UFC Fight Night 156 takes place Saturday, August 10 at Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC Fight Night 156 Opening Odds
Valentina Shevchenko -600
Liz Carmouche +400
Vicente Luque -195
Mike Perry +155
Humberto Bandenay -120
Luiz Garagorri -120
Volkan Oezdemir -165
Ilir Latifi +125
Rodolfo Vieira -300
Oskar Piechota +220
Enrique Barzola -270
Bobby Moffett +230
Ciryl Gane -380
Raphael Pessoa +260
Tecia Torres -155
Marina Rodriguez +115
Rogerio Bontorin -135
Raulian Paiva -105
Chris Gutierrez -190
Geraldo De Freitas +150
Aleksei Kunchenko -180
Gilbert Burns +140
Polyana Viana -170
Veronica Macedo +130
Alex da Silva -245
Rodrigo Vargas +175
And here are my initial thoughts on the UFC Fight Night 156 Opening Odds:
- The first thing to note about this card is that there are 13 fights scheduled. That’s a lot of fights, and also a lot of betting opportunities.
- Getting into the card, the main event looks like a mismatch between Shevchenko (17-3) and Carmouche (13-6) for the UFC women’s flyweight championship. It is worth noting these two met earlier this decade on the regional scene, with Carmouche defeating Shevchenko by doctor stoppage TKO. But that was 2010 and now it’s 2019. Now Shevchenko is by far the best women’s flyweight in the sport while Carmouche is essentially a gatekeeper. Carmouche is very tough and earned this title shot with a win streak in a weak division, but Shevchenko has been steamrolling her opposition and that likely continues here. Shevchenko opened at -600 and is now -1200 at the sportbooks, so there’s no value on the moneyline at these extreme odds. The better question is, does Shevchenko win a decision or get the finish? That’s the way to bet this fight.
- The co-main event should be a banger between two heavy-handed strikers in welterweights Luque (16-6-1) and Perry (13-4). Luque has quietly rattled off a five-fight win streak and has an awesome 9-2 record in the UFC with all of his wins coming by stoppage. Perry, meanwhile, has been inconsistent with a 2-3 record over his last five fights. Not only does Luque have excellent striking, but he’ll also have a big advantage if this fight goes to the mat. Go with Luque to get his hand raised in this one.
- The other big-name fight on the main card sees Oezdemir (15-4) take on Latifi (14-6, 1 NC). This fight has been rescheduled twice so far this year, once due to a Latifi injury and once due to visa issues for Oezdemir. We finally get to see these two light heavyweights go at it this weekend. Oezdemir is on a three-fight win streak but has been fighting elite competition since entering the UFC in 2017. Latifi, meanwhile, has been successful when he’s fought mid-tier 205lbers but has struggled against the top guys. Although Oezdemir is on a bad losing skid right now, matchup wise this looks like a stylistically favorable fight for him, and that’s why you see him open up as a slight favorite for this fight.
- On the prelims, I like the Kunchneko (20-0) vs. Burns (15-3) welterweight fight. Kunchenko hasn’t lost in 20 pro MMA fights and has beaten Thiago Alves and Yushin Okami so far in the UFC. As for Burns, he is moving up to 170lbs on short notice after winning four of his last five fights overall. I’m interested in seeing Burns at welterweight, but this looks like a tough matchup against a fighter with few flaws in the undefeated Kunchenko.
- For the most part, the rest of the main card and the preliminary card features a number of mostly-unknown fighters aside from a few recognizable names. Many of the fighters on the card have minimal UFC experience, and this could be a situation where quite a few underdogs win.
