UFC Fight Night 133 takes place Saturday, July 14 at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho. The offshore sportsbooks recently released the opening odds for the card, and here they are.
UFC Fight Night 133 Opening Odds
Junior dos Santos -120
Blagoy Ivanov -120
Chad Mendes -230
Myles Jury +170
Marion Reneau -140
Cat Zingano +100
Sage Northcutt -140
Zak Otow +100
Dennis Bermudez -170
Rick Glenn +130
Niko Price -145
Randy Brown +105
Alejandro Perez -215
Eddie Wineland +165
Alex Volkanovski -160
Darren Elkins +120
Said Nurmagomedov -165
Justin Scoggins +125
Kurt Holobaugh -215
Raoni Barcelos +165
Jennifer Maia -120
Liz Carmocuhe -120
Elias Garcia -130
Mark De La Rosa -110
Jessica Aguilar -155
Jodie Esquibel +115
And here are my initial thoughts on the opening odds:
– This card is really flying under the radar due to being in the shadow of UFC 226 but wow, this looks like a very deep card with a lot of intriguing matchups, especially in the featherweight division. As far as the main event between Ivanov an JDS goes, I wrote about that one a while back when the line opened, and you can find my thoughts on that bout here. I also wrote about the co-main event between Northcutt and Ottow, and you can find my thoughts on that one here.
– The Mendes vs. Jury fight is really intriguing me. Mendes (17-4) is finally returning after a two-year suspension by USADA. The last time we saw Mendes he was knocked out by Frankie Edgar and in the fight before that by Conor McGregor. But we also saw him at an elite level just a few years ago, and it will be interesting to see if he can return to that spot. You have to remember that his losses came against elite fighters at 145lbs. Jury (17-2) has won two straight fights and is 2-1 since moving down to 145lbs. Jury has looked really solid at his new weight class but Mendes is a step up from Mike De La Torre and Rick Glenn. Even though he’s coming off of that long layoff for a banned substance, I still think you have to favor Mendes in this fight.
– The women’s bantamweight fight between Zingano and Reneau should result in the winner emerging as a title contender. I was surprised to see Reneau be the favorite and was hoping to get her at dog money but I think the oddsmakers got this one right by opening her as the favorite. Reneau (9-3-1) is undefeated over her last four fights and is coming off of a submission win over Sara McMann. She’s 41 but doesn’t look her age at all and still has a lot of time left as a top-ranked bantamweight in my opinion. Zingano (9-3) has lost three straight fights including a disappointing decision loss to Ketlen Vieira in her last bout. We can’t forget she beat Amanda Nunes and Miesha Tate by knockout, but she hasn’t looked like the same fighter in recent years, and I favor Reneau here.
– The preliminary card looks great as well but the crown jewel of the undercard is definitely the featherweight bout between Volkanovski and Elkins which could easily result in the winner being one fight away from a title shot. Volkanovski (17-1) has won 14 straight fights and has won his last four bouts in the UFC in impressive fashion. He is a dominant fighter and looks like he could be a future champion. Elkins (24-5) is always counted out yet he continues to win as he’s on a six-fight win streak in the UFC. Elkins has looked amazing since moving to Team Alpha Male and is one of the most improved fighters on the roster. Still, I have to go with Volkanovski here as he’s been utterly dominant. Until I see flaws in his game, I won’t bet against him even though Elkins is an excellent fighter.
