UFC 267 best bets: Will Makhachev get another finish?

Saturday's UFC 267 features a light heavyweight title fight between champion Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira as well as an interim bantamweight title tilt featuring Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen.

Before the action gets underway at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, here's a look at the two best bets for the event.

Makhachev-Hooker doesn't go the distance (-110)

Islam Makhachev has finished his two fights in 2021 so far, and he'll keep the ball rolling against Dan Hooker.

Makhachev, a feared lightweight contender and teammate of Khabib Nurmagomedov, is arguably the most dangerous grappler in the division; he absolutely has the ability to submit Hooker before the final horn. This one simply comes down to whether Makhachev takes his time and is content to outpoint Hooker, or if he's more aggressive and wants to make a statement.

Makhachev knows a big win could potentially earn him a title shot against the winner between Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier - whereas a lackluster performance might allow the Justin Gaethje-Michael Chandler winner to get that opportunity first. With that, and the fact Hooker is a striker and won't be able to hold his opponent off as well as Thiago Moises did in July (that fight ended in a fourth-round submission for Makhachev), I'm going to say Makhachev gets him out of there. Plus, Hooker didn't have a full training camp to prepare.

Makhachev is a -650 favorite to beat Hooker, but that's way too heavy for a straight bet and even pretty wide for a parlay. This way, you can take Makhachev-Hooker to end inside the distance - which doesn't seem like a huge risk, even with it being a three-round bout - at a good price.

I've spent all this time focused on Makhachev, but let's not forget this bet also includes Hooker winning by a finish. Makhachev's one MMA loss happened via knockout, and it seems extremely unlikely Hooker edges him on the feet over 15 minutes. So if Hooker pulls off the huge upset, this prop bet has you covered, too.

Volkov-Tybura goes the distance (+110)

The matchup between top-10 heavyweights Alexander Volkov and Marcin Tybura has the makings of a fight that will go three rounds.

Neither fighter is much of a one-punch knockout artist by heavyweight standards, and they both have sturdy chins that should keep them in the fight.

They both have finishes on their record, but more often than not, Volkov puts together combinations for his TKOs while Tybura pounds out his opponents on the ground. Those wins have come against lesser opposition or fighters with weaker chins, and that's the key difference.

Volkov and Tybura are relatively close in skill, so expect technical striking exchanges and battles in the clinch that result in a competitive fight - not a big finish on either side.

Here are the full odds from theScore Bet for UFC 267 on Oct. 30:

Main card

• Jan Blachowicz (-310) vs. Glover Teixeira (+245)
• Petr Yan (-210) vs. Cory Sandhagen (+170)
• Islam Makhachev (-650) vs. Dan Hooker (+450)
• Alexander Volkov (-310) vs. Marcin Tybura (+245)
• Khamzat Chimaev (-600) vs. Li Jingliang (+425)
• Magomed Ankalaev (-310) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (+245)

Preliminary card

• Amanda Ribas (-165) vs. Virna Jandiroba (+135)
• Zubaira Tukhugov (-170) vs. Ricardo Ramos (+140)
• Albert Duraev (-385) vs. Roman Kopylov (+295)
• Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (-250) vs. Benoit Saint Denis (+200)
• Shamil Gamzatov (-130) vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk (+100)
• Lerone Murphy (-300) vs. Makwan Amirkhani (+240)
• Andre Petroski (-240) vs. Hu Yaozong (+190)
• Tagir Ulanbekov (-400) vs. Allan Nascimento (+300)