The UFC is back at the UFC Apex after a week's hiatus for a stacked fight night event for the fight fans.

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - JUNE 24: (R-L) Gabriel Santos of Brazil punches David Onama of Uganda in their featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena on June 24, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)

In the main event, we have a welterweight matchup between two surging contenders Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady who are looking for a statement win in the wide-open welterweight division.

On the prelims is a banger of a fight between Gabriel Santos and Yizha in the featherweight division.

Both fighters are searching for their first wins inside the Octagon and will be laying it all on the line this weekend with that said, let's take a look at the matchup and our Santos-Yizha prediction and pick.

UFC Vegas 97: Gabriel Santos Betting Predictions September 7th

Gabriel Santos (10-2)?came into his short-notice debut as an undefeated prospect at 10-0 but met up with one of the top featherweight prospects in the division.

Santos lost both of his fights in the UFC to elite competition, Lerone Murphy who defeated him via a close split decision and David Onama who knocked him out in the second round.

• Santos now sits at 10-2 in his professional career losing back-to-back fights for the first time in his career.
• In his 10 professional wins, 7 of them have come by finish which is split between 3 KO/TKO and 4 submissions.

Santos has looked like a promising prospect in the featherweight division especially when he went toe-to-toe with the No. 11 ranked featherweight Lerone Murphy.

However, he is now 0-2 in the UFC and is desperately in need of a victory this weekend to keep his UFC hopes alive. Santos gets to take on Yizha who went on to win three fights in a row on the Road to UFC after suffering his first Octagon loss to Jeong Yeong Lee.

In this matchup, Santos will undoubtedly be the better striker and will need to do everything in his power to keep this fight standing.

While Yizha will be relentless with his takedowns, Santos has shown great takedown defense to keep this fight standing to where he will then be able to punish Yizha to either get the TKO finish or the nod on the judge's scorecards.

UFC Vegas 97: Yizha Betting Predictions September 7th

Yizha (25-4)?tried to secure his UFC contract in last season of the Road to UFC but ultimately took the split-decision loss to Jeong Yeong Lee in the finale.

Since that loss, Yizha competed on this season of the Road to UFC winning all three fights securing his spot on the UFC's featherweight roster.

• Yizha is now 6-1 in his last 7 fights as he comes into his UFC debut.
• Of those 6 wins 4 of them have come by submission.

Yizha is a relentless fighter that is always looking to take the fight to the canvas where he will have a big advantage in this fight.

He has finished 14 of his 25 wins by submission and that is once again going to be his path to victory against the dangerous Gabriel Santos.

Yizha will need to avoid to heavy leg kicks and strikes that will be coming his way to close the distance and drag this fight to the canvas.

Once the fight hits the canvas, he should have no problem dominating Santos there, softening him up with strikes until he snatches his neck or a limb and gets the submission and his first win inside the Octagon.

UFC Vegas 97: GABRIEL SANTOS vs YIZHA FANDUEL ODDS FOR SEPTEMBER 7TH

MONEY LINE

• GABRIEL SANTOS: -265
• YIZHA: +210

PROPS

• GABRIEL SANTOS BY POINTS: +155
• GABRIEL SANTOS BY SUBMISSION: +310
• GABRIEL SANTOS BY KNOCKOUT/TKO: +550
• YIZHA BY POINTS: +410
• YIZHA BY KNOCKOUT/TKO: +1100
• YIZHA BY SUBMISSION: +950

OVER/UNDER (ROUNDS TOTAL)

• OVER 2.5 ROUNDS (-160)
• UNDER 2.5 ROUNDS (+126)

BEST UFC VEGAS 97 ODDS FOR GABRIEL SANTOS vs YIZHA

• Yizha comes into his UFC debut as the betting underdog. DraftKings Sportsbook has the best odds for Yizha at (+215)
• Gabriel Santos looks to secure his first win inside the Octagon as the betting favorite in this matchup. Bet365 Sportsbook comes in with the best odds at (-250)
• FanDuel Sportsbook has the best odds when it comes to the over/under on the total rounds, which is set at 2.5 Rounds (-160) for the over, and (+126) for the under

FINAL SANTOS-YIZHA PICK & PREDICTION

This fight has the makings of being a great back-and-forth affair between these two featherweight prospects. Santos has shown the ability to defend takedowns against far bigger and stronger fighters like Murphy and Onama. This will allow Santos to fend off the takedowns of Yizha and punish him on the feet to either a late finish or a nod on the judge's scorecards to get his first win inside the Octagon.

FINAL SANTOS-YIZHA PICK & PREDICTION: GABRIEL SANTOS (-320)