UFC Fight Night 143 (also known as UFC on ESPN+ 1) takes place Saturday, January 19 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the full odds for the card, and here they are.
UFC Fight Night 143 Opening Odds
TJ Dillashaw -175
Henry Cejudo +135
Greg Hardy -245
Allen Crowder +175
Gregor Gillespie -230
Yancy Medeiros +170
Joseph Benavidez -380
Dustin Ortiz +260
Paige VanZant -210
Rachael Ostovich +160
Ion Cutelaba -130
Glover Teixeira -110
Alexander Hernandez -130
Donald Cerrone -110
Ariane Lipski -195
Joanne Calderwood +155
Alonzo Menifield -275
Vinicius Moreira +195
John Lineker -245
Cory Sandhagen +175
Dennis Bermudez -170
Te’ Edwards +130
Geoff Neal -155
Belal Muhammad +115
Randy Brown -285
Chance Rencountre +205
And here are my initial thoughts on the UFC Fight Night 143 opening odds:
– The UFC has put together a great card for its debut on ESPN/ESPN+, and it all starts with an intriguing superfight in the main event. The headliner between Dillashaw and Cejudo should be one of the best fights the flyweight division has ever seen, and could be one of the last fights the division ever sees as it’s possible the weight class could be shut down at some point. Dillashaw (16-3) is coming off of back-to-back KO wins over Cody Garbrandt and a win over Cejudo would put him in rare company as a double champion in UFC history. Cejudo (13-2) is coming off of a huge upset win over Demetrious Johnson and has the wrestling pedigree to make this fight with Dillashaw interesting. Still, considering the striking edge he has, it’s hard not to go with Dillashaw in this one.
– I’m excited to see Hardy make his UFC debut, though I personally wouldn’t have put him as the co-main event. Still, he’s an intriguing prospect. Hardy (3-0) has won all three of his pro MMA bouts by first-round knockout. Crowder (9-3, 1 NC) lost his UFC debut to Justin Willis via TKO. The UFC has clearly set up Hardy to win this fight, and it’s not surprising to see him as a huge favorite.
– The rest of the main card should be action packed, but I expect most of the favorites two win. I’d favor Benavidez pretty heavily to defeat Ortiz for a second time, Gillespie should run through Medeiros and VanZant has some edges against Ostovich. Of the main card fights to end in an upset, Teixeira probably has the best chance to beat Cutelaba.
– The preliminary card will be shown on big ESPN and the UFC did a smart thing matching up Hernandez against Cerrone in the main event of it. Hernandez (10-1) is 2-0 in the UFC with wins over Beneil Dariush and Oliveir Aubin-Mercier and at just 26 he has star potential. Cerrone (34-11, 1 NC) just beat Mike Perry by submission and will be moving down to lightweight for the first time in four years. I don’t love this move for Cerrone, and I think the UFC booked this fight to get Hernandez a big name win on his resume.
– As far as the fights on the early portion of the prelims go, I’d say take a long hard look at Neal to beat Muhammad. I believe Neal iso one of the top young welterweights in the game, and he should be a bigger favorite to win this fight if you ask me.
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