On the main card of UFC 273, a very intriguing welterweight bout goes down as Gilbert Burns takes on Khamzat Chimaev. The card goes down on Saturday, April 9 in Jacksonville, Florida.
UFC 273 Opening Odds:
Gilbert Burns +250
Khamzat Chimaev -300
UFC 273 Current Odds (as of Mar. 18)
Gilbert Burns +320
Khamzat Chimaev -425
Burns and Chimaev’s recent fights
Gilbert Burns (20-4) returned to the win column last time out as he beat Stephen Thompson by decision in July. Prior to that, he suffered a third-round TKO loss to Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title in the main event. Burns had success in the fight as he rocked Usman early but couldn’t capitalize. Since moving up to welterweight, he’s 5-1 with wins over Tyron Woodley, Demian Maia, Gunnar Nelson, and Alexey Kunchenko. He’s currently ranked second at welterweight.
Khamzat Chimaev (10-0) has been the talk of the town since his UFC debut as submitted John Phillips at middleweight in the second-round. He then dropped down to welterweight just 10 days later and scored a first-round TKO win over Rhys McKee. Chimaev then moved back up to middleweight where he knocked out Gerald Meerschaert in 17 seconds and after taking over a year off due to COVID he submitted Li Jingliang in the first round at UFC 267.
Are the odds surprising?
The odds are surprising on first glance as Burns has proven to be one of the best welterweights in the world while Chimaev is untested. However, he has been dominant as he has only absorbed just one significant strike in his four UFC appearances. Chimaev has also been respected by the oddsmakers and bettors as he has been above a -550 favourite in all of his fights. With that, the oddsmakers are making you pay for the hype around the Swede.
How might the odds change?
As you have already seen, people are still betting Chimaev even at -300. People think he is the real deal and he has a ton of hype so he will be a popular parlay piece that people throw in as many view him as a free square. However, Burns does have power in his hands and solid jiu-jitsu so he could pose some problems so if the odds happen to get higher, sharps will take the plus-money on Burns. But, by the time they step into the Octagon, I expect Chimaev to be around a -475 favorite.
