UFC Vegas 18: Overeem vs. Volkov takes place on Saturday, February 6 at 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.
UFC Vegas 18 Odds
Alistair Overeem -125
Alexander Volkov +105
Cory Sandhagen -300
Frankie Edgar +250
Cody Stamann -365
Askar Askar +275
Michael Johnson -350
Clay Guida +285
Diego Ferreira -125
Beneil Dariush +105
Molly McCann -400
Lara Procopio +300
Alexandre Pantoja -130
Manel Kape +110
Mike Rodriguez -240
Danilo Marques +205
Ode Osbourne -270
Jerome Rivera +230
Youssef Zalal -150
Seung Woo Choi +130
Karol Rosa -205
Joselyne Edwards +175
Devonte Smith -345
Justin Jaynes +260
Timur Valiev -410
Martin Day +315
Here are my initial thoughts on the UFC Vegas 18 Opening Odds:
- The main event is a quality heavyweight bout between top 10 fighters Alistair Overeem (47-18, 1 NC) and Alexander Volkov (32-8). Though Overeem is now 40, he has been fighting at an elite level the last couple of years. Overeem enters this fight on a two-fight winning streak over Walt Harris and Augusto Sakai, and overall he has won four of his last five fights. The Dutchman has said he plans on making one last run for the heavyweight title, and it all starts with a win over Volkov in this bout. Volkov is coming off of a knockout win over Harris and overall he has won two of his last three fights. At age 32, Volkov comes into this fight as the much younger fighter, but I believe when you match up the skills, Overeem is the superior mixed martial artist. The odds are close because of the heavyweight nature of the fight, but considering Overeem’s well-rounded game, he’s the clear favorite to win this fight in my eyes.
- The co-main event features two elite bantamweights going at it as Cory Sandhagen (13-2) and Frankie Edgar (24-8-1). Sandhagen is 6-1 overall in the UFC and he’s coming off of a nasty TKO win over Marlon Moraes in his last fight. Just 28 years old, Sandhagen has many years left in this sport and a win over Edgar would prove that he is deserving of a bantamweight title shot. As for Edgar, the former UFC lightweight champion picked up a split decision win over Pedro Munhoz in his 135lbs debut, though many analysts thought he lost the fight. Edgar is one of the most experienced fighters in the division and you can never count him out of a fight. But at age 39 and being the smaller man in this fight, you can see why Sandhagen is favored.
- Also on the card is an excellent lightweight rematch between Diego Ferreira (17-2) and Beneil Dariush (19-4-1). These two previously met back at UFC 179 in October 2014, with Dariush winning a decision. They now meet seven years later with both men now ranked in the top-15 of the UFC lightweight division. Ferreira is actually riding a six-fight win streak into this bout and in his last fight at UFC 246, he submitted Anthony Pettis in the first round. As for Dariush, he’s coming off of a five-fight win streak including a spinning back fist KO over Scott Holtzman in his last outing. This should be a very close fight and the Pick ’em odds are totally justified.
