UFC on ESPN 15: Munhoz vs. Edgar takes place on Saturday, August 22 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC on ESPN 15 Odds
Pedro Munhoz -240
Frankie Edgar +186
Ovince Saint Preux -165
Alonzo Menifield +125
Mariya Agapova -700
Shana Dobson +500
Mizuki Inoue -135
Amanda Lemos +115
Daniel Rodriguez -130
Takashi Sato +110
Mike Rodriguez -170
Marcin Prachnio +145
Jordan Wright TBD
Ike Villanueva TBD
Joe Solecki -140
Austin Hubbard +120
Timur Valiev -450
Mark Striegl +350
Carlton Minus -365
Matthew Semelsberger +255
Here are my initial thoughts on the UFC on ESPN 15 Opening Odds:
- The main event should be an intriguing matchup between a proven top-10 bantamweight in Munhoz (18-4, 1 NC) and a legend of the sport in Edgar (22-8-1). Munhoz hasn’t fought in over a year since a decision loss to Aljamain Sterling, but prior to that had won three straight fights including a huge KO win over Cody Garbrandt. As for Edgar, he is coming off of back-to-back losses against The Korean Zombie and Max Holloway and this will be his official UFC bantamweight debut. Edgar has struggled in recent years and at age 38 I can’t see the move to 135lbs going well for him. I like Munhoz to get his hand raised in this main event matchup.
- In the co-main event, we have OSP (24-14) taking on Menifield (9-1). OSP moved up to heavyweight in his last fight and did pretty well, barely losing a split decision to a much bigger fighter in the form of Ben Rothwell. He has lost three of his last four overall but from time to time shows off his incredible submission game such as when he tapped out Michal Oleksiejczuk as a dog last year. As for Menifield, he recently fell from the ranks of the undefeated when he dropped a decision to Devin Clark. Menifield has big KO power but he showed holes in his cardio and grappling that fight. If Menifield isn’t able to put OSP out early on in the fight, then he may tire out which is where OSP could shine in this particular matchup.
- In a big mismatch at women’s flyweight, Agapova (9-1) takes on an overmatched opponent in Dobson (3-4). Agapova has won three straight fights and in her last bout, she was able to dominate Hannah Cifers and win her UFC debut. As for Dobson, she is just 1-3 in the UFC and is riding a three-fight losing skid. I don’t know why the UFC booked this matchup as it should be an easy win for Agapova as long as she doesn’t get caught.
- The last main card bout sees Rodriguez (12-1) take on Sato (16-3). Rodriguez has been a pleasant surprise in the UFC so far, going 2-0 with wins over Tim Means and Gabe Green. As for Sato, he’s 2-1 with knockouts over Ben Saunders and Jason Witt and a submission loss to Belal Muhammad. This is a close fight but Rodriguez appears to be more well-rounded with the grappling so I can see why he opened as a small favorite at the sportsbooks.
