UFC on ESPN+ 22 takes place Saturday, November 16 at Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC on ESPN+ 22 Opening Odds
Jan Blachowicz -185
Ronaldo Souza +145
Mauricio Rua -215
Paul Craig +165
Charles Oliveira -335
Jared Gordon +245
James Krause -190
Sergio Moraes +150
Francisco Trinaldo -165
Bobby Green +125
Douglas Silva de Andrade -170
Renan Barao +130
Ricardo Ramos -215
Eduardo Garagorri +165
Warlley Alves -180
Randy Brown +140
Andre Muniz -120
Antonio Arroyo -120
Veronica Macedo -130
Ariane Lipski -110
Markus Perez -260
Wellington Turman +180
Tracy Cortez -185
Vanessa Melo +145
And here are my initial thoughts on the UFC on ESPN+ 22 Opening Odds:
- The main event between Blachowicz and Souza could very well determine the next title contender at 205lbs if the winner has an impressive performance. Blachowicz is coming off of a huge KO win over Luke Rockhold and has won five of his last six fights overall while looking much improved in his recent outings. Souza, meanwhile, is moving up to light heavyweight after a lopsided loss to Jack Hermansson in his last fight. Although Blachowicz has looked great as of late, don’t write Souza off just yet. He’s still an exceptionally well-rounded fighter with a wicked ground game. Just because the move to 205lbs didn’t work out for fighters like Rockhold and Chris Weidman doesn’t mean it won’t for Souza too.
- The co-main event is a clash of styles as the striker Shogun takes on the grappler Craig. Shogun has actually looked really good the last few years as he’s won four of his last five fights and looks rejuvenated. Craig, meanwhile, has been very hit-or-miss in the UFC as he either submits his opponents or gets finished. If Craig can get the fight to the ground he certainly has a chance, but if it stays on the feet it should be an easy win for Shogun.
- I’m confused about why the UFC matched up Oliveira against Gordon. Oliveira has won five straight fights by stoppage while Gordon is just 1-2 in his last three fights. The UFC matchmakers must see something in the style matchup that no one else is seeing because to me this looks like a huge mismatch in Oliveira’s favor. I expect Oliveira to win the fight by tapout.
- One fight that could determine the fate of one fighter’s UFC future is a featherweight fight between de Andrade and Barao. De Andrade has lost two of his last three fights, but he’s been fighting elite opposition at 135lbs. Barao was a long-time bantamweight champion in the UFC and at one point in time a pound-for-pound great, but he’s simply not the fighter he once was. He’s lost six of his last seven fights and has been losing to inferior competition by stoppage as of late. Although de Andrade is going to be a smaller featherweight, I still think he wins this fight.
- Overall this looks like an exciting Brazilian Fight Night event with a number of Brazil vs. foreigner-type of matchups that should be fun to bet on.
