UFC Tampa: Covington vs. Buckley takes place on Saturday, December 14 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. 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 Tampa Odds
Joaquin Buckley -142
Colby Covington +120
Billy Quarantillo -155
Cub Swanson +135
Manel Kape -275
Bruno Silva +225
Vitor Petrino -275
Dustin Jacoby +235
Adrian Yanez -170
Daniel Marcos +145
Navajo Stirling -500
Tuco Tokkos +385
Michael Johnson -200
Ottman Azaitar +170
Joel Alvarez -250
Drakkar Klose +210
Sean Woodson -260
Fernando Padilla +220
Felipe Lima -160
Miles Johns +140
Miranda Maverick -450
Jamey-Lyn Horth +350
Ramon Taveras -125
Davey Grant +105
Piera Rodriguez -135
Josefine Knutsson +115
Here are my quick thoughts on the UFC Tampa Opening Odds:
- The main event of UFC Tampa is a five-round welterweight bout between Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley. Covington hasn’t fought in a year since he lost to Leon Edwards, and overall he is 2-3 in his last five fights dating back to 2019, showing a lack of activity inside the Octagon. As for Buckley, he has won his last five fights in a row, finishing three of his five opponents since dropping to welterweight. Buckley has looked tremendous at 170 lbs, and it’s hard to go against a fighter who has been so successful in the weight class, especially when Buckley is the younger fighter and Covington has rarely been inside the cage since 2019. That’s why Buckley is favored, even though he hasn’t gone the full five rounds in the UFC.
- In the co-main event, we have a rematch between Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas. These two met back in 2019, with Ribas earning an upset win. Since then, both fighters have done well in their careers, but Dern has shown overall improvements in her complete MMA game. You have to lean a bit toward Dern in this rematch, although Ribas has proven she has the tools to beat Dern, so you shouldn’t completely count the Brazilian out of winning this fight.
