UFC Fight Night 153 takes place Saturday, June 1 at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC Fight Night 153 Opening Odds
Alexander Gustafsson -245
Anthony Smith +175
Volkan Oezdemir -175
Ilir Latifi +135
Chris Fishgold -145
Makwan Amirkhani +105
Aleksandar Rakic -285
Jimi Manuwa +205
Damir Hadzovic -275
Christos Giagos +195
Sung Bin Jo -195
Daniel Teymur +155
Sergey Khandozhko -175
Rostem Akham +135
Tonya Evinger -175
Lina Lansberg +135
Leonardo Santos -195
Stevie Ray +155
Nick Hein -180
Frank Camacho +140
Eduarda Santana -165
Bea Malecki +125
Joel Alvarez -135
Danilo Belluardo -105
Darko Stosic -265
Devin Clark +185
And here are my initial thoughts on the UFC Fight Night 153 Opening Odds:
- There are quite a few light heavyweight bouts on this card, the most important being the main event between Gustafsson and Smith. This is a great fight between two of the best 205lbers in the world, and with each man coming off of a loss to champion Jon Jones the matchmaking here made a lot of sense. Gustafsson has been a top light heavyweight in the UFC for the last decade while for Smith he’s really come into his own since moving up to light heavyweight last year. That being said, I like Gustafsson here. He’s the more technical fighter and with him having the home crowd rooting for him I believe he will be able to find a way to win the fight within the five rounds.
- The co-main event between Oezdemir and Latifi is also a very good fight. Oezdemir is actually riding a three-fight losing skid at the moment but many believe he should have won a decision over Dominick Reyes in his last outing. Latifi lost a decision to Corey Anderson in his last fight but overall has been a very consistent fighter at 205. It’s essentially a striker vs. wrestler matchup, and I lean towards the striker in Oezdemir, whose long reach should help him pick apart Latifi from distance, though the fact Latifi is fighting at home makes the fight very interesting.
- As for the Rakic vs. Manuwa fight, I’m all over Rakic in this one. I think this guy is going to be a top light heavyweight for many years to come, while Manuwa is definitely on a decline. The line is high on Rakic for a reason, and that’s because he is going to get his hand raised in this one, likely by finish.
- I feel similarly about the Stosic vs. Clark fight. It’s a high line on Stosic, but he’s one of the top light heavyweight prospects in the UFC and Clark is a guy who has been very disappointing in the Octagon. Stosic should finish this one.
- For a dog, I would take a look at Camacho to beat Hein. Moving down to lightweight should be a good move for Camacho, who absolutely has the striking advantage in this bout. Hein is a good wrestler but he doesn’t have much in the way of striking. There could be some sneaky value here on Camacho, who likely needs this win to save his UFC career.
