UFC on ESPN 12: Poirier vs. Hooker takes place Saturday, June 27 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 12: Poirier vs. Hooker Odds
Dustin Poirier -165
Dan Hooker +135
Mike Perry -150
Mickey Gall +120
Brendan Allen -250
Kyle Daukaus +210
Maurice Green -215
Gian Villante +185
Luis Pena -240
Khama Worthy +205
Philipe Lins -115
Tanner Boser -115
Miranda Maverick -205
Mara Romero Borella +175
Sean Woodson -235
Kyle Nelson +200
Takashi Sato -185
Ramiz Brahimaj +145
Youssef Zalal -125
Jordan Griffin +105
Kay Hansen -175
Jinh Yu Frey +150
Here are my initial thoughts on the UFC on ESPN 12 Opening Odds:
- The main event is a fantastic lightweight bout between two of the best in the world in Poirier and Hooker. Poirier is coming off of a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in his last fight, but prior to that, he had won four straight against elite competition, and he’s 9-2,1 NC overall at 155lbs. As for Hooker, he’s coming off of three straight wins including a decision over Paul Felder in one of the year’s best fights his last time out. Since moving up to lightweight Hooker is 7-1 overall with a notable KO win over current welterweight contender Gilbert Burns. Both Poirier and Hooker are known to like to stand and strike and this should be a fun fight for the fans to watch. Given Poirier’s experience and wins over elite competition, you have to favor him here, but Hooker can’t be counted out with his knockout power and durability.
- The co-main event should be a fun fight between a striker in Perry and a grappler in Gall. Perry is a .500 fighter in the UFC with a 6-6 record, but fans love to watch him fight because he always leaves it in the cage win or loss. As for Gall, he actually has a really nice UFC record at 5-2, but Perry has fought the tougher competition. If Gall can get the fight to the mat he might win, but Perry is the clear favorite to take home the bout given his KO power.
- Also on the main card we have a pair of prospects going at it as Allen takes on Daukaus, who took the fight on short notice for an injured Ian Heinisch. Allen has looked great so far in the UFC with stoppage wins over Tom Breese and Kevin Holland, while Daukaus is a Contender Series vet with a perfect 9-0 record with eight submissions to start his career. This should be a fun fight, but given Allen’s UFC experience you have to lean towards him to get the win here.
- On the prelims, a pair of Invicta vets square off as 20-year-old Hansen takes on 35-year-old Frey. This is a really interesting fight as we rarely see young fighters succeed in the Octagon, while Frey is one of the oldest fighters at 115lbs. Hansen is a highly-touted prospect while Frey is more experienced, but the oddsmakers opened the youngster Hansen as the underdog. I view this fight as a coin flip and feel like the Invicta champ Frey deserves more respect here.
