UFC Vegas 27: Font vs. Garbrandt takes place on Saturday, May 22 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 27 Odds
Rob Font -125
Cody Garbrandt +105
Yan Xiaonan -180
Carla Esparza +155
Justin Tafa -205
Jared Vanderaa +175
Jack Hermansson -115
Edmen Shahbazyan -105
Felicia Spencer -350
Norma Dumont +285
David Dvorak -150
Raulian Paiva +130
Claudio Silva -150
Court McGee +130
Ben Rothwell -245
Chris Barnett +185
Bill Algeo -120
Ricardo Ramos +100
Bruno Silva -300
Victor Rodriguez +250
Josh Culibao -225
Yilan Sha +190
Lupita Godinez -225
Sarah Alpar +190
Yancy Medeiros -125
Damir Hadzovic +105
Damir Ismagulov -500
Rafael Alves +375
Here are my quick thoughts on the UFC Vegas 27 Opening Odds:
- The main event of UFC Vegas 27 sees Rob Font (18-4) taking on Cody Garbrandt (12-3). Font is coming off of three straight wins including a vicious KO over Marlon Moraes in the last fight that saw him emerge as a serious title threat at 135lbs. As for Garbrandt, he is coming off of an incredible KO win over Raphael Assuncao that snapped a three-fight losing skid by knockout. Both Font and Garbrandt hit really hard and this should be a phenomenal fight for as long as it lasts. The oddsmakers opened up Font as a slight favorite here, likely due to his durability, but the opening line is also giving Garbrandt plenty of respect here as a short dog.
- The co-main event sees Yan Xiaonan (13-1, 1 NC) take on former UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza (18-6). Xiaonan has looked phenomenal in the UFC so far with six straight wins, and many believe a seventh straight win over Esparza could earn her a title shot at 115lbs. As for Esparza, she is 8-4 overall in the UFC and is currently riding a four-fight win streak, though her last three wins have come via split or majority decision. Esparza has the wrestling chops to grind out anyone in the UFC’s 115lbs division, but Xiaonan has shown excellent takedown defense thus far in her UFC career. The oddsmakers opened up Xiaonan as a small favorite in this fight and until we see her lose in the UFC, it’s hard to bet against her.
- Another big fight on the card features middleweights Jack Hermansson (21-6) and Edmen Shahbazyan (11-1). Hermansson is coming off of a unanimous decision loss to Marvin Vettori in his last fight but he has proven over the last few years that he is one of the top fighters in the UFC middleweight division. As for Shahbazyan, we haven’t seen him fight since last summer when he suffered a brutal third-round TKO loss to Derek Brunson. Shahbazyan is still only 23 years old and has tons of potential in the sport, but the loss to Brunson was very concerning. Still, he has the power to hurt Hermnasson on the feet, so even though Shahbazyan opened up as the underdog here, he is certainly live in this spot with his striking attack, though Hermansson will have the biggest advantage if this fight goes to the ground.
