Young heavyweights Tai Tuivasa vs Don’Tale Mayes are set to brawl on March 20, 2021. Tuivasa is five pounds heavier and comes in as the betting favorite, even though Mayes is the more physically imposing fighter. Mayes connects on a good percentage of his strikes, but Tuivasa has agile feet that may prove to be the deciding factor this weekend.
Don’t take your eyes off the main card this weekend when UFC makes a return to Las Vegas with UFC Vegas 22. We’ve got a lot of great young brawlers on deck this weekend, including a heavyweight bout between Tai Tuivasa vs Don’Tale Mayes. The best UFC betting sites and MMA predictions say that this matchup should be an interesting display of striking power as both men are talented in that area of MMA fighting. Mayes recently snapped a three-fight losing streak with a victory over Stefan Struve on October 24, 2020. For his sake, hopefully, he can gain momentum since he had struggled up to that point. Mayes also ended his losing streak back in November, when he defeated Roque Martinez via unanimous decision. He’s opened as the betting underdog, but he does seem like an interesting value pick. Mayes has a considerable size advantage over Tuivasa, towering over him by at least four inches, and he moves pretty well for a person of his stature. He lands 4.13 strikes per minute, but his defense does take a backseat to Tuivasa’s. Neither fighter is exceptionally talented at wrestling, which means that this fight will come down to who can land the definitive blow. The best online sports betting sites in NJ have Tuivasa as a reasonable favorite over Mayes. Check out the NJ sportsbook review for a look at the best odds for this fight. Betting on Mayes does present decent value at +210 on Fanduel, but I’m more inclined to bank on Tuivasa, whose moneyline odds aren’t great, but Fanduel has other betting markets available. I could see either fighter knocking the other out, but I’ll go with Tuivasa winning by points for the best betting value.
Tuivasa has better footwork than Mayes, which in this sort of matchup is a huge plus. I’m not sure about a knockout, but I like Tuivasa to win. My prediction: Tuivasa wins by unanimous decision.
