Dana White’s Contender Series takes place Tuesday, August 27 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
Dana White’s Contender Series 26 Opening Odds
Dusko Todorovic -325
Teddy Ash +250
Kailan Hill -325
Impa Kasanganay +215
Peter Barrett -175
Sang Hoon Yoo +135
Ben Sosoli -120
Dustin Joynson -120
TJ Brown -155
Dylan Lockard +115
And here are my initial thoughts on the Dana White’s Contender Series 26 Opening Odds:
- The main event is a battle of middleweight prospects as Todorovic (8-0) takes on Ash (14-4). The 25-year-old Todorovic is unbeaten since beginning his pro MMA debut in 2015 with all his wins by stoppage. In his last fight he knocked out Michel Pereira, who is currently having a lot of success in the UFC. The 29-year-old Ash is the top light heavyweight prospect in Canada and is moving back down to 185lbs for this fight. Some of his wins include knockouts over former UFC fighters Seth Baczynski and Dominique Steele. I like Ash quite a bit but considering Todorovic is unbeaten, younger, and coming off of a knockout over a very good fighter in Pereira, I have to favor him to win this fight.
- Next up are the middleweights as Hill (5-0) takes on Kasanganay (5-0). The 24-year-old Hill has fought his last four fights in LFA, winning all of them in impressive fashion. The 25-year-old Kasanganay began fighting as a pro earlier this year and has already racked up five wins while fighting in LFA, King of the Cage and Island Fights. These are two really good prospects but I have to favor Kasanganay as an underdog. This kid is a quick learner in the sport and I like him at these big dog odds.
- It’s a lightweight bout between Yoo (5-0) and Barrett (10-3). The 29-year-old Woo is one of South Korea’s top prospects but he has not fought in over a year. The 33-year-old Barrett has been fighting in CES and Cage Titans since 2013 but is one of the older prospects on the show at age 33. He’s 2-3 in his last five fights and I’m surprised Barrett is the favorite here. Based on the age advantage and the unbeaten record, I’ll take the dog in Yoo.
- Next is a heavyweight bout between Sosoli (7-2) and Joynson (5-0). The 29-year-old Sosoli is the top heavyweight prospect from Australia and is riding a four-fight win streak. As for Joynson, he’s been fighting as a pro since 2014 but only has five fights during that time. It’s a heavyweight fight so it can go either way, but I’ll side slightly with Joynson.
- And finally the featherweights go at is as Lockard (6-1) takes on Brown (13-6). The 27-year-old Lockard is on a three-fight win streak while fighting in CES and NEF on the east coast. The 29-year-old Brown is also on a three-fight win streak, including a knockout in LFA his last time out. This is another fight that can realistically go either way, but I’ll take Brown just because of his edge as far as having more experience goes.
