Welterweight mainstay Neil Magny and rising contender Carlos Prates will face off in the main event at UFC Fight Night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night (7 p.m. ET on ESPN+, with prelims at 4 p.m. on ESPN+).

Magny is 1-1 in two fights this year, with a win over Mike Malott in January and a loss to Michael Morales in August. Prates is undefeated in the UFC to date, with a record of 3-0 since his debut with the promotion in February. Both fighters are not listed on ESPN’s welterweight rankings.

Brett Okamoto spoke with veteran MMA coach and ESPN analyst Din Thomas to get his take on the UFC main event. ESPN betting expert Ian Parker adds insight and analysis on the main event and other intriguing bets he likes on the card.

Editor’s note: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Welterweight: Neil Magny vs. Carlos Prates

Din Thomas, experienced MMA coach and analyst

How Magny wins: Magny needs a classic Magny performance here. He needs to control the reach and stay out of the way until he can work the clinch and wrestle this guy into the fence. He needs to wear Prates down by taking advantage of that wrestling pressure. Maybe get a takedown and use that to register some exhaustion on Prates. If he can get a tired man in front of him, Magny can do whatever he wants, but until then I wouldn’t even throw punches when he has Prates on the fence. Just manipulate his body and force Prates to hold weight in different ways.

How Prates wins: Stay on the outside and find those openings. I like his accuracy, but because he’s so accurate, he doesn’t throw much. That could help Magny in this case because Magny won’t be overwhelmed. But Prates needs to apply pressure and make a lot of feints, because Magny will react and start flowing backwards, and that’s where he will be exposed. This guy will just slip Magny and move forward.

X factor: I don’t know how good Prates is on the ground. Maybe he’ll be great and beat Magny to the ground. Or maybe it’s really bad and Magny doesn’t just have to put it on; he will be able to subdue him. I just haven’t seen enough of it to know.

Prediction: Prates knocks out Magny within two rounds.

Betting analysis

Odds accurate as of publication. Visit ESPN BET for the most up-to-date odds.

Parker: Prates wins by knockout. Magny has an endless tank of gas and is all around good, but not great. We saw Ian Machado tear up Garry’s legs and Morales finish him efficiently in his last fight. If Magny can’t put Prates on his back soon, he will face another knockout loss at the hands of Prates.

Parker’s best bets on the rest of the card

Strawweight: Luana Pinheiro vs. Gillian Robertson

Robertson to win, in the distance. Finishing off back-to-back losses, Pinheiro will look to avoid losing her UFC roster spot. Unfortunately for her, she is up against a rousing Robertson. Pinheiro is probably the better striker, but once things go downhill for her, she tends to give up. Against Robertson, I expect this to happen early in the fight. Look for Robertson to use her striking to set up her wrestling. Once the fight goes to the ground, the end is nigh for Pinheiro.

Middleweight: Gerald Meerschaert vs. Reinier de Ridder

The Knight wins. The King of the Apex, Meerschaert, returns to take on UFC newcomer de Ridder. We all know how Meerschaert rolls. He gets hammered for the first round and when his opponent slips through many failed finishes, Meerschaert turns it around and takes the win. This time, however, I don’t see it happening. A former two-division champion with One Championship, De Ridder is versatile and has a gas tank to back up his skills. It’s not even close on the feet. De Ridder will have a big striking edge and his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu will help him avoid submission attempts from Meerschaert.

Welterweight: Charles Radtke vs. Matthew Semelsberger

Radtke to win. Until his last fight, a loss to Prates, Radtke was on a two-fight winning streak. He now gets a chance to get back into the win column when he takes on Semelsberger. Semelsberger is coming off his third loss in a row. Once a promising prospect, Semelsberger appears to have lost his mojo and that could be a problem versus Radtke.

In his last fight against Preston Parsons, Semelsberger was taken down at will and I think that will happen against Radtke as well. Unless he lands a huge right hand, Semelsberger has shown a lack of game plan and no evolution in his game in his last three fights. Radtke should be able to beat him and get back in the win column.