UFC on ESPN 8 takes place Saturday, May 16 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 8 Odds
Walt Harris -150
Alistair Overeem +130
Claudia Gadelha -210
Angela Hill +180
Edson Barboza -140
Dan Ige +120
Krzysztof Jotko -110
Eryk Anders -110
Song Yadong -175
Marlon Vera +150
Miguel Baeza -170
Matt Brown +130
Kevin Holland -150
Anthony Hernandez +130
Mike Davis -165 – Fight Cancelled, Davis out.
Giga Chikadze +145
Nate Landwehr -175
Darren Elkins +150
Cortney Casey -155
Mara Romero Borella +135
Don’tale Mayes -150
Rodrigo Nascimento +130
Replacement Fight
Giga Chikadze -327
Irwin Rivera +255
Here are my initial thoughts on the UFC on ESPN 8 Opening Odds:
- The main event is an exciting heavyweight matchup between two of the heaviest hitters in the division in Harris and Overeem. This fight was previously scheduled for both UFC Washington, D.C. last December and UFC Portland in April, and thankfully the UFC was able to re-book the matchup. Harris has been hot as of late, going unbeaten in his last four fights including a 12-second KO over Aleksei Oleinik in his last bout. Unfortunately for Harris, his family suffered a personal tragedy when his daughter was murdered. He says he’s ready to return to fighting, but you have to wonder how that will affect him. As for Overeem, he is one of the most accomplished heavyweights of all time but is coming off of a brutal KO loss to Jairzinho Rozenstruik in his last fight. Overeem was actually controlling that fight up until the end, but once again his chin didn’t hold up for him. Overeem is one of the best heavyweights ever, but his durability is a major question mark at this point and Harris hits extremely hard, so Harris being favored here isn’t all that surprising despite the difference in Octagon experience.
- The co-main event is a women’s strawweight bout between Gadelha and Hill. Gadelha has been inconsistent as of late, struggling to put together a winning streak, but she’s still one of the best ever at 115lbs. Hill, meanwhile, has been red hot as of late with three straight fights, albeit against lesser competition. Although Hill has been looking good lately, Gadelha is still one of the most accomplished strawweights in the UFC and deserves to be favored here.
- One of the most intriguing fights on the card sees Barboza drop down to 145lbs for the first time in his career when he takes on Ige. This is one of the best fights on the card and it should be interesting to see what happens. Barboza has lost four of his last five fights at 155lbs, but if you look at who he lost to, it was elite competition. Ige, meanwhile, is on a five-fight win streak but his competition has been mid-tier for the most part. It just really depends on how you think Barboza is going to look at featherweight if you think he should be favored to win. I’m a little surprised he’s favored here considering his losing skid, but we’ll see what happens Saturday.
- And finally, I’m really looking forward to Song vs. Vera. Song is 4-0 in the UFC while Vera has won five straight fights. Both guys are finishers and this should be one of the best fights on the card. The winner will no doubt take a huge step forward in the loaded UFC bantamweight division. This is my sleeper pick for “Fight of the Night,” as well. Yadong is the favorite for this fight due to his youth and impressive Octagon performances, but Vera is a very solid, underrated fighter and you can’t completely count him out of winning this fight as an underdog.
