UFC on ESPN+ 38: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie takes place on Saturday, October 17 at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the event, and MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a look at the opening odds below.
UFC on ESPN+ 38 Odds
Chan Sung Jung -210
Brian Ortega +180
Ciryl Gane -350 *This fight has reportedly been scratched
Ante Delija +285
Jimmy Crute -180
Modestas Bukauskas +155
James Krause -115
Claudio Silva -105
Jessica Andrade -190
Katlyn Chookagian +165
Mateusz Gamrot -305
Guram Kutateladze +225
Thomas Almeida -190
Jonathan Martinez +165
Gillian Robertson -235
Poliana Botelho +200
Yong Jin Park -220
John Phillips +185
Maxim Grishin -200
Gadzhimurad Antigulov +170
Said Nurmagomedov -365
Mark Striegl +300
Fares Ziam -235
Jamie Mullarkey +200
Here are my initial thoughts on the UFC on ESPN+ 38 Opening Odds:
- The main event is a terrific featherweight bout between two of the best in the world in The Korean Zombie and Brian Ortega. UFC president Dana White has said the winner will get a title shot against champion Alex Volkanoski, so this is a big fight. TKZ is coming off of a TKO win over Frankie Edgar in his last fight and overall has looked great since returning to the sport a few years back. As for Ortega, this is his first fight in two years since losing a vicious TKO beating to Max Holloway. Before the Holloway fight, Ortega was looking like an elite fighter so it will be interesting to see how he rebounds from that drubbing. TKZ has been more active lately and has been fighting at a high level so he deserves his status of betting favorite here.
- The co-main event is an intriguing heavyweight bout between Gane and UFC newcomer Delija. Gane has been a pro for just over two years but has already amassed six wins including three in the UFC alone. As for Delija, he is riding a three-fight win streak into his UFC debut and he has experience fighting for PFL and RIZIN. I’m actually excited to see Delija in the UFC but this is a really tough debut matchup as I fully expect Gane to get a stoppage win.
- Another highly-intriguing bout sees Andrade make her UFC flyweight debut against one of the contenders in the division in Chookagian. Andrade is coming off of back-to-back losses to Weili Zhang and Rose Namajunas, but it wasn’t that long ago that she was a UFC champion. As for Chookagain, she is coming off of one of the best wins of her UFC career when she dominated Antonina Shevchenko for a decision. Andrade is a really good fighter but Chookagain possesses the height and reach advantage here, making her a live dog.
- Another fight I really like is the Almeida vs. Martinez bantamweight bout. Almeida was once one of the top prospects at 135lbs in the world but he hasn’t fought in over two years and hasn’t won a fight since 2016. As for Martinez, he is coming off of a brutal KO win over Frankie Saenz in his last outing. Let’s just say I was surprised to see Martinez open as the dog here.
