UFC on ESPN+ 29 takes place Wednesday, May 13 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC on ESPN+ 29 Odds
Anthony Smith -165
Glover Teixeira +135
Ovince Saint Preux -125
Ben Rothwell +105
Drew Dober -140
Alexander Hernandez +120
Ray Borg -125
Ricky Simon +105
Marvin Vettori -150
Karl Roberson +130
Phillipe Lins -205
Andrei Arlovski +175
Thiago Moises -155
Michael Johnson +135
Sijara Eubanks -275
Sarah Moras +235
Omar Morales -215
Gabriel Benitez +165
Hunter Azure -200
Brian Kelleher +170
Ike Villaneuva -140
Chase Sherman +120
Here are my initial thoughts on the UFC on ESPN+ 29 Opening Odds:
- The main event is a re-booking of the UFC Nebraska main event that was originally set for April 25 before that card was canceled. It features two of the best light heavyweights in the world in Smith and Teixeira going at it for five rounds or less. Smith is coming off of a huge win over Alexander Gustafsson by submission but he hasn’t fought in nearly a year. Overall, Smith has won four of his five fights at 205lbs. Teixeira, meanwhile, has won his last three fights against prospects and appears to be fighting at a high level despite being 40 years old. Teixeira has pulled off the upset before, but considering Smith is the younger fighter and has been fighting the superior competition as of late, you have to side with “Lionheart” in this one.
- The co-main event is just a bizarre matchup as OSP moves up to heavyweight to take on Rothwell. OSP is coming off of a nice win over Michal Oleksiejczuk by Von Flue choke, while Rothwell is coming off of a knockout win over Stefan Struve. OSP typically fights at 205lbs but is moving up to heavyweight for this short-notice bout. While the height of both men is fairly similar (6’4″ to 6’3″ in Rothwell’s favor), Rothwell should weight at least 30-40lbs more than OSP in this fight, making it a tough one to handicap. You can assume that OSP will have the speed advantage, but Rothwell should have the strength and power advantage. Considering the weight class the fight is taking place in, this is a very risky fight to bet on.
- One of the best fights on the card sees a pair of surging lightweights in Dober and Hernandez taking on one another. Dober has won five of his last six fights and is coming off of a huge upset KO win over Nasrat Haqparast, while Hernandez has won three of his last four fights including a decision win over Francisco Trinaldo in his last bout. It’s a close fight on paper, but I actually thought Hernandez would open as a slight favorite here, not Dober.
- Once again, you have to take into account the short notice booking of the majority of these fights when you handicap these bouts. As we saw at UFC 249 there were several fighters who looked “off” partly due to the factors of the current global environment. Still, there’s money to be made here, and it’s a beautiful thing the UFC has returned and is ready to bet on again.
