UFC 236 takes place Saturday, April 13 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC 236 Opening Odds
Max Holloway -230
Dustin Poirier +170
Israel Adesanya -185
Kelvin Gastelum +155
Eryk Anders -165
Khalil Rountree +125
Alan Jouban -155
Dwight Grant +115
Ovince Saint-Preux -155
Nikita Krylov +115
Jalin Turner -165
Matt Frevola +125
Alexandre Pantoja -245
Wilson Reis +175
Zelim Imadiev -215
Max Griffin +165
Boston Salmon -150
Khalid Taha +110
Curtis Millender -175
Belal Muhammad +135
Montel Jackson -350
Andre Soukhamthath +250
Poliana Botelho -165
Lauren Mueller +125
Randy Costa -135
Brandon Davis +105
And here are my initial thoughts on the UFC 236 Opening Odds:
- The main event is going to be an amazing fight between Holloway and Poirier for the interim UFC lightweight belt. It should be noted this is actually a rematch, as Poirier defeated Holloway by first-round submission back at UFC 143. That was Holloway’s Octagon debut, and he’s improved immensely since then to the point where he’s a UFC champion at 145lbs. Holloway is on a 13-fight win streak and will be testing his skills when he moves up to lightweight for this fight against Poirier, who is on a five-fight unbeaten streak himself. Both Holloway and Poirier are violent and entertaining fighters and this is going to be an amazing fight. I tend to favor Holloway in this one due to his cardio and volume striking attack, but Poirier is absolutely a live dog.
- The co-main event is also an excellent fight between Adesanya and Gastelum. Adesanya has obviously looked like a tremendous talent in the UFC with a 5-0 record so far in the promotion including a decision win over Anderson Silva in his last fight. Gastelum is coming off of back-to-back wins over Ronaldo Souza and Michael Bisping and will finally get his chance to fight for UFC gold after his fight with Robert Whittaker at UFC 234 was scratched at the last minute. Once again I tend to lean towards like favorite Adesanya, but Gastelum as won as an underdog so many times in his career that it’s tough to count him out.
- The main card isn’t getting much love from fans online as it doesn’t feature many big name fighters, but on paper there are some quality matchups on this card. At 205lbs, Anders and Rountree are both very much in need of a win and both guys are always known for being in wars, so that should be a good fight. I’d have to lean towards Anders a bit, however. As well, the welterweights Jouban and Grant should put on a show. This is going to be a great fight, but I lean a bit towards the underdog Grant, as he’s both younger and has been far more active inside the Octagon. And finally, the rematch between OSP and Krylov at 205lbs should be ridiculously fun for however long it lasts. Considering OSP dominated Krylov the last time they met, I’m a bit surprised the line is so low on him for this rematch considering Krylov’s recent struggled inside the Octagon. There could be some value on OSP here.
- On the prelims, one guy that sticks out right away for a play is the lightweight prospect Turner, who looked incredible in his KO win over Callan Potter in his last fight. Frevola has looked better than expected in the UFC and comes from a good camp at Serra-Longo, but he is far too hittable and this is a nightmare matchup against Turner, who I think is a good play at the current odds. Further down the card, Millender opened as a favorite against Muhammad for their welterweight bout, but since then the early action has been on Muhammad and Millender is currently a dog at most books. As a dog, I think you have to take a shot on Millender here as I believe the oddsmakers were keen to initially tag him as the favorite. And at the very end of the card, I’d considering taking the UFC featherweight newcomer Costa against Davis. Costa opened as the favorite but is currently the dog, and at dog money he’s someone to keep your eye on as Davis is a fade candidate at this point. Overall, this is a pretty nice card with the potential for many upsets.
