UFC 304 Prelim Picks & Predictions: McCann Bosses Brasil

UFC 304 is taking place at Co-op Live in Manchester, England with two high-stakes rematches headlining the card as Tom Aspinall defends his interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes and Leon Edwards defends his welterweight title against Belal Muhammad.

This card is heavy on the hometown heroes, and England will show up as we predict Nathaniel Wood and Molly McCann will come up with big wins.

Here are my best free picks and predictions for the UFC 304 Prelims.

UFC 304 prelim picks and predictions

Nathaniel Wood vs. Daniel Pineda
• Prediction: Wood moneyline (-425)
• Best Bet: Wood by decision (+200)

Molly McCann vs. Bruna Brasil
• Prediction: McCann moneyline (-350)
• Best Bet: McCann by KO or submisson (+140)

Jake Hadley vs. Caolan Loughran
• Prediction: Loughran moneyline (-210)
• Best Bet: Loughran by decision (+105)

Click on each fight to jump to the full analysis.

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UFC 304 prelim odds and picks

Nathaniel Wood vs. Daniel Pineda fight odds

Method of Victory	Wood	Pineda
To win outright	-415	+305
To win by KO/TKO	+215	+1,100
To win by decision	+200	+1,000
To win by submission	+255	+975
Draw	+2,500	+2,500

Odds as of 7-25.

Nathaniel Wood is turning out to be a solid mid-carder, though the jury is out on whether he can hang in the deep end of the featherweight division. The aging and declining Daniel Pineda won't be the one who will give us those answers.

With Pineda pushing 40 and showing it based on his recent performances, Wood couldn't have asked for a better rebound opponent following his decision loss to Muhammad Naimov.

Pineda can grapple, but I don't see him being able to get Wood on the mat. Wood operates at a high pace and is more accurate with both his striking and his takedowns, so I don't see many avenues for Pineda to play spoiler in this one, especially as he's been out-landed in strikes and taken down in four of his last five fights.

My best bet is Wood cruises to a decision win.

Prediction: Wood moneyline (-425 at Bet99)
Best Bet: Wood by decision (+200 at Bet99)

Molly McCann vs. Bruna Brasil fight odds

Method of Victory	McCann	Brasil
To win outright	-345	+255
To win by KO/TKO	+225	+1,300
To win by decision	+130	+540
To win by submission	+625	+1,100
Draw	+2,500	+2,500

Odds as of 7-25.

Molly McCann is a regular undercard attraction on these UK cards and she's facing an opponent that shouldn't trouble her too much.

Bruna Brasil has subpar striking and takedown defense and is 2-2 since joining the UFC. She's been taken down seven times in those four fights.

McCann's physicality will be on full display here, as Brasil doesn't possess the style or submission skills that have foiled McCann in the past.

The big question here is if McCann can get the finish, and I believe she can.

We saw McCann overwhelm Diana Belbita in her last fight, blitzing her and getting her to tap in an armbar. Against this level of opposition, McCann looks like a wrecking ball, and I don't see Brasil doing much to get out of her way. I'll take McCann by knockout or submission.

Prediction: McCann moneyline (-350 at Bet99)
Best Bet: McCann KO or submisson (+140 at Bet99)

Caolan Loughran vs. Jake Hadley fight odds

Method of Victory	Loughran	Hadley
To win outright	-210	+165
To win by KO/TKO	+440	+1,500
To win by decision	+105	+325
To win by submission	+900	+700
Draw	+2,500	+2,500

Odds as of 7-25.

Jake Hadley is coming in on short notice and a two-fight losing streak to face Caolan Loughran. These are two limited fighters who rely mainly on their physicality to win.

Loughran is all action, landing 6.27 significant strikes per minute and 2.5 takedowns per fight at 33% accuracy. However, he lacks both the finishing skills and reliable cardio to maintain his pace for an entire fight. Hadley might make it interesting as he is moving up in weight for the fight, but his overall defense is suspect, having been out-landed in back-to-back fights and being prone to absorbing takedowns.

With Hadley's skid and his leaky defense, his only chance will come down to getting a submission out of a scramble. I don't feel that he'll be able to open Loughran up to make that happen, and he'll get outworked while standing and dominated on the ground. I'm going with Loughran to win by decision.

Prediction: Loughran moneyline (-210 at Bet99)
Best Bet: Loughran by decision (+105 at Bet99)

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