I like the look of UFC 272 from a betting perspective. The card has an awesome main event and plenty of bouts that are stylistically intriguing.

Here are my main card MMA predictions.

Sergey Spivak vs. Greg Hardy

I doubt Sergey Spivak will ever compete for the heavyweight belt, but he’s a solid, well-rounded fighter that we’ll see in the UFC for years to come.

The Moldovan is a serviceable boxer with a good jab, but he’s also plodding and hittable. He doesn’t react well when opponents put it on him early, as evidenced in the Tom Aspinall and Walt Harris fights.

Unlike most heavyweights, Spivak can actually grapple and this would be his wisest move.

The Moldovan will drag opponents to the mat, wear on them in the turtle position and rain down with ground strikes in half guard.

Greg Hardy is completely incompetent at fighting off his back, especially after his cardio abandons him. One takedown could lead to a finish immediately afterwards.

That said, Hardy is the more dangerous striker. While he’s fresh, he has a fast sprawl and is able to stuff takedowns that he sees coming.

Hardy is a fast twitch athlete with a good jab, hard body shots and accurate counters. I wouldn’t be surprised if he came out hot, found holes in the guard of Spivak and put him away early.

However, if he doesn’t find the finish and slows down, it’s inevitable he will end up on his back sooner or later. Hardy also needs to avoid throwing naked low kicks, as they could be caught and result in a takedown for Spivak.

The value is on Greg Hardy at +185, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost in a humiliating manner yet again.

Alex Oliveira vs. Kevin Holland

Alex Oliveira is a fighter that has fallen on hard times. Once known for his explosive finishes and all-action style, his lack of fundamentals have been exposed in recent years.

He loads up on his strikes, relies on his physicality to score takedowns and often loses positions on the mat. Given how energy inefficient he is, it’s guaranteed that he will fade in the second half of the fight.

On paper, Kevin Holland is a brutal stylistic match-up for him.

Aside from the clownish, extroverted antics Holland is known for inside the octagon – he’s actually a damn good fighter. He was barely cutting weight at middleweight, so the move down to welterweight should be a positive one.

I feel Holland can do a good job defending the body lock takedown (which is Oliveira’s go-to technique), but has a dangerous submission game if he does get taken down. Oliveira is not a blanketing top control wrestler and will leave openings for Holland to sweep or threaten with submissions of his back.

On the feet, Holland wins this at every range. I love the long straight punches and diverse array of kicks Holland uses at distance, but he is competent at fighting in the clinch and pocket as well.

I’m not sure where Oliveira has an advantage, and it’s difficult to see him getting his hand raised.

-300 is a steep price for an untrustworthy guy like Kevin Holland, but I can’t argue with it either.

Bryce Mitchell vs. Edson Barboza

This fight is binary. Edson Barboza will dominate when striking at distance, while Bryce Mitchell should cruise to victory if he can secure top position.

So who will implement their game plan successfully? Based on the footage, I’ll try to make my best guess.

I expect Barboza to take the center of the octagon.

The Brazilian has the ability to rip body kicks against Mitchell (who fights out of the southpaw stance), but may choose not to. A caught kick could result in winding up on bottom.

Instead, I expect Barboza to throw straight punches to the body – which Mitchell won’t be able to duck underneath in order to grab him.

Body shots could also help to set up a high kick or thunderous right hand to the head (as we saw in the fight against Makwan Amirkhani).

Barboza has the option of a knee down the middle to deter takedown entries. Sometimes Mitchell throws sloppy punches and lunges in with his wrestling attempts – which could get him timed and cracked!

In an open stance match-up, the single leg is more open for Mitchell, and he chain-wrestles effectively once he gets hold of opponents. Barboza has strong hips and is good at stuffing initial shots, but you can get him down with persistence.

Despite his black belt accolades, Barboza is a turtle off his back and Mitchell’s top pressure should enable him to win rounds.

Furthermore, Mitchell sticks to his guns and understands his path to victory. He will be dogged in getting the fight to the mat, come hell or high water.

At -150, the bookmakers are suggesting Bryce Mitchell wins this fight 60% of the time. That seems perfectly accurate to me.

Renato Moicano vs. Rafael Dos Anjos

Coming off an emphatic finish of Alex Hernandez, Renato Moicano has some big balls for taking this five round fight without a training camp.

I assume he’s being generously compensated.

Like his opponent, Moicano comes from a BJJ base and has rounded out the rest of his skill set. On the feet, his best weapons are his jab and calf kick – which isn’t ideal against a southpaw pressure fighter.

While he typically has a grappling advantage (which also benefits his striking, since opponents don’t want to shoot on him), that won’t be the case here.

Rafael Dos Anjos will take the front foot, throwing big left hands and body kicks. He mixes his striking with his grappling like a veteran and wrestling could play a major role in breaking a short notice opponent.

He was initially set to face Rafael Fiziev, who is a front runner, so I’m sure Dos Anjos has his cardio dialled in for this one.

Furthermore, Dos Anjos is a tough, durable combatant. If Moicano can’t put him away early, he’ll struggle down the stretch.

The biggest concern for Dos Anjos is the long layoff at 38-years-of-age. He has a style that doesn’t suit an aging fighter and could find himself in trouble if he’s lost a step against a young, hungry competitor.

With everything considered, I feel the value is with Rafael Dos Anjos at -170.

Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal

While we saw Colby Covington strike for prolonged periods in his two bouts against Kamaru Usman, that isn’t his game.

He primarily strikes in order to set up his takedowns, but wrestling wasn’t a viable path to victory against a brick wall like Usman.

In this contest, I think he’ll revert to his original style.

Prolonged striking exchanges give Jorge Masvidal the opportunity to make reads, set traps and capitalize on openings – and I think Covington is intelligent enough to know that.

Look for Covington to grab hold of Masvidal, drive him to the fence, wear on him in the clinch and land enough peppering shots to avoid the referee separating them.

Masvidal is a good grappler himself and excels in scrambles, but I don’t think he has the pure wrestling ability to stay off the fence and keep the fight in open space for long enough to dish out significant damage or find the kill shot.

While this has been labelled a grudge match and I’m sure the bad blood is real, the fight might be anticlimactic as Covington wrestles and grinds his way to a mundane decision victory.

Colby Covington is the pick, but I wouldn’t consider betting him at -330.