UFC on ABC 1: Holloway vs. Kattar takes place on Saturday, January 16 at Etihad Arena 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 ABC 1 Odds
Max Holloway -135
Calvin Kattar +115
Carlos Condit -110
Matt Brown -110
Santiago Ponzinibbio -275
Li Jingliang +235
Joaquin Buckley -275
Alessio Di Chirico +235
Dusko Todorovic -150
Punahele Soriano +130
Phil Hawes -181
Nassourdine Imavov +159
Wu Yanan -240
Joselyne Edwards +205
Tom Breese -140
Omari Akhmedov +120
Carlos Felipe -115
Justin Tafa -105
Ramazan Emeev -210
David Zawada +180
Sarah Moras -190
Vanessa Melo +165
Austin Lingo -265
Jacob Kilburn +225
Here are my initial thoughts on the UFC on ABC 1 Opening Odds:
- The main event is a five-round featherweight bout between two of the best in the world, Max Holloway (21-6) and Calvin Kattar (22-4). This is a hugely-important fight at 145lbs, with the winner potentially earning a title shot later this year. Holloway, in fact, should be the champion right now in the eyes of many after losing a controversial split decision to champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 251. Holloway has actually lost his last two fights to Volkanovski, but yet he opened as the betting favorite here over Kattar, who has won back-to-back fights over Dan Ige and Jeremy Stephens. That shows how much respect the oddsmakers and bettors have for Holloway, as the line has actually climbed up a bit. I’m very high on both Holloway and Kattar, and I think this is going to be a really close fight that goes the distance. I slightly lean towards Holloway too, but Kattar is a fantastic fighter in his own right and can’t be counted out.
- The co-main event features welterweight veterans Carlos Condit (31-13) and Matt Brown (22-7). These two were booked twice in the past but the fight never came to fruition. The hope is that we finally get to see these throw down and put on a vintage performance on Saturday. The 36-year-old Condit is coming off of a decision win over Court McGee on Fight Island last fall that saw him snap a five-fight losing skid. In fact, that was his first win since 2015. As for Brown, the 40-year-old American just saw a two-fight win streak snapped with a knockout loss to Miguel Baeza. The oddsmakers opened this bout as a Pick ’em and I think that’s right since this looks like a mirror match to me. It’s a very close fight on paper that could go either way.
- I’m also excited to see Santiago Ponzinibbio (27-3) return to the Octagon for the first time since November 2018 when he takes on Li Jingliang (17-6). For Ponzinibbio, the last two years have been very frustrating as health issues have kept him out of the Octagon and led to him falling out of the rankings. However, he was riding a seven-fight win streak before his layoff, including a brutal KO over Neil Magny the last time we saw him compete. As for Jingliang, he is coming off of a decision loss to Magny that snapped a three-fight losing skid. You can’t ignore Jingliang’s knockout power, but Ponzinibbio has all the tools to defeat him.
