Charles Jourdain enters Saturday’s UFC 331 bantamweight bout as a clear betting favorite over Marlon “Chito” Vera, but Vera’s finishing history and late-round danger give the underdog a path to flip the fight. The better pre-fight angle is Jourdain to win by decision, while bettors seeking a Vera ticket may find more protection in the round spread than the outright upset.
UFC 331 takes place September 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, with the three-round Vera-Jourdain matchup scheduled for the preliminary card. The pairing was first booked for July before being shifted to this event.
Jourdain has been priced from -216 to -250 across the market this week, while Vera has ranged from +182 to +200. That places Jourdain around a two-to-one favorite. One current market projection puts Jourdain at 65 percent and Vera at 35 percent. For readers who use decimal odds, Jourdain has appeared as high as 1.46, with Vera available near 2.85. Prices can change after Friday’s weigh-ins, so a number that looks good Wednesday may not be there on fight night.
The simple read is clear: bookmakers are pricing Jourdain’s recent form, activity, and an independent look at likely output over Vera’s experience. Jourdain was recently ranked at spot twelve but has an opportunity to break into the UFC’s top 10 list rankings with a victory.
Charles Jourdain vs. Marlon Vera Odds, Prediction and Best Bet for UFC 331
Vera is 23-12-1 and has lost four straight, most recently by unanimous decision to David Martinez in February. Jourdain is 18-8-1 and has won three in a row, including a unanimous-decision win over Kyler Phillips in April.
Jourdain has built momentum since moving to bantamweight. He submitted Victor Henry and Davey Grant with guillotine chokes, then went 15 minutes with Phillips and won a decision in a Fight of the Night performance. His 2026 win over Phillips showed he can keep working through a full three-round fight rather than relying on an early finish.
Vera’s moneyline is a bet on experience, durability and moments. He has 18 career finishes: eight by knockout and 10 by submission. He is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, has a slight reach edge at 70.5 inches to Jourdain’s 69 inches, and has spent far more time in high-level UFC fights.
A Jourdain moneyline wager is the safer straight play, but the price is already steep. A decision prop is more logical if it offers a meaningful return above the moneyline, because Vera’s durability has held up through a long UFC career and all 12 of his professional losses have come by decision.
For Vera backers, the more conservative option is Vera +3.5 rounds on the scorecards if available. That bet can cash even in a competitive Vera loss, and one betting analysis identified it as the preferred Vera-side angle at -155.