UFC Saudi Arabia: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov takes place on Saturday, June 22 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the event, and MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin looks at the opening odds below.
UFC Saudi Arabia Odds
Robert Whittaker -180
Ikram Aliskerov +155
Sergey Pavlovich -210
Alexander Volkov +180
Kelvin Gastelum -150
Daniel Rodriguez +130
Muhammad Naimov -250
Felipe Lima +210
Johnny Walker -180
Volkan Oezdemir +155
Sharabutdin Magomedov -350
Antonio Trocoli +285
Nasrat Haqparast -240
Jared Gordon +205
Said Nurmagomedov
Montel Jackson
Rinat Fakhretdinov -400
Nicolas Dalby +330
Montel Jackson -140
Farid Basharat +120
Muin Gafurov -160
Kyung Ho Kang +140
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov -450
Brendson Ribeiro +350
Sedriques Dumas -250
Denis Tiuliulin +210
Chang Ho Lee -175
Long Xiao +150
Here are my quick thoughts on the UFC Saudi Arabia Opening Odds:
- The main event of UFC Saudi Arabia features Robert Whittaker against Ikram Aliskerov in a five-round middleweight bout. Whittaker was supposed to fight Khamzat Chimaev first, but after Chimaev pulled out, Aliskerov filled in on short notice. Although Aliskerov is a very good prospect, this is a huge step up in competition and Whittaker deserves his favorite status here. Whittaker is the more well-rounded fighter and he is the better overall fighter and he should be able to win this fight. The odds seem to be correct with Whittaker opening as a moderate fav.
- The co-main event of UFC Saudi Arabia sees Sergei Pavlovich against Alexander Volkov in a battle of heavyweights. Pavlovich is a heavy hitter but is coming off a brutal knockout loss over Tom Aspinall in his last fight. As for Volkov, he has won his last three fights in a row and has been looking great. Pavlovich has a puncher’s chance here, but don’t count out Volkov from winning as he is arguably the more well-rounded fighter and a good underdog pick here. Based on the odds, Volkov seems like the better bet.
