UFC on ESPN 9 takes place Saturday, May 30 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC on ESPN 9 Odds
Tyron Woodley -145
Gilbert Burns +125
Blagoy Ivanov -140
Augusto Sakai +100
Daniel Rodriguez -265
Gabriel Green +225
Roosevelt Roberts -290
Brok Weaver +210
Mackenzie Dern -245
Hannah Cifers +175
Antonina Shevchenko -140
Katlyn Chookagian +100
Billy Quarantillo -170
Spike Carlyle +130
Jamahal Hill -175
Klidson Abreu +135
Tim Elliott -180
Brandon Royval +140
Casey Kenney -280
Louis Smolka +200
Chris Gutierrez -150
Vince Morales +110
Here are my initial thoughts on the UFC on ESPN 9 Opening Odds:
- The UFC is back in Las Vegas and the card is pretty solid considering the short-notice nature of the majority of the bouts. The most important fight is, of course, the headliner between welterweight contenders Woodley and Burns. Woodley is looking to get back into the win column after losing his belt to Kamaru Usman last March, while Burns has won five straight fights and is looking to get into the title talks. Burns has all the momentum going into this fight, but Woodley is the best opponent he’s faced yet. The oddsmakers are giving Woodley the respect of being the favorite here, but Burns as a dog could be intriguing.
- In the co-main event we have two mid-tier heavyweights in Ivanov and Sakai looking to take the next step in their careers. Ivanov is coming off of a close decision loss to Derrick Lewis and overall is 2-2 in the UFC. Sakai, meanwhile, has won five straight fights and is coming off of a huge KO win over Marcin Tybura to improve to 3-0 in the Octagon. Ivanov is a former champ in Bellator and a pretty underrated heavyweight in general, but considering Sakai is four years younger and has a longer win streak, I’m surprised he didn’t open as a small fav.
- Heading down to the prelims we have Dern taking on Cifers. No surprise here with Dern coming in as a big favorite. Although Dern is coming off of a decision loss to Amanda Ribas, she’s still a top prospect at 115lbs and should be able to bounce back here. Cifers is 2-2 in the UFC but in her two losses she was taken down to the mat and beaten up. Dern should be able to get the fight to the mat and once she gets it there she can finish Cifers via stoppage.
- The other women’s fight on the prelims is a battle of contenders at 125lbs between Shevchenko and Chookagian. Shevchenko is 2-1 in the UFC but showed major flaws in her game in the Roxanne Modafferi fight. She’s definitely a talented fighter, but she’s certainly not as good as her sister Valentina. Now she takes on the last person her sister defeated in Chookagian, who is 6-3 overall in the UFC. Chookagian is certainly not the most exciting fighter on the UFC roster, but she’s effective with her point fighting game. As an underdog, there could be an opportunity here to take a shot on the higher-ranked Chookagian.
