This fight card is underwhelming, but I’m all about cold hard cash and it’s often the underwhelming cards that are the most profitable. Here are my UFC Vegas 48 main card MMA picks from a betting perspective.

Joaquin Buckley vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan

I’ve never been high on Abdul Razak Alhassan.

The dude has thunderous power in both hands, but he’s never developed great fundamentals. You don’t need much finesse when one clean connection can end the fight, and that’s been the story of Alhassan’s career.

I’m not expecting to see any new developments at 36-years-of-age, but I wouldn’t rule it out after training at Team Elevation for his last few camps.

Joaquin Buckley fights out of the southpaw stance and throws all punches with bad intentions.

He likes to bob, weave and unleash hell in the pocket. The inspiration from Mike Tyson is evident.

Despite his muscular physique and high-powered attacks, Buckley can keep a pace far better than his opponent. If he doesn’t get obliterated early, I think he has a good chance of pulling away in the second and third rounds.

The problem for Buckley is that he is aggressive to the point of recklessness and has been knocked out cold on numerous occasions.

Alhassan has great head kicks and uppercuts, both of which could be available as Buckley dips his head and steps in with attacks.

Joaquin Buckley is the pick, but I’m not interested in betting him at -150. I will be looking for a potential live bet entry.

Jim Miller vs. Nikolas Motta

It’s amazing to see Jim Miller still competing inside the octagon at 38-years-of-age. It seemed like his career would come to a close after contracting Lyme disease years ago, but he has managed to keep the condition under control with medication and keep competing.

For a round, he is still a top tier lightweight. He has an accurate left hand and is a potent submission threat on the mat.

He is one of the best back takers in the sport and could certainly end the fight if he scores a takedown early on.

The problem is, he just doesn’t have the cardio to hang with the up and coming contenders in the division.

Nikolas Motta isn’t a world beater, but he throws ferocious combinations in the pocket and is capable of knocking the ageing veteran out. Unlike Miller, Motta is entering his athletic prime and should be improving from camp to camp.

I don’t have a full read on his ground game, but a black belt in BJJ may help him to stay out of trouble if he finds himself on his back.

I’m picking Nikolas Motta to get the job done, but I think the value is on the under 2.5 rounds prop at -115.

Parker Porter vs. Alan Baudot

Alan Baudot strikes me as a fighter who likes being the hammer, but not so much the nail.

We saw him move lightly on his feet, landing jabs and huge right hands on the slower and lumbering Alan Nascimento in his last fight. Once Baudot hit him with his best shots and was unable to finish, he looked mentally checked out as Nascimento walked him down and knocked his block off.

I think Baudot can have success early in this contest. He has the faster hands and I believe he’ll be able to land shots through and around the guard of Parker Porter.

However, Baudot doesn’t have much spirit when it comes to fighting off his back and one takedown from a gigantic heavyweight like Porter may be all it takes to end the fight.

Porter isn’t the fastest or most athletic combatant, but he has a well-rounded skill set and comes across as a cerebral guy in interviews. I liked how he was able to slip and counter against Chase Sherman and I suspect he does a lot of tape studying in order to formulate game plans.

I expect him to look for takedowns against Baudot, who has been finished in all of his losses.

Parker Porter to win inside the distance is the line that stands out to me at +110.

Kyle Daukaus vs. Jamie Pickett

I don’t think we’ll ever see Kyle Daukaus in contention for the middleweight belt, but he should be a staple in the division for years to come.

He is a little slow-footed, but has good boxing from the southpaw stance, a nice body lock takedown and blends his grappling with his ground strikes excellently. With his long, wiry frame, he is capable of sinking in front chokes when opponents leave their necks exposed.

Daukaus can be controlled by a superior grappler when he winds up on bottom, but that shouldn’t be an issue here.

Jamie Pickett is also a southpaw. He throws a clean 1-2 and has a good body kick against orthodox opponents.

The southpaw versus southpaw dynamic may benefit him, since he has the reach advantage, the sharper jab and could utilize outside calf kicks (although both men have this option).

Despite his athletic gifts, Pickett isn’t a natural fighter and doesn’t enjoy being hit. He rarely engages in fire fights and we typically see a lot of grueling clinch exchanges when he’s inside the octagon.

Pickett might get taken down, but I think it’s going to be difficult for Daukaus to keep him down and establish a dominant position.

I think this will be an uneventful, low tempo kind of fight.

I’ll pick Kyle Daukaus since I consider him the more complete mixed martial artist, but -250 is too much juice for me.

Jamahal Hill vs, Johnny Walker

Once known for his terrifying and unpredictable early knockouts, Johnny Walker has fallen on tough times.

Now training at SBG Ireland, I believe his choice of camp is less than ideal. Against Thiago Santos, we saw plenty of footwork and feints from Walker, but none of the explosive artillery that we’re used to .

If he can’t figure out a style that plays to his natural gifts, I doubt we’ll see him in the UFC for much longer.

Walker is not going to defeat Jamahal Hill in a technical kickboxing match, he needs to throw caution to the wind and try to land a kill shot early in the fight.

Despite falling for the guard game of Paul Craig, I think Jamahal Hill is one of the best light heavyweights on the roster.

With a long, rangy frame, he is a classic southpaw out-fighter. His straight left, left body kick and right hook are all superb weapons and he does a great job of mixing his offense up to the body and head.

Walker’s boxing defense is bad and so is his chin. He’s also only marginally longer than Hill – so trying to land strikes without getting hit doesn’t seem feasible for him.

I like Jamahal Hill to win by KO at -135.