Dana White’s Contender Series 34 takes place on Wednesday, November 4 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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.
Opening Odds For Dana White’s Contender Series 34
Carlos Ulberg -130
Bruno Oliveira +100
Ignacio Bahamonde -350
Edson Gomez +275
Pauline Macias -150
Gloria de Paula +120 (Postponed after de Paula tested positive for COVID-19)
Vince Murdock -115
Luis Saldana -115
Jared Vanderaa -245
Harry Hunsucker +175
Here are my initial thoughts on the Opening Odds For Dana White’s Contender Series 34:
- Starting with the light heavyweight division, we have Ulberg (2-0) taking on Oliveira (8-1). The 29-year-old Ulberg is another talented fighter from City Kickboxing and a teammate of UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. He is a kickboxer by trade, but he does have two MMA fights, one in 2011 and one in 2018, both of which he won. As for Oliveira, the 36-year-old Brazilian has also been in the game since 2011 where he has primarily fought on the regional scene. His most notable victory is a TKO win over Jared Gooden in June 2019 in Titan FC. Oliveira has primarily fought at 185lbs and is moving to 205lbs to fight Ulberg. Despite Ulberg only having two MMA fights, I believe he can finish Oliveira with strikes.
- At welterweight, Bahamondes (10-3) takes on Gomez (6-1). Bahamondes is a 23-year-old Chile native who has racked up a lot of experience in a short amount of time while fighting for Florida-based promotions such as Titan FC and Island Fights. He is coming off of a split decision win in LFA in September. As for Gomez, the 29-year-old American is a King of the Cage veteran and enters Contender Series on a three-fight win streak, with all six wins coming by way of TKO. Bahamondes is a big favorite here and while I obviously see the talent there, I can’t help but feel like this line is too long. At these wide odds, Gomez could be worth a punt.
- At featherweight, Murdock (12-3) caps off an incredible comeback to MMA after dealing with a severe brain injury that nearly ended his career when he takes on Saldana (13-6). The 29-year-old American Murdock hasn’t lost in his last five fights, though he hasn’t stepped into the cage since December 2018. The Team Alpha Male product is a top prospect but who knows how he will look in his return after such a long layoff. As for Saldana, the 29-year-old American is riding a three-fight win streak including a submission win in LFA in his last fight, which came in February 2019. This is a fair fight because both fighters are coming off of long layoffs, but given Murdock’s serious health issues, I just don’t know how you can back him here.
- It should be noted that the de Paula vs. Macias fight has been postponed until November 17 after de Paula tested positive for COVID-19. Hopefully, she is able to make a full recovery and that fight can be rescheduled for two weeks from now. As for the Hunsucker vs. Vanderaa fight, no odds have been made public as of this time of writing.
