UFC Vegas 26: Rodriguez vs. Waterson takes place on Saturday, May 8 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.
UFC Vegas 26: Odds
Marina Rodriguez -155
Michelle Waterson +135
Donald Cerrone -150
Alex Morono +130
Phillipe Lins -115
Ben Rothwell -105
Amanda Ribas -175
Angela Hill +150
Geoff Neal -250
Neil Magny +210
Gregor Gillespie -190
Diego Ferreira +165
Kyle Daukaus -200
Phil Hawes +170
Marcos Rogerio de Lima -180
Maurice Greene +155
Ryan Benoit -225
Zarrukh Adashev +190
Tafon Nchukwi -185
Jun Yong Park +160
Christian Aguilera -140
Carlston Harris +120
Ludovit Klein -150
Mike Trizano +130
Here are my quick thoughts on the UFC Vegas 26 Opening Odds:
- It’s worth noting right off the bat that this card lost two high-profile fights in the last week, as the main event between bantamweights Cory Sandhagen and TJ Dillashaw was scratched after Dillashaw suffered a cut in training, and the co-main event between Donald Cerrone and Diego Sanchez was scratched after Sanchez was released by the UFC.
- The new main event for this card features Marina Rodriguez (13-1-2) and Michelle Waterson (18-8) stepping up on short notice in a women’s flyweight bout. They usually compete at 115lbs but due to the short-notice nature of this matchup, it’s a flyweight bout now and for five rounds or less. Starting with Rodriguez, she is 3-1-2 overall in the UFC and she is coming off of the biggest win of her career, a second-round knockout over Amanda Ribas. Although Rodriguez is 34 years old, she is very much in the prime of her career right now. As for Waterson, she is 35 years old now which may surprise some. The last time we saw Waterson compete was last fall when she defeated Angela Hill by decision. Still, she has been very inconsistent in the UFC, and with Rodriguez being the bigger woman, she is the favorite here.
- Another great fight on this card features Neil Magny (24-8) taking on Geoff Neal (13-3). Magny is coming off of a decision loss to Michael Chiesa which snapped a three-fight win streak for the veteran. As for Neal, he is coming off of his first UFC defeat at the hands of Stephen Thompson which snapped a five-fight win streak for him in the UFC. Despite that loss, Neal opened up as a big favorite for this matchup with Magny. At first glance, it looks like a dog-or-pass situation just based on the fact Magny has won so many times as an underdog before.
- Another good fight on this card features Diego Ferreira (17-3) against Gregor Gillespie (13-1). Ferreira recently saw his long win streak snapped when he dropped a split decision to Beneil Dariush, but he is still one of the best in the world at 155lbs. As for Gillespie, he is returning from a long layoff after having not fought since a November 2019 knockout loss to Kevin Lee. This should be an excellent matchup between two grapplers but not surprisingly Gillespie opened up as the favorite as he is open the betting favorite due to his elite wrestling skills.
