UFC 254: Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje takes place on Saturday, October 24 at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the event, and MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a look at the opening odds below.
UFC 254 Odds
Khabib Nurmagomedov -350
Justin Gaethje +285
Jared Cannonier -145
Robert Whittaker +115
Alexander Volkov -175
Walt Harris +145
Phil Hawes -340
Jacob Malkoun +260
Lauren Murphy -350
Liliya Shakirova +250
Magomed Ankalaev -340
Ion Cutelaba +260
Stefan Struve -130
Tai Tuivasa +100
Alex Oliveira -150
Shavkat Rakhmonov +130
Da Un Jung -600
Sam Alvey +400
Miranda Maverick -140
Liana Jojua +110
Casey Kenney -145
Nathaniel Wood +115
Joel Alvarez -285
Alexander Yakovlev +205
Here are my initial thoughts on the UFC 254 Opening Odds:
- The main event is going to be an incredible fight between the lightweight champ Nurmagomedov and the interim champ Gaethje. As we all know, Nurmagomedov is undefeated with a 28-0 record and he’s pretty much ran through everyone in his path. Though Nurmagomedov is coming off of a year-long layoff, he is still in top form, having defeated Dustin Poirier by stoppage in his last fight. As for Gaethje, he is one of the hottest fighters in the division as he’s currently riding a four-fight win streak including a vicious knockout win over Tony Ferguson in his last outing. Nurmagomedov is one of those fighters who you generally just don’t bet against, but this could be an opportunity to buck the trend. Nurmagomedov deserves to be favored here, but I believe Gaethje has a good chance to pull off the upset.
- The co-main event is also an excellent bout as Whittaker takes on Cannonier. Whittaker is coming off of a decision win over Darren Till in his last fight to bounce back from losing his middleweight belt by TKO to Israel Adesanya. As for Cannonier, he has won three straight fights and has gotten himself in the title picture at 185lbs Cannonier has looked excellent lately, but Whittaker is still the former champion and deserves more respect than this opening betting line. Personally, I would peg Whittaker as the slight favorite to get his hand raised.
- At heavyweight, two of the big boys got at is as Volkov takes on Harris. Volkov is coming off of a decision loss to Curtis Blaydes, but he showed in that fight that he can go a full, hard 25 minutes. The same can’t be said for Harris, who suffered a TKO loss to Alistair Overeem in his last fight. That was a fight Harris was winning until he started gassing badly in the second round. Harris could catch Volkov in the first round, but Volkov should have the edge otherwise.
- Way down on the prelims, I’m loving this catchweight (140lbs) bout between Kenney and Wood. Kenney just fought a few weeks ago and looked dominant as he defeated Heili Alateng by lopsided decision. The same can also be the same for Wood, who looked sharp against John Castenada. Both guys are excellent prospects and this should be a fantastic fight, but I think based on how he’s looked recently you have to favor Kenney to be the winner here.
