- Jamahal Hill is favored to beat Thiago Santos at the main event of UFC Vegas 59.
- Hill is coming off back-to-back first round knockout wins over Jimmy Crute and Johnny Walker.
- Santos has lost four out of his last five UFC assignments.
The surging Jamahal Hill has opened as the betting favorite against Thiago Santos in their upcoming fight.
According to the top UFC betting sites, the American is the -250 favorite to beat Santos who opened at +210 odds.
UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill:
Jamahal Hill (-250)
Thiago Santos (+210)https://t.co/brIHhmmF8R @JamahalH @tmarretamma— BestFightOdds (@BestFightOdds) July 18, 2022
Hill and Santos will meet at the main event of UFC Vegas 59 on August 6th at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Jamahal Hill Shut Off the Lights on Johnny Walker
Jamahal Hill shut off the lights and tucked Johnny Walker in with one punch @SpinninBackfist pic.twitter.com/BCYAaZ5njN
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) February 20, 2022
Hill has lost just once in six UFC bouts but saw his TKO win over Kleidson Abreu overturned into a no-contest after he tested positive for Marijuana. In his most recent bout, the 31-year-old from Chicago Illinois needed only 175 seconds to knock out Johnny Walker in his most recent appearance at UFC Vegas 48 last February 19th.
A former light heavyweight champion at the Knockout Promotions, Hill knocked out Alexander Poppeck at the Contender Series in 2019 to earn his UFC contract. Outside of his TKO loss to Paul Craig at UFC 263 last year, Hill has looked impressive inside the Octagon. Overall, he has posted a record of 10-1 with six knockouts. Hill has won back-to-back Performance of the Night awards in his last two bouts.
This marks the sixth time in seven UFC bouts where Hill has opened with the minus money sign written next to his name. The only time that Hill saw the plus money sign was when he opened at +185 odds against Crute. He won that bout in 48 seconds. Hill was the -260 betting favorite in his last fight against Walker.
Magomed Ankalaev Defeats Thiago Santos via Unanimous Decision
Ankalaev gets himself closer to a UFC title shot with a win over Thiago Santos.
Magomed Ankalaev def. Thiago Santos via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) #UFCVegas50 pic.twitter.com/JZQaZBuyil
— Overtime Heroics MMA (@OTHeroicsMMA) March 13, 2022
On the other hand, Thiago Santos is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Magomed Ankalaev in a strategic but dull main event at UFC Vegas 50 just last March 12th at the UFC Apex. That defeat was the fourth in the last five fights for Santos won eight out of nine bouts, including a victory over former 205-pound champion Jan Blachowicz in 2019.
The 38-year-old from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was a competitor at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 2 tournament where he lost in the quarterfinals against eventual winner Leonardo Santos. He challenged Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 239 but lost via split decision. Overall, Santos is 22-10 with 15 knockouts.
Santos will be the betting underdog for the fourth time in his last six bouts. The Brazilian opened at +134 against Ankalaev but closed as the heavy +400 bottom dog in that bout. Marreta was also the +185 bottom dog against Aleksandar Rakic and was a massive +625 underdog when he fought Jon Jones for the belt.
