UFC London: Mario Pinto vs. Felipe Franco Predictions & Odds

Undefeated heavyweight contender Mario Pinto will welcome Felipe Franco to the UFC this Saturday at the UFC London card, which goes down inside the O2 Arena in London.

With a 2-0 record inside the octagon, Pinto heads into the match as the considerable betting favorite with -900 UFC odds, while Franco will be the heavy betting underdog with +600 odds.

UFC London: Mario Pinto vs. Felipe Franco Fight Odds

• Mario Pinto: -900
• Felipe Franco: +600

UFC London: Mario Pinto vs. Felipe Franco: Tale of the Tape

UFC London: Mario Pinto vs. Felipe Franco: Prediction

A unanimous decision victory for Pinto against Franco is my prediction, mainly because he’s the bigger, taller, and stronger fighter. Franco will be moving up to the heavyweight division, as he formerly competed in the light heavyweight division.

The difference in weight and physical strength of Pinto could be more than enough to overpower Franco in grappling exchanges and in the clinch battle. Franco’s expected strategy in this fight is to grapple, close the distance, and take away the height and reach advantages of Pinto.

Pinto is a very solid grappler with elite ground-and-pound, highlighted by vicious elbows. Even if Franco employs a grappling-heavy or wrestling-heavy approach, I think he’ll be able to reverse the position and land the more damaging and cleaner strikes.

Mario Pinto’s Recent Fight Results

Pinto was the former Levels Fight League champion before he joined Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024. He stopped Lucas Camacho in the opening round to secure a UFC contract. Then, the Portuguese MMA fighter won his first two fights in the UFC against Austen Lane and Jhonata Diniz.

Felipe Franco’s Recent Fight Results

Franco was an undefeated prospect when he joined Dana White’s Contender Series in September. However, he was submitted by Freddy Vidal in the third round and came up short in his road to the UFC. He needed two wins outside the promotion to finally crack the UFC roster.