UFC Fight Night 182: Santos vs. Teixeira Odds, Schedule, Predictions

A suddenly wide-open light heavyweight division may have a new contender emerge by the end of the night as Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira are set to fight in the main event of UFC Fight Night 182 from the Apex Facility in Las Vegas. 

Jan Blachowicz reigns in the 205-pound division after defeating Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 for the vacant title left behind by Jon Jones. Now, he's expected to fight middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. 

But the last man to defeat the current champion is Santos. Marreta knocked out the new champion in February 2019 but lost a split-decision to Jones in his own attempt to capture the title. 

Standing opposite Santos will be Teixeira, who never seems to be completely out of the picture. The 41-year-old is on a four-fight win streak with wins over Anthony Smith and Nikita Krylov. 

Here's a look at the complete card, with odds for each fight and predictions for the biggest fights of the night.

Fight Card and Odds

Eric Jamison/Associated Press

Main Card (ESPN2, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)

• Thiago Santos (-240, bet $100 to win $41.67) vs. Glover Teixeira (+190, bet $100 to win $190)
• Andrei Arlovski (+235) vs. Tanner Boser (-305)
• Raoni Barcelos (-400) vs. Khalid Taha (+295)
• Ian Heinisch (-112) vs. Brendan Allen (-112)
• Claudia Gadelha (+125) vs. Yan Xiaonan (-155)

Preliminary Card (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

• Trevin Giles (+100) vs. Bevon Lewis (-125)
• Giga Chikadze (-835) vs. Jamey Simmons (+525)
• Marcos Rogerio de Lima (+330) vs. Alexandr Romanov (-455)
• Darren Elkins (-240) vs. Luiz Eduardo Garagorri (+185)
• Max Griffin (-143) vs. Ramiz Brahimaj (+115)
• Anthony Birchak (-106) vs. Gustavo Lopez (-118)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Santos vs. Teixeira

Eric Jamison/Associated Press

At this point, Teixeira is like the old crafty guy who plays pickup basketball with guys half his age, schooling them with every old trick in the book. He doesn't have elite athleticism and the one-punch knockout power is gone, but he's smart and durable. 

That was enough against Smith in his last fight. He weathered early storms from his younger opponent before taking over in the latter rounds and overwhelming the 32-year-old. 

The same things will be difficult to do against Santos. The Brazilian throws strikes with the intention to end fights and oftentimes does. The 36-year-old had three straight finishes before his fight with Jones, in which he tagged the former champion as well. 

Teixeira's fortunate run of cunning wins may find its end in this one. Santos' power is the X-factor. If Teixeira can drag him to the mat for the majority of five rounds, he can pick up another win, but if he stands with Santos for extended exchanges, it could be a short night. 

Prediction: Santos via second-round TKO

Arlovski vs. Boser

Kyusung Gong/Associated Press

When Andrei Arlovski was making his UFC debut, America was trying to figure out if Al Gore or George W. Bush won the presidential election and the merit of pregnant chads in Florida. 

The Pitbull has suffered plenty of losing as his career extends into his 40s. But he has modified his game in old age to play to his strengths. It isn't the knockout power that once made him champion anymore, but instead a crafty kickboxing game that can outscore younger fighters from range while still sneaking in some power shots here and there. 

What is gone is his chin, which makes his margin for error a lot closer than it used to be. Arlovski has 11 losses by knockout in his career, with the most recent coming from Jairzinho Rozenstruik. 

The 29-year-old Boser has recently got in touch with his power. With just one true knockout in his 11 fights before the UFC and two decisions to open his run with the organization he didn't showcase much finishing ability before ripping off TKO wins over Philipe Lins and Raphael Pessoa. 

Boser is aggressive, young by heavyweight standards and has just one knockout loss on his record. At this point, that's probably enough to put away this version of Arlovski. 

Prediction: Boser via third-round TKO

Gadelha vs. Xiaonan

Leo Correa/Associated Press

One of the more important fights on the card, the women's strawweight fight between Claudia Gadelha and Yan Xiaonan, will play a direct role in who is in the mix for a title shot in the division. 

Gadelha has been uneven since her failed bid for the title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2016. She's definitely hit a wall in which she beats the fighters she is clearly better than, but losses to Jessica Andrade and Nina Ansaroff show she still has work to do. 

The rubber is going to meet the road in her matchup against Xiaonan. The 31-year-old doesn't have the proven track record against elite competition that Gadelha does, but she also hasn't experienced a defeat since 2010. 

In five UFC fights, she's shown a penchant for setting a blistering pace and scoring decisions with her striking. Avoiding a grappling contest with Gadelha will be important. The Brazilian is the best grappler she's seen, so this will be a great test of her ability to impose her game plan against an unwilling opponent. 

All signs thus far point to Xianon being able to do just that and pick up her sixth UFC win and a date with another big name in the division. 

Prediction: Xiaonan via decision

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL).

Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ/WV/PA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (NH/CO) or 1-800-BETS OFF (IA).

21+. NJ/PA/WV/IN/NH/IA/CO/IL only. Odds and lines subject to change. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.