UFC 249 Odds: Roundup of the Rest of the Card

ufc-249-odds-roundup-of-the-rest-of-the-card

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

UFC president Dana White was resolute in the fact that his organization would be the first major professional sports league in the United States and Canada to return from the coronavirus shutdown. White has accomplished that as a rescheduled UFC 249 this Saturday from Jacksonville, Florida, ends an eight-week hiatus for the company. There will be no fans in attendance from VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, and likely no fans at any sporting event in the near future.ufc-249-odds-roundup-of-the-rest-of-the-card

This card is so stacked that there are two among the prelims that would normally be on the main card: a welterweight matchup between Anthony Pettis (22-10) and Donald Cerrone (36-14), and a heavyweight bout between Aleksei Oleinik (58-13-1) and Fabricio Werdum (23-8-1).

Pettis, a former lightweight champion is a -145 favorite over Cerrone (+115). They fought way back in January 2013 at UFC on Fox 6 and Pettis won by first-round knockout (kick to the body). Pettis won the UFC lightweight title in his next outing when he submitted Benson Henderson and defended it once successfully before losing to Rafael dos Anjos. Counting that fight, Pettis has gone 4-8 in his past 12.

Cerrone fought dos Anjos for the lightweight belt in December 2015 but lost by first-round TKO. Cerrone enters on a three-fight losing streak, albeit to stellar competition in Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson. Those latter two headline UFC 249 for the interim lightweight title.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Werdum, meanwhile, is a -335 favorite over Oleinik (+255). Werdum is on a short list of best heavyweights in MMA history but is near the end at age 42. Due to a drug suspension, he hasn’t fought since a May 2018 fourth-round KO loss to Alexander Volkov.

The Russian Oleinik is also 42 and ended a two-fight losing streak last time out, beating Maurice Greene by second-round submission at UFC 246 in January. Oleinik is a submission master, winning 46 of his fights that way.

Also at heavyweight and on the main card, Francis Ngannou is a -280 favorite over Jairzinho Rozenstruik (+220). Ngannou (14-3), from France, is ranked as the No. 2 heavyweight in the division and could get a shot at champion Stipe Miocic (if he’s healthy) with a victory Saturday. Those two fought at UFC 220 and Miocic won a very entertaining unanimous decision. Ngannou enters on a three-fight winning streak, including wins over former UFC heavyweight champions Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez.

Rozenstruik (10-0), from Suriname, is 4-0 since joining the UFC and beat legendary Alistair Overeem by fifth-round knockout in his most recent fight in December 2019. Nine of 10 wins by “Bigi Boy” are by KO or TKO. It will be a huge upset if this bout goes the distance.