UFC 325 Best Bets and Predictions

UFC 325 Best Bets and Predictions

Another huge event is set for this weekend to wrap up the month of January, that being UFC 325. 

UFC 325 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 31st at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. The event will feature 14 fights, starting at 5:00 PM ET with the early preliminaries, followed by the preliminaries at 7:00 PM ET and the main card at 9:00 PM ET. Further, UFC 325 will be available to stream on Paramount+.

Our article will break down our three best bets for UFC 325, which will include fights from the main card, preliminary card, and early preliminary card.

Predictions

Pick #1: Quillan Salkilld Win by KO/TKO over Jamie Mullarkey (-145)

Pick #2: Torrez Finney ML over Jacob Malkoun (+136)

Pick #3: Namsrai Batbayar ML over Aaron Tau (-125)

PICK #1: Quillan Salkilld Win by KO/TKO over Jamie Mullarkey (-145)

Our first pick for UFC 325 will target Quillan Salkilld to beat Jamie Mullarkey by KO/TKO to open up the main card. Salkilld enters this fight with an MMA record of 10-1 and 4-0 in the UFC, and his most recent fight resulted in a win against Nasrat Haqparast by KO/TKO back in October 2025. Salkilld has been both a striker and grappler so far in the UFC, averaging 5.49 significant strikes per minute and 7.77 takedowns every 15 minutes.

Salkilld is the overwhelming favorite in this fight, so we will be looking for him to win by KO/TKO. Through four UFC fights, Salkilld has won twice by KO/TKO, while Mullarkey has lost four times by this method in the UFC, which includes his last four losses in a row over the span of roughly three years. Given Mullarkey’s weak chin and Salkilld’s advantage in striking, taking Salkilld to win by KO/TKO is a great way to pivot off the pricey money-line. 

PICK #2: Torrez Finney ML over Jacob Malkoun (+136)

Our second UFC 325 pick will look for Torrey Finney to upset Jacob Malkoun on the preliminary card. Finney enters this fight with an MMA record of 11-0 and 4-0 in the UFC. His most recent win was against Robert Valentin by split decision back in April 2025. 

Finney has been an elite grappler in the UFC so far, averaging 9.31 takedowns every 15 minutes and 1.1 submission attempts during the same period. This is compared to him averaging 1.77 significant strikes per minute.

While Malkoun is the clear favorite in this fight, he has been inconsistent in the UFC recently, as shown by his mediocre 2-2 result over his last four UFC fights. He has been a better striker compared to Finney and is an elite grappler as well, but he has a poor takedown defense of 20% and does not attempt many submissions. That’s enough for me to back Finney at a nice plus-money price.

PICK #3: Namsrai Batbayar ML over Aaron Tau (-125)

Our third pick for UFC 325 will focus on backing Namsrai Batbayar to defeat Aaron Tau in the first fight on the card. Batbayar enters this fight with an MMA record of 9-1 and 2-0 in the UFC. 

Though his UFC career is just beginning, Batbayar has already shown promise, seeing that he can stand up and strike, as well as grapple. He averages 3.50 significant strikes per minute, 2.15 takedowns every 15 minutes, and 1.1 submission attempts every 15 minutes.

Note that this is only the third UFC fight for Batbayar and the fourth UFC fight for Tau. That being said, Batbayar has won both of his fights inside the distance and before the third round. Batbayar lacks in striking volume compared to Tau, but what he has shown when grappling more than makes up for it. His balanced approach is worth backing over Tau.