UFC 277 Preview and Betting Promos

At the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) offers its fans with the main event to remember, a rematch between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Peña for the Women’s Bantamweight title. Perhaps most exciting for those in the New York area, though, for this, and the other fights on the UFC card, DraftKings provided a pair of special betting promos for new sign-ups.

Nunes Peña 2 isn’t the only main event for fans and bettors to enjoy on Saturday, July 30th, either. UFC 277’s pay-per-view card also features an interim Flyweight championship bout between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France. 

The main card for this event includes three other fights: Heavyweight Derrick Lewis versus Sergei Pavlovich, Flyweight Alexandre Pantoja against Alex Perez, and Light Heavyweight Anthony Smith versus Magomed Ankalaev. 

The preliminary card features four fights, as does the early preliminary card. UFC 277 presents plenty of betting opportunities for New York residents, especially with those DraftKings betting promos. 

This is the fight people want to see. At UFC 269 last December, Peña scored one of the most memorable in recent MMA history. Nunes dominated the first round of that fight before Peña outstruck her in the second round. Peña scored the upset victory after slapping a rear-naked choke submission on Nunes.

This bout stands as Peña’s first title defense. At 12-4 overall, Peña competes out of Chicago, IL, though she’s originally from Spokane, WA. Her dramatic victory over Nunes last year justified her position among those at the top of the women’s bantamweight class. She sports major wins over Sara McMann, Nicco Montao, and Cat Zingano in her career and was the first female champion of The Ultimate Fighter.

Nunes, meanwhile, enters as the current UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion and remains arguably the greatest female MMA fighter of all time. At 21-5, fighting out of Coral Springs, FL (via Bahia, Brazil), Nunes is the only female UFC double champion and has spectacular victories against Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, and Ronda Rousey.

DraftKings favors Nunes in this rematch, listing her at -275 for the fight. Peña enters as an underdog at +230 despite having won the last bout between these two and holding the Women’s Bantamweight title.

Nunes Peña 2 isn’t the only intriguing fight of the night. UFC 277 also provides MMA fans with another compelling rematch, one between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France for the interim Flyweight championship. 

Moreno and Kara-France met once previously, with Moreno winning via unanimous decision at UFC 245 in December 2019. He hopes to retain the interim title by defeating Kara-France once more, in order to set up a rematch with the reigning Flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo. Moreno (19-6-2, competing out of Tijuana, Mexico) has key victories against Bradon Royval, Jussier Formiga, and Charles Smolka during his career but is coming to this bout after a unanimous decision loss to Figueiredo at UFC 270 in January.

Ariel Helwani reported in May that Figueiredo is not defending his undisputed title due to an injury. Figueiredo reportedly felt blindsided by UFC’s decision to install an interim champ, so much so that he’s considering leaving the division. 

For Kara-France (24-9-1NC, competing out of Auckland, New Zealand), this fight represents his first opportunity to compete for a UFC title. He enters on a three-bout winning streak, with his most recent win coming in March, when he upset Askar Askarov by unanimous decision. Before that, he earned a knockout victory against Cody Garbrandt, a former UFC champion.

BetMGM currently lists Moreno as the favorite for this bout with -200 odds. Kara-France enters as the underdog at +165. 

The full card for UFC 277 features 13 bouts, with eight of those coming on the preliminary and early preliminary card. 

The preliminary card includes the following fights, with the DraftKings Moneyline odds. 

Klose’s original opponent was veteran Carlos Diego Ferreira, but injuries forced Ferreira to drop out. This resulted in Rafa Garcia stepping in on the short notice. DraftKings favors Klose (-240) over Garcia (+200) for this bout, in part, thanks to Garcia’s short prep time. 

The early preliminary card boasts these bouts, with the DraftKings Moneyline odds.

Cosce faces City Kickboxing prospect Mike Mathetha, who’s also known as Blood Diamond. Mathetha made his UFC debut earlier this year at UFC 271, with much hype behind his name, but he has a long way to go after Jeremiah Wells made quick work of him in his first fight. 

DraftKings, one of the nine legal online sportsbooks in New York, provided a pair of intriguing betting promos tied to UFC 277. These promos are available only to new customers, but sign-up is easy and their advanced security makes it one of the safest online sports betting platforms.

The first betting promo from DraftKings allows new bettors in New York state to double their money on a UFC 277 same game parlay. Following the opt-in, bettors will be issued one single-use 100 percent Same Game Parlay Profit Boost for any fight on the card. 

The second UFC 277 betting promo tells new customers that if you bet $5, you’ll get $100 in free bets on DraftKings’ platform. To qualify for this promotion, following your first deposit, you’ll need to bet $5 or more on any UFC 277 Moneyline. Once you’ve done that, you’ll receive $100 in free bets instantly. 

Moneyline bets for UFC and other Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) bouts work the same as traditional sports. Betting on the Moneyline is betting on who will win the fight. For example, if the Moneyline between lists Nunes at -275 and Peña at +210, then you’ll need to wager $275 on Nunes to make $100. If you opt for a $100 bet backing Peña and she’s victorious, you’ll win $210.  

DraftKings New York offers bettors one of the most comprehensive sportsbooks in the industry. DraftKings remains a leader in quality services, and provides traditional betting markets and niche options. The sportsbook delivers all bet types for wagering, including Futures, Moneyline, Props, Totals, and much more.  

DraftKings recently pushed passed $2 billion in cumulative mobile sports betting handle since the legalization of online sportsbooks in New York last January. Their cumulative total trails only FanDuel since the start of betting in the state.