UFC 277 best bets: Nunes, Moreno to take home the belts

Saturday's UFC 277 features a women's bantamweight title rematch between Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes.

Also on the card, Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France will meet for the interim flyweight belt.

Before the action gets underway at American Airlines Center in Dallas, here are the two best bets for the event.

Amanda Nunes (-286) / Brandon Moreno (-222)

$100 parlay to win $95.76 profit

These are the lowest odds on Nunes since 2018 and on Nunes in a bantamweight fight since 2017. This was to be expected, of course, as Pena became the first person to defeat Nunes in more than seven years last December in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

But we have to remember: This is still Amanda freakin' Nunes. She remains the consensus greatest women's fighter in MMA history. One loss - a bizarre one, at that, in which Nunes didn't look herself - isn't going to deter me from backing her.

Maybe Nunes is on her way out. Maybe the Pena loss was a sign of what's to come. The Brazilian has been in the sport since 2008, competing at the highest level for many of those years - that's a long time. But until she loses again, I'm going to assume the Nunes we saw against Pena wasn't an accurate representation of what she's capable of. I'm going to assume that Nunes had an off night, which is bound to happen to everyone eventually, even the most dominant champions.

Nunes at her best should beat Pena. She is the more capable striker. She hits harder. She arguably has better jiu-jitsu, too. And she no doubt will use the first fight to learn from her mistakes. If Nunes hasn't lost a step, and I don't think she has, she shouldn't have much of an issue getting back her belt and double-champion status.

Moreno has beaten Kara-France once before, and he'll do it again this weekend.

They first met in December 2019, with Moreno taking home a unanimous decision win. Both men have improved and become title contenders - and Moreno actually won the belt - since that fight. Kara-France has arguably made bigger strides, which is reason to believe he'll be competitive with Moreno. But Moreno still has what it takes to get it done.

The biggest advantage the Mexican has over Kara-France is his well-roundedness. Over the years, Moreno has turned into a sharp striker on top of his already seasoned grappling skill set. Expect Moreno to use every tool in his toolbox - especially his grappling since Kara-France is a striker - en route to a comprehensive victory, the interim flyweight title, and a fourth date with champ Deiveson Figueiredo.

Pantoja-Perez goes over 2.5 rounds (-154)

Flyweight contenders Alexandre Pantoja and Alex Perez are set to meet in a fight that's bound to be competitive. Therefore, it's highly likely this one reaches the later rounds.

Pantoja has never been finished in the UFC, while Perez has only been put away by Figueiredo in a title fight and longtime top contender Joseph Benavidez. On the other hand, their finishing abilities are a bit more prominent, with Pantoja coming off a submission win and two of Perez's last three victories ending inside the distance.

But that isn't much of a concern here. Pantoja and Perez have managed to finish the opponents that weren't quite on their level, but Saturday's meeting will be different. Pantoja and Perez will learn early on that they're close in skill and in for a 15-minute affair. At -154, and on a card with only a few good betting opportunities, take a stab on the over-2.5 rounds prop for this fight.

Here are the full odds from theScore Bet for UFC 277 on July 30:

Main card

• Amanda Nunes (-286) vs. Julianna Pena (+225)
• Brandon Moreno (-222) vs. Kai Kara-France (+180)
• Sergei Pavlovich (-133) vs. Derrick Lewis (+110)
• Alexandre Pantoja (-185) vs. Alex Perez (+150)
• Magomed Ankalaev (-556) vs. Anthony Smith (+400)

Preliminary card

• Matthew Semelsberger (-159) vs. Alex Morono (+130)
• Drew Dober (-192) vs. Rafael Alves (+160)
• Don'Tale Mayes (-189) vs. Hamdy Abdelwahab (+155)
• Drakkar Klose (-208) vs. Rafa Garcia (+170)

Early preliminary card

• Michael Morales (-650) vs. Adam Fugitt (+420)
• Joselyne Edwards (-133) vs. Ji Yeon Kim (+110)
• Ihor Potieria (-133) vs. Nicolae Negumereanu (+105)
• Orion Cosce (-185) vs. Mike Diamond (+145)