Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.
Here are our best bets for Saturday, August 19:
TOP PLAY
The play: UFC 292, Aljamain Sterling to win by points (decision)
The odds/bet: +230
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: 11:30 p.m. (ESPN+ PPV)
Our take: UFC 292’s card has gotten less and less appealing as the days have gone on. However, the main fight boasts two of the biggest names in the sport. Aljamain Sterling will look to retain his Bantamweight Championship belt when he takes on one of the most exciting characters in the sport, Sean O’Malley.
It’s been the “Suga Show” as of late with O’Malley winning four of his last fights. Unfortunately for him, his style doesn’t exactly match up well against the Bantamweight Champion. Sterling will look to extend his winning streak to 10 fights against one of the class’ most formidable challengers.
Sterling’s wrestling abilities are among the best in the UFC. He’s beaten some of the sport’s best — such as Henry Cejudo, Cory Sandhagen and Petr Yan — with his ground-and-pound tactics. O’Malley faces an uphill battle here given the likelihood that he needs to keep Sterling on his feet in order to win.
The 28-year-old will give the champ more of a challenge than many believe. O’Malley has never gone five rounds in his MMA career, though, so Sterling should be able to comfortably control this fight.
TEXANS TO TOP DOLPHINS?
The play: NFL, Texans -2.5 vs. Dolphins
The odds/bet: -110
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: 4 p.m. (NFL Network)
Our take: I hinted at it last week when I took the New York Jets to cover in the first half as a best bet, predicting the NFL preseason often comes down to quarterback play. The Houston Texans have a far deeper quarterback room with rookie C.J. Stroud, as well as veterans Davis Mills and Case Keenum, expected to play this afternoon.
The Texans’ preseason squad looked far better than Miami’s last week. Houston will be at home and the crowd will be at least mildly excited to see DeMeco Ryans and Co. on the sidelines at NRG Stadium for the first time.
The Texans have won four consecutive preseason games dating back to the beginning of last season — the closest of which was a 17-13 win over the New Orleans Saints. Give us Houston to cover the two-point spread at home.
HOW WE’VE FARED
EPL: Nottingham Forest money line vs. Sheffield United (WON)
NFL: Panthers at Giants UNDER 39.5 total points (LOST)
Friday’s record: 1-1
Total for the week: 2-5, 2 pending
Total for August: 14-22, 2 pending
Total for 2023: 188-216, 2 pending
NOTE: If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)
Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).
