Khaos Williams vs. Nikolay Veretennikov prediction, odds, pick for UFC Vegas 117

The UFC Vegas 117 Primary Card is finally live as we bring you a betting prediction and pick for the opening bout within the Welterweight (170) Division. UFC veteran Khaos Williams of Detroit will tackle Kazakhstan’s Nikolay Veretennikov in a bout you will not need to miss. Check our UFC odds series for the Williams-Veretennikov prediction and pick.

Khaos Williams (15-5) has gone 6-4 since joining the UFC roster back in 2020. After back-to-back wins over Rolando Bedoya and Carlston Harris, he’s suffered consecutive losses to Gabriel Bonfim and Andreas Gustafsson and hopes to bounce back because the slight favorite here. Williams stands six feet tall with a 77-inch reach.

Nikolay Veretennikov (14-7) has gone 2-3 contained in the UFC since 2024, most recently beating Niko Price via TKO his last day out. He’s alternated wins and losses over his last 4 bouts, hoping for some consistency here as he looks so as to add one other win to his record. Veretennikov stands 6-foot-1 with a 74-inch reach.

UFC Vegas 117 Odds, courtesy of DraftKings. 

UFC Vegas 117 Odds: Khaos Williams-Nikolay Veretennikov Odds

Khaos Williams: -120

Nikolay Veretennikov: +100

Over 1.5 rounds: -238

Under 1.5 rounds: +180

Why Khaos Williams Will Win

• Last Fight: (L) Andreas Gustafsson – U DEC
• Last 5: 2-3
• Finishes: 7 KO/TKO, 2 SUB

Khaos Williams put together a robust striking performance during his last bout with 95 of his strikes landing, however it simply wasn’t enough for the mass volume of 151 landed strikes from his opponent Gustafsson. Still, Williams was capable of see the space and despite taking some serious damage, managed to maintain the fight competitive to the ultimate horn. Even when he’s down on the scorecards within the later rounds, fans can all the time expect Williams to offer full effort in attempting to finish a fight along with his striking.

This time around, he must have a much easier time getting a few of his offense off as he’s averaging 4.94 significant strikes landed per minute to Veretennikov’s 2.69 strikes landed per minute. While he’s landing on just 39% of those strikes, Williams still stays lively and pressures opponents along with his constant output. He’s also greater than able to shutting the lights off with one punch, so expect him to be rather more confident in his mixtures during this fights.

Still, Williams’ defense will seriously need some work as he’s fighting behind a 40% defense rate. His opponent’s rate is not significantly better at just 45%, but Williams has had enough experience to learn not to depart a fight within the judges’ hands. Expect him to start out fast through the opening round as he comes out sticking to a previously established game plan.

Why Nikolay Veretennikov Will Win

• Last Fight: (W) Niko Price – TKO (strikes, R1)
• Last 5: 2-3
• Finishes: 10 KO/TKO, 1 SUB

Nikolay Veretennikov has been up and down since entering the UFC and could have one other opportunity to notch back-to-back wins for the primary time during his tenure. He’s a devastating knockout artist with all facets of his striking and could have the advantage along with his variance of leg kicks throughout this one. Still, he’s facing an equally dangerous opponent in Williams, so defense could have to be paramount in scoring points and winning rounds on the feet.

Veretennikov also sports the upper takedown defense rate at 62%, but neither fighter uses much grappling to their advantage as we must always see the overwhelming majority of this fight happening on the feet. From there, Veretennikov has proven himself as an accurate and patient striker that only opens things up if there’s something about his opponent he can exploit. Expect a methodical start from him early, followed by a barrage of offense once he starts to see his punches land.

To win this fight, Veretennikov could have to be the more accurate striker and keep himself in perpetual motion to throw Williams off his own striking rhythm. His opponent throws a ton of offense while actually landing on only a fraction of it, so expect Veretennikov to seek out success if he’s capable of gauge the timing and effectively counter his opponent.

Final Khaos Williams-Nikolay Veretennikov Prediction & Pick

This fight is rightfully close on the betting lines and either side are available with similar striking styles, not more likely to see much of the grappling during this fight. Veretennikov is definitely the cleaner striker with more technique and accuracy, but Khaos Williams can throw a wrench into all of that along with his blitzing style and constant striking output.

Each fighters needs to be willing to exchange in the middle of the cage and we now have to offer a slight power advantage to Williams. Nonetheless, Veretennikov should prove to be more accurate and if he’s capable of effective counter when Williams’ whiffs, he might be scoring more points by actually landing on his shots.

For our final prediction, we’ll roll with the slight underdog in Veretennikov due to his striking technique. Nonetheless, this might go either way and might be a toss-up until one side is capable of effectively hurt the opposite.

Final Khaos Williams-Nikolay Veretennikov Prediction & Pick: Nikolay Veretennikov (+100); OVER 1.5 Rounds (-238)