This weekend will be a busy one for the UFC, as a pair of events on Friday and Saturday will span nearly the entire country. On Friday, a new champion will be crowned in the newly formed women’s flyweight division (as part of the TUF 26 Finale). However, the contestants for said title won’t be known until Wednesday evening, so our focus shifts to Saturday, which will see a brand new arena play host to a rehashing of a title bout from the summer. Max Holloway will defend his featherweight title against the man he took the belt from back in June of this year. This will mark the first time in UFC history in which Aldo is not the incumbent champion heading into a 145lb title bout.
Given how their first bout played out — with Aldo winning the first eight minutes rather handily before Holloway turned the tide — the current line of Holloway above -300 and Aldo hovering around +250 seems slightly inflated. That said, it’s hard to argue once the result of the first fight and the trajectories of their respective careers are taken into account. Each of the other four contests on the fantastic main card also has betting odds, and those bouts include potential title eliminators in the heavyweight (Francis Ngannou vs. Alistair Overeem), flyweight (Sergio Pettis vs. Henry Cejudo), lightweight (Justin Gathje vs. Eddie Alvarez), and strawweight (Tecia Torres vs. Michelle Waterson) divisions.
Today, MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting odds for the remaining eight bouts on UFC 218 at Several Bookmakers. The preliminary card was supposed to be headlined by a lightweight tilt between Paul Felder and Al Iaquinta, but a mishap during a real estate showing (one can only assume) forced Iaquinta out, to be replaced by a much different stylistic test in Charles Oliveira.
One division North, Alex Oliveira will be looking to extend his winning streak to five against Yancy Medeiros. On the topic of win streaks, this card is full of lengthy ones. Naturally, undefeated Justin Gaethje tops the list with a win streak of 18, but Holloway (11) and Ngannou (9) also sport lengthy streaks. Following those three well-established fighters, Drakkar Klose is next on the list with an eight fight streak, while his opponent David Teymur isn’t too far behind at six. The pair of lightweights hope one more victory will allow them to crack the top 15.
The remaining preliminary bouts feature a pair of strawweight matchups: Felice Herrig vs. Cortney Casey, and the one everyone has been clamoring for between Angela Magana and Amanda Bobby Cooper. In addition, Abdul Razak Al-Hassan attempts to bounce back from his first career defeat, light heavyweight prospect Dominick Reyes will try to avoid his, and AKA-based heavyweight Justin Willis welcomes Tuesday Night Contenders alumnus Allen Crowder to the Octagon in the opening bout.
Keep reading for the full list of opening odds for each of the 13 bouts on UFC 218.
——————————————————-
UFC 218: Holloway vs. Aldo 2
DECEMBER 2, 2017
Little Caesars Arena | Detroit, Michigan
Main Card – (PPV, 10PM ET)
Featherweight Title
Jose Aldo +190
Max Holloway -270
Over 2.5 -190
Under 2.5 +150
–
Alistair Overeem +170
Francis Ngannou -230
Over 1.5 +130
Under 1.5 -170
–
Sergio Pettis +265
Henry Cejudo -385
Over 2.5 -280
Under 2.5 +200
–
Eddie Alvarez +175
Justin Gaethje -245
Over 1.5 -170
Under 1.5 +130
–
Michelle Waterson +140
Tecia Torres -180
Over 2.5 -270
Under 2.5 +190
–
Preliminary Card – (FS1, 8PM ET)
Charles Oliveira +130
Paul Felder -170
Over 1.5 -140
Under 1.5 +100
–
Yancy Medeiros +165
Alex Oliveira -215
Over 1.5 -180
Under 1.5 +140
–
Drakkar Klose +130
David Teymur -170
Over 2.5 -180
Under 2.5 +140
–
Cortney Casey -105
Felice Herrig -135
Over 2.5 -245
Under 2.5 +175
–
Preliminary Card – (UFC Fight Pass, 6:15PM ET)
Sabah Homasi +185
Abdul Razak Alhassan -265
Over 1.5 -120
Under 1.5 -120
–
Jeremy Kimball +285
Dominick Reyes -405
Over 1.5 -105
Under 1.5 -135
–
Allen Crowder +160
Justin Willis -210
Over 1.5 -160
Under 1.5 +120
–
Angela Magana +250
Amanda Cooper -350
Over 2.5 -230
Under 2.5 +170
——————————————————-
Click below to bet on the fights!
