UFC on FOX 31 takes place Saturday, December 15 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the full odds for the card, and here they are.
UFC on FOX 31 Opening Odds
Kevin Lee -275
Al Iaquinta +195
Dan Hooker -135
Edson Barboza -105
Drakkar Klose -245
Bobby Green +175
Jared Gordon -155
Joaquim Silva +115
Sergio Pettis -175
Rob Font +135
Charles Oliveira -245
Jim Miller +175
Zak Cummings -185
Trevor Smith +145
Dwight Grant -305
Zak Ottow +225
Jack Hermansson -185
Gerald Meerschaert +145
Adam Milstead -215
Mike Rodriguez +165
Dan Ige -185
Jordan Griffin +145
Andrea Lee -215
Jessica-Rose Clark +165
Juan Adams -265
Chris de la Rocha +185
And here are my initial thoughts on the card:
– The main event is a rematch between Lee and Iaquinta, and the fight is likely to turn out much different than the first time they met. That was back in 2014, when Iaquinta beat Lee by decision in his UFC debut. Since then, both men have risen the ranks and are now among the top-10 lightweights in the sport. But you’d have to say that of the two fighters, Lee is the one who has shown more improvements, and he should have the wrestling advantage in this one. Iaquinta is a tremendous striker with knockout power, but Lee seems like a more complete mixed martial artist at this point and he deserves favorite status this time around.
– The co-main event between Hooker and Barboza should be a real banger. Hooker is coming off of four straight finishes since moving to lightweight, with a KO over Gilbert Burns in his last fight. Barboza has long been a top lightweight contender but is coming off of back-to-back lopsided losses to the aforementioned Lee and Nurmagomedov. At this point, you have to favor Hooker here just based on his momentum, although to be fair Barboza is the best fighter he’s faced since moving up in weight.
– If the line between Font and Pettis held near the opening line, there would have been massive value on Font as the dog. As it stands, the line has flipped and now Font is the favorite. It’s hard to disagree with that considering how much finishing ability he has and the fact he’s a natural bantamweight and Pettis is moving up from flyweight. You have to go with Font in this one.
– As far as bigger favorites on the prelims who should win, Klose, Cummings, Grant, and Adams should all be able to win their fights. Not surprisingly, the odds on all four of them have increased since the opener. All should win.
– As for dogs on the undercard, I would definitely take a look at Meerschaert to beat Hermansson at those odds. Meerschaert is one of the most underrated fighters in the UFC as he is 4-1 overall in the Octagon with four stoppage wins, and his lone loss coming against noted destroyer Thiago Santos. Hermansson is 4-2 in the UFC himself and is coming off of a TKO win over Thales Leites, but he really struggled in that fight before pulling off the late stoppage. At these odds Meerschaert has great value.
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