UFC Vegas 20: Rozenstruik vs. Gane takes place on Saturday, February 27 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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 Vegas 20 Odds
Ciryl Gane -300
Jairzinho Rozenstruik +250
Magomed Ankalaev -240
Nikita Krylov +205
Mayra Bueno Silva -145
Montana de la Rosa +125
Jimmie Rivera -150
Pedro Munhoz +130
Alex Caceres -300
Kevin Croom +250
Angela Hill -175
Ashley Yoder +150
Alexander Hernandez -140
Thiago Moises +120
Sabina Mazo -240
Alexis Davis +205
William Knight -135
Alonzo Menifield +115
Ronnie Lawrence -140
Vince Cachero +120
Dustin Jacoby -210
Max Grishin +180
Ramazan Kuramagomedov -145
Alex Oliveira +125
Here are my quick thoughts on the UFC Vegas 20 Opening Odds:
- The main event should be a terrific heavyweight contest between Ciryl Gane (7-0) takes on Jairzinho Rozenstruik (11-1). Gane is a serious prospect from France who became a legitimate contender in his last fight when he knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos. Gane is an extremely well-rounded fighter with great striking and a solid ground game, but this is a serious step up in competition against Rozenstruik, who also has a KO win over JDS in his last fight. In fact, Rozenstruik has defeated everyone he’s fought in the Octagon save for Francis Ngannou, who knocked him out in the first round when they fought last year. He even has a notable win over Alistair Overeem. And yet despite that, he’s a huge underdog here against Gane. As good of a striker as Rozenstruik is, his grappling is still a hole that Gane can exploit. The oddsmakers clearly feel that most bettors will be on Gane here, and that’s why he opened as a -300 betting favorite. But remember, it’s a heavyweight fight.
- The co-main event is also a fun one, this time in the light heavyweight division as Magomed Ankalaev (14-1) takes on Nikita Krylov (27-7). Ankalaev has won his last five fights in a row, including back-to-back knockout wins over rival Ion Cutelaba. He now gets a step up in competition against Krylov, who has had a long career in the UFC. Krylov is just 2-2 in his most recent stint in the UFC, but his losses came against Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira, and there’s no shame in losing to those guys. For his wins, Krylov beat Johnny Walker and Ovince Saint Preux, two quality victories. Krylov is very good and deserves the opportunity to defend his ranking here, but it’s very difficult to bet against someone as powerful as Ankalaev.
- As for the rest of the undercard, there are plenty of quality fights once again this weekend. One that I would keep my eye on is Alex Caceres (17-12, 1 NC) takes on Kevin Croom (21-12, 1 NC). Caceres has been in the UFC for over a decade now and yet he still continues to produce, having won his last three fights heading into this one. As for Croom, he submitted Roosevelt Roberts as a massive +400 underdog in his UFC debut, but the result of the bout was changed to a No Contest. He rides a four-fight unbeaten streak into this fight, and I think he has a chance to win this, too. I would take a look at Croom at these large +250 dog odds.
