UFC 298: Sean O'Malley vs. Marlon Vera continues on the prelims with a fight in the flyweight division between CJ Vergara and Assu Almabayev. Vergara is now on the longest winning streak of his career winning back-to-back as he comes into this fight looking to extend it to three meanwhile, Almabayev has now won 14 straight fights and was victorious in his UFC debut. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Vergara-Almabayev prediction and pick.

CJ Vergara (12-4-1) got his shot in the UFC after securing his contract with a 41-second knockout on the Contender Series in 2021. After dropping his UFC debut he has gone 3-1 most recently winning back-to-back fights and defeating Vinicius Salvador in his last fight. Vergara will be looking to extend his winning streak to three when he takes on flyweight prospect Assu Almabayev.

Assu Almabayev (18-2) had a lot of hype coming into his UFC debut against Ode Osbourne as he was riding a 13-fight winning streak. He was able to dispatch Osbourne inside two rounds which gave him his ninth submission victory in his career. Now, Almabayev will be looking to extend his winning streak to 15 when he takes on very tough and durable CJ Vergara this weekend at UFC 299.

Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of BetOnline. 

UFC 299 Odds: CJ Vergara-Assu Almabayev Odds

CJ Vergara: +425

Assu Almabayev: -575

Over 2.5 rounds: +110

Under 2.5 rounds: -140

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Why CJ Vergara Will Win

CJ Vergara came into his shot on the Contender Series with four consecutive knockout victories and claiming the Fury FC Flyweight Championship. He then had his best performance when he knocked out highly-touted prospect Bruno Korea in less than a minute. Now, Vegara is set to take on another highly-touted prospect Kazakhastan's Assu Almabayev.

Vergara does his best work on the feet where he can utilize his forward pressure and feints to set up his power shots that have resulted in seven knockouts in his career. While he can grapple, it would be ill-advised to attempt to grapple with Almavayev who is leaps and bounds better than he is on the mat. If Vergara can utilize his movement on the feet and counter Almabayev as he comes within range, he can cause a massive upset and make it three wins in a row.

Why Assu Almabayev Will Win

Assu Almbayev was a hot commodity coming into his promotional debut last August. He was riding a 13-fight winning streak where nine of those wins came inside the distance. Almabayev will be looking to make a statement on the biggest stage of his career this weekend at UFC 299  when he takes on CJ Vergara.

While Almabayev is comfortable on the feet where he does enough to stay out of the range of his opponents, his best work is done on the mat. The way that he was able to handle the bigger Ode Osbourne the way that he did shows that even though he's small in stature his strength and technique are hard to match. In this fight against Vergara, if he can get ahold of him there will be little pushback as he takes him down and potentially dominates him there. As long as this fight hits the mat Almabayev can certainly cover his moneyline.

Final CJ Vergara-Assu Almabayev Prediction & Pick

This should be a fun scrap in the flyweight division between CJ Vergara and Assu Almabayev. Vergara is not an easy fight for anyone in the flyweight division. He may not excel in one area but he is an all-around good fighter. Vergara can take it to his opponents on the feet just like he did against both Vinicius Salvador and Daniel Lacerda making it a rough time for them. He's going to replicate the same success in those two fights to find success in this matchup.

As for Almabayev, while he certainly has the skills to compete on the feet with Vergara his best path to victory is taking this fight to the mat where he should be able to dominate there. Doing so gives him the best opportunity to get the win and continue his torrid run. Ultimately, this fight is egregiously wide for a fighter who hasn't faced the upper echelon of the flyweight division just yet and when it comes to wagering on this fight the value lies with the underdog as this fight should be a lot closer than the odds suggest and Vergara has a chance at potentially clipping Almabayev or getting the nod on the judge's scorecards.

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Final CJ Vergara-Assu Almabayev Prediction & Pick: CJ Vergara (+425), Over 2.5 Rounds (+110)