UFC on ESPN+ 25 takes place Saturday, February 15th at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC on ESPN+ 25 Opening Odds
Corey Anderson -145
Jan Blachowicz +105
Michel Pereira -165
Diego Sanchez +135
Devin Clark -230
Dequan Townsend +170
Montana De La Rosa -215
Mara Romero Borella +175
Brok Weaver -190
Kazula Vargas +150
Yancy Medeiros -170
Lando Vannata +140
Tim Means -190
Daniel Rodriguez +150
Nathaniel Wood -170
John Dodson +140
Jim Miller -125
Scott Holtzman -105
Ray Borg -145
Rogerio Bontorin +115
Casey Kenney -125
Merab Dvalishvili -105
Macy Chiasson -365
Shanna Young +300
Raulian Paiva -125
Mark De La Rosa -105
And here are my initial thoughts on the UFC on ESPN+ 25 Opening Odds:
- The main event could very well determine who the next No. 1 contender in the UFC light heavyweight division is. Anderson has been on a roll as of late with four straight wins including a huge knockout over Johnny Walker in his last fight. Blachowicz, meanwhile, has won six of his last seven fights with victories over Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold in his last two fights. This is a really close fight with both men having paths to victory. Anderson will look to wrestle, while Blachowicz will look to strike. Whoever implements their gameplan will win. Remember these two fought five years ago, with Anderson dominating Blachowicz with takedowns to win a unanimous decision.
- The co-main event should be a crazy fight between Sanchez and Pereira. Both men are fan favorites with wild fighting styles that could lead to a crazy fight here. Sanchez is much older, though, and that could be the difference as Pereira is still fairly young despite having so many fights. Sanchez has the wrestling and cardio advantage to make things interesting, but Pereira’s knockout power could be the X-factor in this fight.
- Looking down the card, there’s a really interesting bantamweight bout between Dodson and Wood. Dodson appears to be on a decline with three losses in his last four fights, but those losses came against Petr Yan, Jimmie Rivera, and Marlon Moraes. Wood, on the other hand, is riding an eight-fight win streak and is a perfect 3-0 so far in the UFC. Wood is almost 10 years younger and has been far more impressive lately. You have to fade Dodson in this one and go with the young Brit to get the win.
- There were a couple of fights that were booked on short notice due to injuries. Clark was supposed to fight Gadzhimurad Antigulov, but Townsend took it on short notice. It’s his second fight in three weeks, and will probably be an uphill climb against a fighter who has proven to be a solid gatekeeper in Clark. Means was supposed to fight Ramazan Emeev, but now he’s fighting UFC newcomer Daniel Rodriguez, who is coming off of a win on the Contender Series. Means is a great fighter, but for some reason, Rodriguez reminds me of Khaos Williams at UFC 247 in that he has nothing to lose. Shanna Young is also taking her fight against Macy Chaisson on short notice, but again, it’s an uphill climb.
