UFC on ESPN+ 35: Waterson vs. Hill takes place on Saturday, September 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the full card, and here they are.
UFC on ESPN+ 35 Odds
Angela Hill -170
Michelle Waterson +145
Ottman Azaitar -125
Khama Worthy +105
Andrea Lee -240
Roxanne Modafferi +205
Bobby Green -185
Alan Patrick +145
Mike Rodriguez -170
Ed Herman +145
Julia Avila -300
Sijara Eubanks +250
Roosevelt Roberts -130
Matt Fevola +110
Bryan Barberena -225
Anthony Ivy +190
Billy Quarantillo -300
Kyle Nelson +250
Matt Schnell -110
Tyson Nam -110
Sabina Mazo -275
Justine Kish +235
Jalin Turner -450
Brok Weaver +350
Alexander Romanov -400
Roque Martinez +300
Here are my initial thoughts on the UFC on ESPN+ 35 Opening Odds:
- The main event should be a very competitive women’s strawweight fight between Waterson and Hill. Waterson is a long-time veteran of the sport and at age 34 she is still fighting at a high level despite officially losing back-to-back fights against Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Carla Esparza by decision. Prior to that, she had won three straight fights. As for Hill, she is coming off of a controversial split decision loss to Claudia Gadelha that snapped a three-fight losing skid. Both fighters are somewhat inconsistent with Waterson at 5-4 overall in the UFC and Hill at 7-8. Ultimately it becomes a question of if you think Waterson is on a decline or not. Despite both fighters being close in age, Hill has looked a bit fresher lately, and she opens as a small favorite. But Waterson certainly has all the skills to pull off the upset here in the headliner.
- The co-main event is a rematch between top-ranked flyweights Lee and Modafferi. These two met back in 2014 in Invicta FC, with Modafferi winning a split decision as a monster underdog. They meet again six years later and Modafferi is once again the underdog. Modafferi has been inconsistent in the last few years, swapping wins and losses over her last seven fights, but at times she has had amazing performances such as in her drubbing of top prospect Maycee Barber. As for Lee, she is coming off of back-to-back split decision losses to Joanne Calderwood and Lauren Murphy, but both fights were very competitive and she proved she’s a top-15 fighter at 125lbs. With Lee being six years younger you can see why she’s favored here, but Modafferi has been known through her career to pull off her fair share of upsets.
- At lightweight, Green looks to continue his recent run of success during the pandemic against Patrick. Green has won back-to-back fights over Clay Guida and Lando Vannata since June and appears to be making a surge up the lightweight rankings late in his MMA career. As for Patrick, he hasn’t fought in nearly two years since a TKO loss to Scott Holtzman on the Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov card. Despite Green takin this fight on short notice for Rodrigo Vargas, I believe he will be at a significant advantage here due to his recent activity.
- Another interesting fight is a lightweight bout between Azaitar and Worthy. Azaitar is a perfect 12-0 in his MMA career while Worthy has won both his UFC fights over Devonte Smith and Luis Pena as an underdog. He’s an underdog here once again against the undefeated Azaitar.
