UFC 243 takes place Saturday, October 5 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC 243 Opening Odds
Robert Whittaker -185
Israel Adesanya +160
Al Iaquinta -130
Dan Hooker -110
Tai Tuivasa -265
Sergey Spivak +185
Dhiego Lima -230
Luke Jumeau +170
Yorgan De Castro -170
Justin Tafa +130
Jake Matthews -265
Rostem Akman +185
Maki Pitolo -195
Callan Potter +155
Megan Anderson -300
Zarah Fairn Dos Santos +220
Brad Riddell -135
Jamie Mullarkey -105
Nadia Kassem -140
Ji Yeon Kim +100
Khalid Taha -265
Bruno Silva +185
And here are my initial thoughts on the UFC 243 Opening Odds:
- The main event is an absolute dream fight between Whittaker and Adesanya. This is one of the best middleweight title fights of all time, if not the best. Whittaker has looked absolutely incredible since moving down to 185lbs a few years ago, going 8-0 with two wins over Yoel Romero. As for Adesanya, he’s a perfect 17-0 in his MMA career including a brilliant 6-0 mark in the UFC. Both men are incredible talents in the prime of their careers, and this is a very difficult fight to pick a winner in. Whittaker opened as the favorite, but since then the line has essentially become a Pick ’em fight. Regardless of who wins, this should be a classic.
- The co-main event is easily the second-best fight on the card as Hooker takes on Iaquinta. Hooker has been red-hot since moving up to lightweight, going 5-1 with all of those wins by stoppage. As for Iaquinta, he’s just 1-2 in his last three fights, but his two losses were to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Donald Cerrone. You have to keep the level of competition in mind here. Iaquinta opened as a small favorite but the line has since flipped with Hooker as the favorite. There might be value on Iaquinta as a dog now.
- The heavyweight bout between Tuivasa and Spivak should result in a knockout. Most likely it will be Tuivasa winning the fight by knockout and fighting close to home should give him a boost, but it’s a heavyweight fight so one shot can change anything. Spivak looked terrible against Walt Harris in his debut, but don’t completely write him off here as a big dog.
- The other heavyweight fight on the main card between De Castro and Tafa has much closer odds. Both men have minimal experience and both men are making their UFC debuts here. It’s another fight that can go either way.
- On the prelims, one fight that really stands out is a lightweight bout between Pitolo and Potter. Pitolo had an unbelievable showing on the Contender Series with a knockout win over Justin Sumter, while Potter was knocked out in his UFC debut by Jalin Turner. Pitolo’s hands looked absolutely incredible in that fight, and considering Potter takes a lot of damage, the likelihood of him getting knocked out here seems very high.
- There are quite a few newcomers on the prelims, making this card have a high likelihood of variance. There could be quite a few upsets on this card.
