands to impactful spots. She landed 30 of 36 shots to the head or body in her fight at distance against Melissa Mullins (1-2 UFC), and she's the one of these two ladies with a UFC win via sub. That was Cornolle's last fight with Hailey Cowan (0-2 UFC).

That was actually a tough matchup for Cornolle given Cowan's tendency to wrestle. This one against Rosa as a defense-optional striking match? She's got to be licking her chops.

This is women's bantamweight, so a finish isn't super likely. FanDuel's +320 odds for one indicate that. Still, I've got Cornolle a slight favorite (54.6%) with a 31.1% chance to finish the fight as she's done in two of four appearances. Public bettors recognize only one of these names inside the rankings, but there's a massive chasm in danger between these two fighters.

Elves Brener v Esteban Ribovics

Ribovics in Round 3 or by Decision (+135)

UFC undoubtedly tried to draw up a Fight of the Night contender with these two lightweights.

Esteban Ribovics emerged from the bout of the year against Daniel Zellhuber last year, but it's starting to appear that sort of fight is Ribovics' ceiling. He landed 147 significant strikes (and posted a +12 differential) against Nasrat Haqparast and lost a tight decision. Those numbers were 156 and +35, respectively, against Zellhuber.

The Argentinian's volume should serve him well against Elves Brener, though. Brener's -1.31 striking success rate (SSR) and 48% striking defense are both poor. The underdog will probably do his best to replicate the 14 total takedowns that Ribovics allowed in his first two UFC starts, but the favorite's wrestling D has improved each fight.

Brener's damage tolerance has allowed him to see the start of the third round in all four UFC fights he didn't end early, but Ribovics should be ahead in terms of damage and scoring points. I've got this fight a slight favorite to go the distance (53.7%) compared to FanDuel's +102 odds.

Showing a bit of value on length, I'll take Ribovics to win by late finish or decision. The latter I've modeled at 32.8% likely, but I also have a knockout at 20.9%. This seems like a good way to encapsulate both angles.

Matuesz Rebecki vs. Chris Duncan

Fight Doesn't Go the Distance (-205)
Rebecki Wins in Round 1 or 2 (+165)

These American Top Team teammates have a bit of bad blood, and it'll be settled in Saturday's co-main event.

Mateusz Rebecki found the win column again in a bloody, back-and-forth war with Myktybek Orolbai, who is perfect in three other starts. The Polish bruiser has a sizable 1.45% knockdown rate (KD%) and attempts 0.8 submission attempts per 15 minutes -- the latter I'm not sure we've seen the best of yet.

Those are both solid weapons against Scotland's Chris Duncan, who hasn't seen a third round in four of his six UFC starts. Duncan has secured consecutive submissions but has horrible striking (47%) and takedown (37%) defense. One of the subs was a miracle as he was on the ropes against Bolaji Oki (2-1 UFC).

Duncan has shown enough danger to ladder these outcomes. FanDuel's odds imply just a 67.2% chance this fight doesn't go the distance, but I've got it 89.9% likely as 8 of these two's 12 appearances -- against less dangerous fighters -- have ended inside 15 minutes.

With that the case, I've got Rebecki 52.9% likely to win inside the distance, and he notoriously slows down as the fight progresses. Getting substantially better odds on a finish just in the first two rounds is a bargain when Duncan, and his excellent cardio, might be the advancing party in Round 3. I'll be hedging a tiny bit with Duncan to Win in Round 3 (+1500) on my own card.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.