UFC 249 takes place Saturday, April at a location TBD. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC 249 Opening Odds
Tony Ferguson -170
Justin Gaethje +145
Rose Namajunas -185
Jessica Andrade +145
Greg Hardy -200
Yorgan de Castro +160
Vicente Luque -175
Niki Price +150
Calvin Kattar -155
Jeremy Stephens +115
Francis Ngannou -303
Jairzinho Rozenstruik +225
Ronaldo Souza -175
Uriah Hall +135
Alexander Hernandez -300
Omar Morales +250
Marlon Vera -125
Ray Borg +105
Michael Johnson -275
Khama Worthy +235
Sijara Eubanks -155
Sarah Moras +135
Ryan Spann -275
Sam Alvey +235
And here are my initial thoughts on the UFC 249 Opening Odds:
- Despite all odds against him pulling it off, UFC president Dana White was able to pull it off and book 12 terrific fights for UFC 249. The promotion has still not released a location for the event but the fact that White was able to get it done is impressive. After all, the show must go on.
- In the main event, Ferguson meets Gaethje for the interim UFC lightweight belt in a fight between two of the most dangerous and violent fighters in all of mixed martial arts. Ferguson has been beyond impressive for the last decade in the UFC, going 15-1 overall including wins in his last 12 straight fights. As for Gaethje, he’s won three straight fights himself. The fact Gaethje took the bout on just two weeks’ notice is certainly not favorable, but on paper, he presents a very intriguing style matchup against Ferguson. Both men are not scared to stand in the pocket and trade, but perhaps the fight may hit the mat too. Ferguson opened as a small betting favorite for this fight which makes sense considering his long win streak.
- The co-main event sees Andrade and Namajunas rematch after Andrade knocked her out last year to take the belt at UFC 237. Andrade lost the title immediately after to Weili Zhang and Namajunas hasn’t fought since either, but I still find it odd to see Namajunas as a clear favorite here. She may win the rematch, but considering Andrade won the first fight in devastating fashion with a brutal slam, I feel like she isn’t getting as much respect here as she deserves.
- In heavyweight action we have Hardy return to the Octagon after losing to Alexander Volkov when he takes on de Castro, who knocked out Justin Tafa in his UFC debut. De Castro is an underrated fighter who hasn’t got the respect he deserves in his betting lines yet, while Hardy has gotten more respect than he deserves. It’s a heavyweight bout between two men with tons of knockout power, so don’t be surprised if we end up seeing an upset from de Castro here.
- The same goes for the other heavyweight bout on the card between Ngannou and Rozenstruik. Ngannou is an incredible fighter and has looked amazing in his last three wins, but Rozenstruik has won all four of his UFC bouts so far and it’s surprising to see him listed as such a big underdog here. At first glance, this absolutely seems like a dog-or-pass situation.
