UFC 330 - Money to be Made on the Underdogs

UFC 330 goes down this weekend from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and all eyes will be on the main event as the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet, Islam Makhachev, returns to action for the first time this year as he takes on the always confident Ian Machado Garry.

The co-main event will see Mackenzie Dern look to make the first defence of his strawweight title as she meets Gillian Robertson in a clash of elite grapplers in the women’s divisions.

With interesting fights up and down the card, we take a look at some of the underdogs and why you should look to back them this weekend.

UFC 330 - Underdogs to Watch Out for

Kaue Fernandes over Jalin Turner +156

Kaue Fernandes has looked solid in his four UFC outings thus far. Despite losing his debut, a split decision over Marc Diakese, he rallied well and has gone on a tear since then.

A finish victory over Muhammad Yahya, a solid performance over the always dangerous Guram Kutateladze and most recently, he gave Harry Hardwick a rude welcome to the UFC have all given Fernandes the confidence to clash with Jalin Turner at UFC 330.

Although Turner’s most recent outing saw him finish Edson Barboza in a little over two minutes, he’s custom-built for Fernandes. At 6’3” and fighting at lightweight, Turner fights heavy on the lead leg to work his jab. The Brazilian will look to chop away at Turner’s legs and make him pay for being so reliant on the jab. Pick the Brazilian in this one.

Charles Johnson over Jose Ochoa +280

Charles Johnson will make his fourth outing of 2026 on Saturday at UFC 330, and after losing his last bout to Asu Almabayev, he’ll be keen to get that one back.

The switch-hitter has a difficult style to deal with for anyone, and with 28 fights to his name, he has a tonne of experience at the highest level. He’s been a stalwart of the UFC flyweight division since 2022, amassing 15 fights in that time. He enjoyed a run of four straight wins and since then has alternated wins and losses in his last six fights. 

Jose Ochoa has also alternated wins and losses in his UFC career, with two wins and two losses. He won his last outing against Clayton Carpenter at UFC 328 and will be enjoying a better run of form heading into UFC 330. 

The key heading into this one will be the superior experience of Johnson. He has 28 fights to his name, whereas Ochoa has just 11. This will be the difference-maker at UFC 330; pick Johnson.

Gillian Robertson over Mackenzie Dern +223

Gillian Robertson is on a tear, and the number four next to her name doesn’t do her justice. She’s on a five-fight winning run, three more than Dern and is a threat wherever the fight goes.

Whether this one stays standing or goes to the ground, ‘Savage’ knows how to do damage. On the feet, she boasts a tight defence, decent jab and follows it up with strikes that lead to takedowns. It’s on the ground where she does her best work, however. 

Robertson is more than willing to throw down heavy ground and pound whilst searching for submissions and is aware that the more shots she lands, the easier the submissions will be to come by. It’s slicing elbows where she does her most damage, which often forces opponents to try and scramble to their feet, leading to what she calls ‘neck cuddles’, more commonly known as chokes.

Although Dern is a phenom on the ground, if Robertson can get top position and smash the champion with elbows, Dern will be keen to get back to her feet, potentially exposing her neck and allowing Robertson to walk away with the title.