UFC Fight Night 154 takes place Saturday, June 22 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC Fight Night 154 Opening Odds
Renato Moicano -120
Chan Sung Jung -120
John Lineker -270
Rob Font +190
Bryan Barberena -185
Randy Brown +145
Andrea Lee -185
Montana De La Rosa +145
Kevin Holland -195
Alessio Di Chirico +155
Syuri Kondo -135
Ashley Yoder -105
Kevin Aguilar -175
Dan Ige +135
Luis Pena -265
Matt Wiman +185
Jair Rozenstruik -175
Allen Crowder +135
Ariane Lipski -245
Molly McCann +105
Deron Winn -320
Eric Spicely +240
Andre Ewell -305
Anderson Dos Santos +225
And here are my initial thoughts on the UFC Fight Night 154 Opening Odds:
- This card is flying a bit under the radar because of a lack of big names, but there are some fun matchups on the card, including the main event between featherweights Jung and Moicano. Jung hasn’t fought since November, when he was brutally knocked out at the last second by Yair Rodriguez in one of the all-time greatest fights in MMA history. Before that, Jung has returned to the Octagon after a long layoff to finish Dennis Bermudez, but overall he just hasn’t fought that much in the last couple years. Moicano was knocked out by Jose Aldo in his last fight but we’ve seen in his wins over Cub Swanson and Calvin Kattar that he can be elite when healthy. The oddsmakers opened this bout as a Pick ’em, but since then hefty betting action has come in on Moicano as bettors look to fade Jung coming off the Rodriguez KO.
- The co-main event is a bantamweight rematch between Lineker and Font, with Lineker filling in on short notice for the injured Cody Stamann. These two met back in 2016, with Lineker taking home a decision in Brazil. Despite the short notice, I believe there’s a good chance we see the same result here. Font is a solid fighter, but Lineker matches up well with him. With a previous win over his opponent on his resume, the oddsmakers opened Lineker as the clear favorite despite the short notice factor.
- In a women’s flyweight fight, I’m looking at De La Rosa as a potential upset pick to beat Lee. De La Rosa is currently riding a four-fight win streak and has gone a perfect 3-0 so far in the UFC with all three of those wins coming by submission. Lee is currently on a six-fight win streak and is 2-0 in the UFC with both of her wins coming by submission. Although Lee is very good herself, I have been very impressed with the improvements we’ve seen in De La Rosa’s game in her last couple of fights. At dog money I think you have to take a long, hard look at De La Rosa in this spot.
- There are plenty of fights on the undercard that feature heavy favorites against underdogs with paths to victory. One fight in particular I want to highlight is Dos Santos against Ewell. The oddsmakers opened Ewell as a big favorite but all the action has come in on Dos Santos who is now the favorite. This could be a good opportunity to get Ewell at plus money. Another fighter to highlight is a women’s bout between Yoder and Kondo. It’s another fight where the oddsmakers opened Kondo as the favorite only to see the line flipped with Yoder presently as the favorite. Despite having a poor record in the UFC, I think the bettors were right coming in on Yoder here.
- And one other fight to mention is Pena against Wiman. Can you believe this is Wiman’s first fight since 2014? I was surprised to see him return to the UFC, but despite the long layoff, don’t count him out here.
