talkSPORT betting tips – Best bets and expert advice for UFC Freedom 250 

An historic night awaits as UFC Freedom 250 lands on the White House lawn for a stellar night of fights.

Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria looks to reunify his title in the main event against interim belt holder Justin Gaethje, while Alex Pereira steps up to heavyweight to face Ciryl Gane for the interim title.

Here we preview some of the best bets from UFC Freedom 250.

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UFC Freedom 250 Tips

• Ilia Topuria to win by KO, TKO or DQ @ 4/9
• Sean O’Malley win by KO, TKO or DQ @ 19/10
• Kyle Daukaus to win @ 27/10

King of Spain to triumph at the White House

Ilia Topuria (17-0-0) returns to action in the main event and is expected to dispatch Justin Gaethje (27-5-0) within the distance.

Topuria destroyed Charles Oliveira within a round to win the title last summer, stepping up from a two-fight run as Featherweight champion where he finished both Max Holloway (TKO – R3) and Alexander Volkanovski (TKO – R2).

The 27-year-old Spaniard then took a brief hiatus from the sport to deal with personal issues, which allowed Gaethje to capture the interim title when defeating Paddy Pimblett over five rounds in January.

The 37-year-old American has fought for and failed to win the unified title twice before, being submitted by both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira.

More recently a BMF champion following a knockout win over Dustin Poirie. His one-fight run as champion was ended by Max Holloway with a viral last-second knockout at UFC 300.

Topuria is a ruthless finisher with seven of his nine UFC wins coming inside the distance, including six by knockout.

Gaethje is an all-action fighter, often known for his reckless style, which is likely to suit Topuria’s elite footwork and IQ and ability to set traps for his opponents.

His devastating finish rate looks more than likely to be added to here.

Suga to put on a show

Former champion “Suga” Sean O’Malley (19-3-0) can take another step back towards a title shot with a win over Aiemann Zahabi (14-2-0).

O’Malley bounced back with a unanimous decision win over Song Yadong in January, following back-to-back defeats to Merab Dvalishvili where he lost and subsequently failed to regain his title.

Outwrestled and outworked by the Georgian, the American’s confidence boosting win over Yadong saw him able to utilise his best weapon, striking.

Zahabi is no slouch on the feet and is currently riding a seven-fight win streak, however, may find further steps up the ladder defensively troubling.

The 39-year-old Canadian’s biggest wins were a points win over an ageing Jose Aldo and a split decision against Marlon Vera last time out.

O’Malley will be better for the morale boosting win last time out and expect him to have a superior speed and power advantage here and could well find a late finish.

No guarantee with Nickal

While there isn’t much value on this card, one underdog worth taking a chance on could be Kyle Daukaus (17-4-0) against Bo Nickal (8-1-0).

Nickal is a big favourite and often receives overly inflated odds due to his wrestling fame and pedigree.

A decorated college wrestler out of Penn State, the 30-year-old is 5-1 in the UFC, suffering his first defeat two fights ago when he was TKO’d in the second round by Reinier de Ridder.

Bouncing back with a third-round finish of Rodolfo Vieira last time out, Daukaus represents a bigger challenge having gone 2-0 with two first round finishes since rejoining the UFC.

The 33-year-old submitted Gerald Meerschaert in the first round last time out. While he also stopped Michel Pereira with an overhand right 43 seconds into his Octagon return last summer.

A crafty veteran, Daukaus has the striking and defensive wrestling to potentially cause an upset here, if Nickal struggles to implement his gameplan.

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