PFL 12 takes place Thursday, May 9 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The sportsbooks recently released the opening odds for the card, and here they are.
PFL 12 Opening Odds
Kayla Harrison -1250
Larissa Pacheco +625
Magomed Magomedkerimov -1050
John Howard +550
Ray Cooper III -615
Zane Kamaka +405
Sarah Kaufman -1200
Morgan Frier +600
David Michaud -140
Sadibou Sy +100
Bojan Velickovic +220
Handesson Ferreira -300
Gazmat Khirmagomedov -475
Glaico Franca +325
Andre Fialho +160
Chris Curtis -210
Here are my thoughts on the PFL 12 Opening Odds:
- The main event of PFL is a showcase for Kayla Harrison, who should smash Larissa Pacheco in a women’s lightweight quarterfinal. Harrison is probably the best women’s prospect we’ve seen since Ronda Rousey and that’s no exaggeration. She’s in her prime at age 28 and looked fantastic in the first PFL season, going 3-0 in her first foray into MMA. Yeah, those were hand-picked matchups for her, but we saw enough to know she’s good. Harrison’s grappling is absolutely amazing and should help her dominate the women’s MMA scene for years to come. While it’s true Pacheco is the best fighter she’s fought so far, I still love this matchup for Harrison. Pacheco may be younger at 24, but she hasn’t fought in over a year and has just one fight since 2015 after she flamed out of the UFC. I feel bad for her, because she was once touted as an amazing women’s prospect but has been a victim of tough matchups. Both her UFC fights resulted in brutal losses, and this matchup against Harrison might see the same result. Harrison should win this fight in impressive fashion, and she deserves to be a monster favorite to do so.
- In the welterweight division, it’s hard not to like Magomedkerimov over Howard. Magomedkerimov is riding an eight-fight win streak into this matchup and just finished Ray Cooper to win PFL’s first tournament at 170lbs. This guy is a beast and should be a winner for years to come. Howard is unbeaten in his last two bouts and has actually looked decent in PFL, but he’s aging veteran and needs to be faded here in this matchup against Magomedkerimov.
- Speaking of Cooper, he ran through the competition in the first PFL welterweight season and now takes on Kamaka, who has racked up an impressive four-fight win streak on the regional MMA scene. I’m intrigued by this fun matchup between Hawaiian MMA prospects, but it’s hard not to favor Cooper considering how impressive he was last season.
- In another women’s lightweight tournament belt, you have to favor Kaufman to beat Frier. While it’s true that Kaufman may not have the most exciting style to watch, she is still one of the most experienced and successful women’s MMA fighters of all time. Frier may be on a four-fight win streak on the regional MMA circuit but she has fought absolutely nobodies. There’s no doubt that Kaufman deserves to be a massive favorite in this fight.
- There’s a number of other intriguing fights on this card as well as interesting prospects that will be featured. Remember that even if you aren’t betting on this card, it’s a good opportunity to scout fighters for the upcoming PFL season. There will be plenty of fighters on this card who fight numerous times this year, so keep your eye on the results.
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