Top UFC 278 Parlay Picks: Costa Looks For Decisive Win

The UFC’s return to Salt Lake City will see Kamaru Usman defend his welterweight throne against Leon Edwards, and Luke Rockhold ends a lengthy layoff against Brazil’s Paulo Costa. Read on for our parlay picks and predictions ahead of UFC 278.

Usman first met Edwards back in late 2015 and claimed a unanimous verdict on the scorecards. Since then, the former has claimed UFC gold and cemented himself as an all-time great welterweight with five successful title defenses, the last of which came at Colby Covington’s expense this past November. The latter has won nine straight, including a decision over Nate Diaz in his latest outing 14 months ago.

In the co-headliner, former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold ends a three-year layoff opposite ex-title challenger Paulo Costa. Both fighters head to Salt Lake City on two-fight slumps, with Rockhold suffering a KO loss to Jan Blachowicz in a failed experiment at 205 pounds his last time out, and Costa dropping a five-round battle to Marvin Vettori on points this past October. Also on the main card, UFC luminary Jose Aldo vies for his fourth straight win against fellow bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili, who gets his toughest test yet after compiling seven straight wins in the Octagon.

Here are my top parlay picks for Saturday’s UFC 278 (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook).

UFC 278 Fight Card

Kamaru Usman (-350) vs. Leon Edwards (+290)
Paulo Costa (-345) vs. Luke Rockhold (+285)
Jose Aldo (+120) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (-140)
Wu Yanan (+105) vs. Lucie Pudilova (-125)
Tyson Pedro (-730) vs. Harry Hunsucker (+530)
Marcin Tybura (+290) vs. Alexandr Romanov (-350)
Leonardo Santos (+225) vs. Jared Gordon (-265)
Sean Woodson (-360) vs. Luis Saldana (+295)
AJ Fletcher (-150) vs. Ange Loosa (+130)
Francisco Figueiredo (+370) vs. Amir Albazi (-460)
Aori Qileng (-135) vs. Jay Perrin (+115)
Daniel da Silva (+145) vs. Victor Altamirano (-170)

Top UFC 278 Parlay Picks

Top UFC 278 Parlay Predictions

Tybura vs. Romanov Will Go the Distance: No (-175)

Tybura and the undefeated Romanov boast 30 stoppage victories between them (excluding Romanov’s technical decision over Juan Espino, which ended inside the distance), and the more experienced Tybura has also fallen to strikes in four of his seven pro losses. The seasoned Pole is an underrated backpacker and a solid top player with ferocious ground-and-pound, while Romanov is relentless in his pursuit of takedowns, dominant positions, and tapouts.

In short, whether it’s Tybura handing the upstart his comeuppance or Romanov preserving the “0” in his record, these heavyweights won’t need the full 15 on Saturday.

Aldo (+120)

While Aldo’s date with Dvalishvili may look like a dangerous stylistic matchup at first glance, I see Aldo extending his win streak on Saturday. Aldo has faced dogged wrestlers like Dvalishvili before, and with takedown defense that’s the stuff of legend and venomous combination striking, I’m expecting Aldo to make Dvalishvili pay for every flurry and attempt to shoot in on his hips. Granted, Dvalishvili sets a furious pace and is often the one who leads the dance, but Aldo is the far more polished striker and his hand speed is still intact.

All this to say, he may have to shuck off a few takedown attempts, but Aldo’s counters and combinations should earn him the W, and maybe even put Dvalishvili down before the final horn for an 18th career knockout.

Costa by KO/TKO/DQ (-165)

Costa isn’t the most polished talent, but he knows how to keep the pressure on. That greatly helps his chances against Rockhold, who often falls apart when he’s put on the back foot. These habits are reflected in both fighters’ records, as the 31-year-old Costa’s earned 11 KO/TKO stoppages in 13 wins, while Rockhold’s fallen to strikes in all five of his pro losses, often courtesy of a well-timed left hook.

Rockhold’s best path to victory goes through his lauded grappling, but takedown opportunities will be hard to come by should Costa begin crowding him against the cage and flooding him with haymakers. Look for Costa to come out swinging and quickly back Rockhold to the fence, and as long as he avoids walking into Rockhold’s check right hook, it shouldn’t be long before Costa overwhelms the ex-champion and becomes the sixth man to send him to the shadow realm.

Where to Bet on UFC 278 Parlay Picks

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

FanDuel Sportsbook
Caesars Sportsbook
DraftKings Sportsbook
PointsBet
BetMGM

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UFC 278 parlay picks made on 8/19/2022 at 11:55 a.m. ET