Dana White’s Contender Series 40 takes place on Tuesday, September 21 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 40
Hashem Arkhagha -160
AJ Dobson +140
Nikolay Veretennikov -170
Michael Morales +145
Steven Nguyen -160
Theo Rlayang +140
Kleydson Rodrigues -185
Santo Curatolo +160
Victor Martinez -200
Jacob Rosales +170
Here are my initial thoughts on the Opening Odds For Dana White’s Contender Series 40:
- The main event is a middleweight bout between Hashem Arkhagha and AJ Dobson. The 31-year-old Arkhagha is 6-0 so far in his MMA career which, incredibly, began all the way back in 2010. After winning the first four fights of his career between 2010 and 2012, he took a break from the sport and did not return until 2019. Since then, he has won two straight fights by stoppage in Brave CF and UAE Warriors. As for the 29-year-old Dobson, he’s a perfect 5-0 in his pro career, which began back in 2016, with his most notable victory coming over DWCS vet Kailan Hill in his last outing. Arkhagha is an interesting fighter just because he missed so much time in the middle of his career, but I’m not convinced he should have opened as a clear favorite here against Dobson. This feels like a Pick ’em fight and I think it’s dog-or-pass.
- The co-main event is a welterweight bout between Nikolay Veretennikov and Michael Morales. The 31-year-old Veretennikov is 9-3 in his MMA career, which began back in 2012. He has been competing for LFA and for Fury FC the last few years, with his most recent win being a TKO victory over UFC veteran Anthony Ivy to win the Fury FC welterweight title. As for Morales, he is just 21 and is unbeaten with an 11-0 pro record. Although Morales looks like a good prospect himself, I have to lean towards Veretennikov to get the win in this fight, pointing to his higher level of competition and his experience in Fury FC and in LFA as to why.
