UFC Kansas City: Best Betting Props featuring Carlos Prates

The Co-Main Event will feature a scrap in the Light Heavyweight Division as UFC veteran and No. 15-ranked Anthony Smith takes on up-and-coming prospect Zhang Mingyang representing China. Anthony Smith has seen just about every look one can fighting in the UFC and will go down as one of the toughest fighters to step in the cage. Mingyang is looking to introduce himself to the fanbase as a devastating prospect with two knockouts in his first two appearances.

We’ve made our fight-by-fight predictions, but let’s take a close look at some of the value throughout this card with our favorite UFC betting props for the Kansas City Fight Night card.

Here are the UFC Kansas City Odds, courtesy of DraftKings. 

UFC Kansas City Odds: Best Betting Props

Da’Mon Blackshear Wins by Submission (+165)

Ikram Aliskerov Wins by KO/TKO (-160)

Carlos Prates Wins by KO/TKO (+165)

Da’Mon Blackshear Wins by Submission (+165) vs. Alatengheili

After suffering back-to-back losses, Da’Mon Blackshear went back to the drawing board to address some minor holes in his game. Since doing so, he’s won back-to-back fights heading into this one and has done a ton of work to utilize his superior submission grappling against opponents. While Alatengheili is a worth opponent and extremely tough to put away, Blackshear could see some early success if he’s able to force this fight to the ground and initiate quick grappling exchanges.

11 of Blackshear’s professional wins have come by way of submission and he has a great knack for forcing opponents into compromised spots on the ground. While Alatengheili boasts a 75% takedown defense, I still like Blackshear to eventually catch him along the fence and drag him towards the ground. From there, I don’t see him struggling to find the submission, so we’ll side his finishing prop given his moneyline is -500.

Ikram Aliskerov Wins by KO/TKO (-160) vs. Andre Muniz

Ikram Aliskerov got a massive wake up call in his most recent loss to Robert Whitaker, but it should serve as a learning moment if anything for the young, up-and-coming prospect. People forget he’s just three fights into his UFC tenure and already facing some of the best in the world, so the talent level of Aliskerov is immediately apparent. He’s also bound to keep getting better and we should see a more dominant showing from him in this fight.

Andre Muniz is still one of the best grapplers in the division and he’ll be a massive submission threat throughout the early stages of this fight. However, five of his career losses have come by way of knockout and we’ve seen his chin compromised in the past. If Ikram Aliskerov is able to get off to a fast start where he’s landing heavy punches, we should be able to see him put this fight away rather quickly, potentially even in the first round.

Carlos Prates Wins by KO/TKO (+165) vs. Ian Machado Garry

Ian Machado Garry is clearly one of the best prospects in the division and he’s fully confident that Prates’ skill set doesn’t come close to his in terms of the striking. While Garry is a much better grappler, Prates has yet to be taken down and has solid submission threats of his own. His training with the Fighting Nerds in Brazil is a huge advantage as the camp really takes time to break down the analytics of their opponents.

With four knockout and four “Performance of the Night” bonuses for Prates thus far, it’s hard to bet against him until we can see someone figure out his dangerous reach and striking. His kicks are also very damaging and I expect Garry to see some early trouble defending those. While better opponents haven’t been able to get Garry out inside the distance, I think it’s worth taking a chance on Carlos Prates to become the first.