UFC Fight Night 244: Brad Tavares vs. Junyong Park odds, picks and predictions

In a 3-round middleweight bout on the main card, Brad Tavares and Junyon Park meet Saturday at UFC Fight Night 244 — also known as UFC Vegas 98 and UFC on ESPN+ 102 — at the UFC Apex. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s UFC odds around the UFC Night Night 244: Tavares vs. Park odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.

The prelims begin at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+, and the main card begins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Records: Tavares (20-10-0) | Park (17-6-0)

Tavares heads into this bout looking to bounce back from a 3rd-round KO/TKO against Gregory Rodrigues in mid-February, and he is just 1-3 in the past 4 bouts.

The 36-year-old fighter for Team Xtreme Couture has been with the promotion since making his debut at UFC 125 on New Year’s Day 2011. In the past 22 bouts since July 2, 2011, including TUF Finale fights, he has ended up going the distance in 16 of those outings.

Park is looking to rebound after a split-decision setback to Andre Muniz in early December. That halted a 4-fight win streak, including 3 straight submission victories from Oct. 2022 to July 2023.

Tavares holds a slight 1-inch reach advantage, while Park is ahead with a 4.53-to-3.38 significant strikes landed per minute. Park is much more accurate with those strikes at 58.77%, while Tavares checks in at 48.21%. Park is better in the takedown game, too, posting a 1.83 takedown average and 50.0% takedown accuracy percentage, while posting a 1.05 submission average.

Watch this card with ESPN+ by signing up here.

UFC Fight Night 244: Tavares vs. Park odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of UFC odds. Lines last updated at 10:45 a.m. ET.

• Fight result (2-way line): Tavares +160 (bet $100 to win $160) | Park -190 (bet $190 to win $100)
• Will the fight go the distance? (Yes -200 | No +150)

UFC Fight Night 244: Tavares vs. Park picks and predictions

Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)

PARK (-190) is a little on the expensive side, but he isn’t a bad play if you were to include him in part of a multi-leg parlay.

While Tavares (+160) holds a slight lead in reach advantage, that’s about the only area he is ahead. He’ll want to avoid going down to the canvas with Park, or this will be a short outing. He has been involved in 3 submissions in his entire career, with a rear-naked choke loss to Court McGee June 16, 2010 at the TUF 11 Semifinal in his most recent bout via submission.

PARK BY SUBMISSION (+800), for the chance to multiply up by 8 times, is a tremendous value, and you need to make that part of wagers.

Over/Under (O/U)

NO (+150): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE is a great idea.

Park by submission is certainly worth a roll of the dice, and if that happens, both of these wagers go hand in hand.

Yes, Tavares has gone the distance in 16 of his past 22 professional bouts, but he has finished inside the distance in 2 of the past 3 outings.

Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis.

For more sports betting picks and tips

SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and us on Facebook.