On the main card of UFC 276, a pivotal middleweight bout is on the card as Sean Strickland takes on Alex Pereira. The card takes place on Saturday, July 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
UFC 276 Opening Odds:
Sean Strickland -175
Alex Pereira +150
Current UFC 276 Odds (as of June 13):
Sean Strickland +100
Alex Pereira -120
Strickland and Pereira’s recent fights
Sean Strickland (25-3) is riding a a six-fight win streak since, including winning five straight since he returned from a two-year layoff due to a motorcycle accident and moved up to middleweight. Last time out, he beat Jack Hermansson in the main event after also edging out a decision win over Uriah Hall in a five-round main event. He is ranked fourth at middleweight and also holds wins over Brendan Allen, Jack Marshman, and Krzysztof Jotko during this run.
Alex Pereira (5-1) is just 2-0 in the UFC but is getting a massive push given he has fought and beaten Israel Adesanya two times in kickboxing including violently knocking him out. With that, the storyline is there for a matchup against Adesanya. In his UFC run, he beat Bruno Silva by decision and knocked out Andreas Michailidis. In kickboxing, he also has beaten the likes of Dustin Jacoby, and Simon Marcus among others.
Are the odds surprising?
The opening odds were a bit surprising to see Strickland open as a -175 favorite as Pereira has a ton of hype and has been a sizeable betting favorite in both of his UFC fights. Even though he doesn’t have the MMA experience or any wins over a ranked opponent, he is one of the best strikers in the sport and Strickland is also a striker which makes the fight close. It wasn’t a surprise to see money come in on Pereira at +150 as if this becomes a kickboxing fight, the odds of the Brazilian winning only increase.
How might the odds change?
As we have already seen money has come in on Pereira and he is now the batting favorite. This is truly a coin-flip fight as if Strickland wrestles he can win but if he strikes it becomes very close. With that, I expect whoever is the underdog will see money come in on them as I expect at +100, money will soon come in on Strickland and by the time they share the Octagon it likely will be a pick’em.
