PFL 1 takes place today (Thursday, June 7) at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The opening odds were recently released by the offshore sportsbooks and here they are.
PFL 1 Opening Odds
Andre Harrison -600
Jumabieke Tuerxun +400
Bekbulat Magomedov -125
Lance Palmer -115
Alexandre Almeida -900
Lee Coville +500
Magomed Idrisov -530
Steven Siler +350
Nazareno Malagerie -145
Marcos Galvao +105
Timur Valiev -420
Max Coga +300
Jared Rosholt -475
Valdrin Istrefi +325
Francimar Barroso -280
Daniel Gallmore +200
Josh Copeland -400
Jack May +280
Jake Heun -475
Alex Nicholson +325
Kevin Tiller -230
Caio Alencar +170
Here are my thoughts on PFL 1’s opening odds.
– First off I’d like to say that this is a quality fight card and I’m very interested in seeing how things go for PFL. As for this card, the main event is probably the fight that is generating the most interest as Andre Harrison (17-0) looks to get back to his winning ways and reaffirm his spot as the best featherweight in the promotion. Harrison is a very talented wrestler and is a guy who I think could be competitive with the top guys in the UFC, so PFL is lucky to have him. He takes on UFC vet Teurxun (20-6, 1 NC) in this fight and as the line indicates it’s a gimme fight for Harrison. Teurxun is coming off of a loss to a complete unknown and if you remember him from his UFC days he was never anything special. Harrison should dominate this fight, and a rare finish for him could be in order.
– This Magomedov vs. Palmer fight should be really good. Magomedov (19-1) has won three-straight fights since his lone career loss to Josh Hill in WSOF. He’s a solid fighter with quite a bit of experience. Palmer (12-3) is coming off of a decision win over Steven Siler but he lost to Andre Harrison in his fight before that and he never really lived up to expectations in WSOF. Having said that, I think Palmer is being undervalued here as the underdog as he’s the more proven fighter with the bigger wins. I think it’s a close fight but I would have opened Palmer as the slight favorite in this one, so I like him a bit at dog money.
– A fight that could have taken place in Bjorn Rebney’s Bellator sees Malagerie take on Galvao. Malagerie (28-4) has won five-straight fights since being cut by the UFC including a submission win over Issei Timura in Pancrase his last time out. Galvao (18-9-1) has lost three of his last four fights and is not the same fighter he once was, though he’s still potentially dangerous in this spot. The odds reflect that this is a close fight but I’d have to lean towards Malagerie as he has way more momentum behind him right now.
– There’s no way I would lay this sort of juice on Rosholt as he takes on Istrefi. Rosholt (15-4) is an awesome wrestler but he’s been knocked out multiple times in his career and I don’t completely trust his chin. Istrefi (12-1) is coming off of five-straight wins and will be looking to cause an upset in his North American debut. Yeah, Rosholt should be able to secure takedowns and grind Istrefi out, but I wouldn’t bet on it, and I don’t blame anyone who plays the odds here and takes a stab at Istrefi to get a surprise finish.
