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- What: UFC Vegas 102 Main Event
- Who: Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues
- Date: Saturday, February 15, 2025
- Location: UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV
- Time: Prelims (4:00 p.m. ET), Main Card (7:00 p.m. ET)
- How to Watch: ESPN+
The UFC is back in Las Vegas for this week’s fight card. That event, UFC Vegas 102, which takes place at the UFC Apex on Saturday, February 15, is headlined by a middleweight contest between Jared Cannonier and Gregory Rodrigues. Cannonier enters Saturday’s main event as the No. 7 fighter in the official UFC middleweight rankings. Rodrigues is currently outside the top 15 of the 185-pound weight division. Here is some background on the fighters before we discuss the UFC Vegas 102 main event betting breakdown.
Jared Cannonier (17-8) is at risk of falling out of the UFC middleweight rankings. The 40-year-old is on a two-fight losing skid heading into UFC Vegas 102 with losses to Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho in his two fights in 2024. Cannonier’s most recent win was a June 2023 decision victory over Marvin Vettori.
Gregory Rodrigues (16-5) is on the first three-fight winning streak of his UFC career. The 32-year-old is coming off a decision win over Christian Leroy Duncan in July 2024. UFC Vegas 102 marks the toughest fight of his career.
Before we look at the best bets for Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues on the UFC Vegas 102 card, check out the best UFC betting sites and where you can find the best odds on all the UFC fights.
UFC Vegas 102 main event: Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues betting picks
| Fighters |  |  |  |
| Jared Cannonier | +155 | +158 | +145 |
| Gregory Rodrigues | -180 | -183 | -175 |
UFC Vegas 102 main event: Jared Cannonier betting breakdown
Jared Cannonier is a pressure fighter who relies on his stand-up striking. Despite his heavily muscled frame, Cannonier is quick on the draw and incredibly adept at landing fast counters. Cannonier also lands effective calf kicks with power that hurt and slow his opponents from coming forward, which tends to help him when coupled with his fast hands. He has a good defense and can take a punch. Cannonier also switches stances with ease, giving his opponent different looks.
One thing to remember about Cannonier, who joined the UFC as a 7-0 fighter in 2015, is that he is 40 years old, which makes him eight years older than his opponent, Gregor Rodrigues. At some point, age and time will catch up with him. We might have seen the start of that in last fight. While Cannonier was active with his strikes, attempting 254 significant strikes against Borralho, he only landed 83 of those attempts, for a striking rate of 32 percent. Like he did against Borralho and Imavov, Cannonier is facing a younger middleweight in this contest.
Cannonier lands 4.49 significant strikes per minute, with an accuracy of 50 percent. His striking defense is 56 percent, but he does get hit a fair amount, absorbing 4.39 significant strikes per minute. Cannonier is not known for his wrestling, but he did land four takedowns on six attempts against Marvin Vettori, so that might be something he’s added to his arsenal later in his career. He also went one-for-one in takedowns against Imavov. He did not attempt a takedown against Borralho. Cannonier’s takedown defense is 62 percent.
UFC Vegas 102 main event: Gregory Rodrigues betting breakdown
Gregory Rodrigues is a threat everywhere in the Octagon. He has outstanding wrestling and a black belt in jiu jitsu, but he seems to enjoy a good old-fashioned striking battle if that’s what his opponent offers him. Like Cannonier, Rodrigues is extremely strong and powerful. It’s almost like Rodrigues is the next generation of a fighter like Cannonier, but with wrestling and a ground game. The question facing Rodrigues is if he is ready for a fighter as experienced as Cannonier.
As powerful as Rodrigues is, he tends to use his chin and his ability to absorb punches as his first line of defense. That’s risky against a fast and powerful striker like Cannonier, who knows how to finish things when he has his opponent in a bad spot. Rodrigues also lacks the speed and footwork that Cannonier’s two previous foes possessed. That will make him an easier target for Cannonier’s striking.
In the end, the unknowns about how Rodrigues will perform against a ranked UFC opponent are worrisome.
Rodrigues lands 5.52 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy of 56 percent. His striking defense is 51 percent, and he gets hit 4.69 times per minute. Rodrigues averages 2.74 takedowns per 15 minutes with a success rate of 41 percent. His takedown defense is 100 percent.
Best Bets: UFC Vegas 102 main event – Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues
Experience and defense will come into play in this fight, and because of that, the betting pick is for Jared Cannonier to beat Gregory Rodrigues via knockout in the UFC Vegas 102 main event.
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