LFA 173: Fernando vs. Bekoev takes place on Friday, December 15 at Pearl Theater 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.
LFA 173 Odds
Azamat Bekoev -325
Lucas Fernando +250
Giovanna Canuto -210
Natasha Kuziutina +170
Alfonso Leyva -155
Sarek Shields +125
Braden Pagaoa -300
Jordan Harris +240
Trent Miller -275
Oseyiomon Oiyemhonlan +215
Eduardo Penha -700
Ronny Hauser +500
Ilay Barzilay -310
Tyler Jones +250
Shane Shapiro -500
Pat Jones +375
Taha Bendaoud -300
Shadland Walters +240
Here are my initial thoughts on the Opening Odds for LFA 173:
- The LFA middleweight title is on the line when Azamat Bekoev takes on Lucas Fernando. Bekoev defeated Dylan Budka in his last bout by split decision to win the interim belt, and overall he has won his last four fights in a row. As for Fernando, he lost in an upset to current UFC fighter Cesar Almeida in his last bout, which snapped a four-fight win streak before that. He is still the LFA middleweight champion and this is a title unification bout. Given that Fernando had a poor showing in his last fight and Bekoev has been on a roll as of late, you have to favor Bekoev to win this bout, and that’s why he opened up as the favorite here.
- The LFA interim women’s strawweight title sees Giovanna Canuto take on Natasha Kuziutina. Canuto is a perfect 4-0 as a pro and she is a BJJ expert who has won three fights by submission. As for Kuziutina, she has won her last three fights in Titan FC. That being said, Canuto is by far the younger fighter, so it should come as a surprise to no one that the oddsmakers are favoring her in this matchup. It seems more like Canuto will be the one who claims the interim women’s strawweight bout, as the odds indicate.
