The UFC returns to Louisville, Kentucky, this Saturday, June 8, 2024, for UFC Louisville: Cannonier vs. Imavov, marking the promotion’s second visit to the city and the first in over thirteen years. The event, is hosted at the KFC Yum! Center, promises an action-packed night with a mix of seasoned veterans and rising stars.

Headlining the card is a pivotal middleweight clash between No. 4 ranked Jared Cannonier and No. 8 ranked Nassourdine Imavov. Cannonier, known for his power and resilience, is making a comeback after a year-long hiatus due to a torn MCL. Imavov, a slick kickboxer, is riding high after a dominant performance against Roman Dolidze. This bout is crucial for both fighters as they vie for a top contender spot in the middleweight division.

The co-main event features light heavyweight contenders Dominick Reyes and Dustin Jacoby. Reyes, a former title challenger, is desperate to end a three-fight losing streak, while Jacoby aims to bounce back from recent setbacks. Both fighters are known for their striking prowess, making this a must-watch bout.

In the bantamweight division, 19-year-old phenom Raul Rosas Jr. faces The Ultimate Fighter season 29 winner Ricky Turcios. Rosas Jr. is looking to solidify his status as a rising star, while Turcios aims to leverage his experience to secure a victory.

Other notable matchups include Brunno Ferreira vs. Dustin Stoltzfus at middleweight, Julian Marquez vs. Zachary Reese also at middleweight, and a welterweight bout between Miguel Baeza and Punahele Soriano. The preliminary card features a mix of exciting bouts, including the debut of Puja Tomar, the first female athlete from India signed to the UFC, who will face Rayanne dos Santos.

With a stacked card and high stakes, UFC Louisville promises to deliver an unforgettable night of mixed martial arts action. Fans can catch the prelims on ESPN+ starting at 5 PM ET, with the main card airing on ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 PM ET.

With a great fight card comes money to be made, we take a look at the top betting underdogs for this weekend’s stacked fight night event.

Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of BetOnline. 

UFC Louisville Top Betting Underdogs

Thiago Moises: +107

Punahele Soriano: +170

Cody Stamann: +228

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Thiago Moises (+107) vs. L’udovit Klein

Thiago Moises took a devastating loss at the hands of Benoit Saint-Denis two fights ago where he was finished by vicious ground-and-pound in the second round. Moises was able to bounce back in his most recent fight against promotional newcomer Mitch Ramirez whom he finished via brutal leg kicks in 3rd round TKO. Now, Moises will be looking to get back on another winning streak in the UFC when he takes on the surging L’udovit Klein this weekend at UFC Louisville.

Thiago Moises is a former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion and he has certainly brought that area of expertise with him inside the Octagon with three of his seven victories coming by submission. That Jiu-Jitu background will serve him well in this matchup against a decorated striker like L’udovit Klein. While Moises can certainly handle his own on the feet with Klein, it would be in his best interest to test his grappling skills in this fight. Being as Moises is by far the best grappler Klein has faced in his career and he’s been submitted twice in his four losses against inferior grapplers, the path to victory is there for Moises. If he can avoid getting into a kickboxing match with Klein and drag him to the mat he can extend his winning streak to two this weekend.

Punahele Soriano (+170) vs. Miguel Baeza

Punahele Soriano has hit a rough patch as of late with back-to-back losses where he was finished in both fights against Dustin Stolzfus and Roman Kopylov. Soriano has now lost four out of his last five fights and could potentially be fighting for his career this weekend. He moves down in weight to compete in welterweight for the first time in his career when he takes on Miguel Baeza this weekend at UFC Louisville.

After securing his contract on the Contender Series, Soriano burst onto the scene with vicious knockouts of Oskar Piechota and Dusko Todorovic. Since those two brutal knockouts, he has gone 1-4 in his next five fights which have prompted his move down a weight class to face off against another struggling fighter Miguel Baeza. In this matchup, Soriano is going to need to pressure Baeza and not give him the space to operate at distance. From there, Soriano can land his strikes or even land takedowns and if he can do that he will have a great chance at getting back to his winning ways in his new weight class.

Cody Stamann (+228) vs. Taylor Lapilus

Cody Stamann has been a staple in the UFC’s bantamweight division since 2017 and he’s been fighting the who’s who of the division for quite some time now. He most recently dropped a hard-fought decision against Douglas Silva de Andrade who outworked Stamann throughout the fight to get the nod on the judge’s scorecards. Now Stamann is looking to right the ship and get back into the win column when he takes on France’s Taylor Lapilus this weekend at UFC Louisville.

Stamann is a hard-nosed fighter that is always tough to beat and tough to put away. He’s only been finished twice in his career and that was by submission against Said Nurmagomedov and Aljamain Sterling so needless to say the chance of him getting finished in this fight should be quite low. As for this matchup against Lapilus, it should be a fairly evenly matched fight if the fight were to stay on the feet but where Stamann should have an advantage is if he utilizes his wrestling. If Stamann can go into this matchup and mix in the takedowns with his strikes he has a chance of scoring the upset and getting back on track this weekend.