Nicolle Caliari Opens as -275 Favorite Over Shauna Bannon

shauna bannon opens UFC Vegas 117 on Saturday in Las Vegas against Nicolle Caliari, and the betting line puts Caliari in front at -275. Bannon is a +220 underdog for the first bout at the Meta APEX, where the women’s strawweight matchup leads off the card.

Nicolle Caliari at -275

Caliari’s price stands out because she enters on a two-fight losing streak. She lost her first two UFC appearances to Ernesta Kareckaite and Carli Judice, yet the market still has her ahead of Bannon before the opening bell.

That line gives the fight its sharpest edge: one fighter arrives with momentum in the odds, not the record. Caliari earned her UFC contract in 2024 by submitting Corinne Laframboise in the first round on Dana White’s Contender Series, which is still the cleanest win on either résumé in this matchup.

Shauna Bannon’s UFC run

Bannon comes in with four UFC fights on her ledger and a 2-2 record. She beat Alice Ardelean and Puja Tomar, then dropped bouts to Bruna Brasil and Sam Hughes after signing with the UFC in 2023 as a former Cage Legacy champion.

Those results give the opener a tight read. Bannon has already shown she can win inside the octagon, but the split record also explains why oddsmakers have not pushed her into the favorite role against Caliari. The fight now asks whether her UFC experience outweighs the price attached to Caliari’s recent slide.

Meta APEX on Saturday

UFC Vegas 117 begins with this women’s strawweight matchup inside the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, so the first fight on the card also becomes one of the clearest betting reads on the slate. The prediction points to a decision win for Caliari over Bannon, a call built around the expectation that the favorite’s edge can survive the recent losses.

For readers tracking the opener, the practical takeaway is simple: Caliari is the name attached to the shorter number, Bannon the fighter with the UFC victories already on her record. Saturday’s first bout will decide whether the odds line or the recent results prove more reliable.