UFC on ESPN 3 takes place Saturday, June 29 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC on ESPN 3 Opening Odds
Francis Ngannou -230
Junior Dos Santos +170
Demian Maia -195
Anthony Rocco Martin +155
Joseph Benavidez -165
Jussier Formiga +125
Roosevelt Roberts -215
Vinc Pichel +165
Drew Dober -350
Marco Polo Reyes +250
Alonzo Menifield -265
Paul Craig +185
Ricardo Ramos -305
Journey Newson +225
Eryk Anders -245
Vinicius Moreira +175
Jordan Griffin -265
Vince Murdock +185
Jared Gordon -275
Dan Moret +195
Dalcha Lungiambula -230
Dequan Townsend +170
Emily Whitmire -305
Amanda Ribas +225
Maurice Greene -155
Junior Albini +115
And here are my initial thoughts on the UFC on ESPN 3 Opening Odds:
- The main event between Ngannou and JDS should be a banger between two of the most vicious knockout artists in UFC heavyweight history. Ngannou is coming off of back-to-back TKO wins over Cain Velasquez and Curtis Blaydes to bounce back after ugly losses to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis. JDS, meanwhile, is coming off of three straight wins over Blagoy Ivanov, Tai Tuivasa and the aforementioned Lewis. Both guys have the KO power to finish each other, it’s just a question of who lands first. Considering he’s the younger fighter and the better athlete, Ngannou enters this bout as the favorite. But considering all the main event upsets in the UFC this year, you can’t count JDS out from getting the upset.
- In a rare flyweight fight, Benavidez takes on Formiga in a rematch. These two previously met back in 2013, with Benavidez finishing Formiga via TKO. The winner of this rematch could very well fight UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo with the title on the line, so this is a big fight. Benavidez has won eight of his last nine fights and is coming off of back-to-back wins over Alex Perez and Dustin Ortiz. Formiga, meanwhile, is riding a four-fight win streak and dominated Deiveson Figueiredo in his last bout. This should be a really good fight and there’s a lot on the line here, but Benavidez should have the upper hand in this one.
- Welterweights Martin and Maia meet in what should be a fun matchup between two high-level grapplers. Maia is coming off of a submission win over Lyman Good which snapped a three-fight losing skid, while Martin has won four straight fights and is looking to break into the top-10 at 170lbs. Martin has looked great lately and is the younger fighter in this matchup, but Maia has proven time and time again he’s one of the best in the world. This could be Martin’s coming-out party, but Maia deserves to be favored based on his body of work in the UFC.
- Some of the big favorites on this card who should win include Roberts over Pichel, Menifield over Craig, and Anders over Moreira. For dogs, one that stands out immediately is Reyes over Dober. No doubt Dober is a solid fighter, but this line seems to be far too tilted in his favor. For the most part, though, it looks like the oddsmakers did a good job getting the betting favorites right on this card.
