UFC Vegas 21: Edwards vs. Muhammad takes place on Saturday, March 13 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 21 Odds
Leon Edwards -260
Belal Muhammad +200
Misha Cirkunov -125
Ryan Spann +105
Manel Kape -115
Matheus Nicolau -115
Darren Stewart -196
Eryk Anders +162
Gloria de Paula -133
Jinh Yu Frey +111
Jonathan Martinez -182
Davey Grant +151
Jason Witt -127
Matthew Semelsberger +106
Rani Yahya -310
Ray Rodriguez +260
Charles Jourdain -225
Marcelo Rojo +190
Dan Ige -145
Gavin Tucker +125
JJ Aldrich -165
Cortney Casey +145
Angela Hill -360
Ashley Yoder +295
Nasrat Haqparast -385
Rafa Garcia +265
Here are my quick thoughts on the UFC Vegas 21 Opening Odds:
- The main event of UFC Vegas 21 sees No. 3 ranked welterweight Leon Edwards (18-3) finally make his long-awaited return to the Octagon when he takes on No. 13 ranked Belal Muhammad (18-3), who filled in on short notice for Khamzat Chimaev (COVID-19 issues). Edwards has not competed since July 2019, when he defeated former UFC lightweight champion via unanimous decision. Since then, Edwards has been struck with bad luck as he’s had numerous fights fall through due to various issues, many of them COVID-19 related. Still, Edwards rides into this fight on an eight-fight win streak and opened up as a sizeable betting favorite here. As for Muhammad, he is currently riding a four-fight win streak and is jumping at the opportunity to fight a top welterweight in Edwards. I view this as a tough matchup for Muhammad, but he’s a very tough fighter and should put up a good fight here win or lose.
- The co-main event for this card sees light heavyweights Misha Cirkunov (15-5) and Ryan Spann (18-6) go at it for three rounds or less. Cirkunov has not fought since September 2019 when he tapped out Jimmy Crute with a Peruvian necktie, while Spann is coming off of a TKO loss to Johnny Walker in September 2020. In fact, both men have suffered knockout losses to Walker. This is a tight matchup and the near Pick ’em odds indicate that. My slight lean in this spot is towards Cirkunov due to his ground game, but this is most definitely a very close fight.
- Another fight to keep your eye on features flyweights Manel Kape (15-5) and Matheus Nicolau (15-2-1). Kape recently made his UFC debut and dropped a unanimous decision to Alexandre Pantoja in a closely-fought battle, while Nicolau is making his return to the UFC after several years away from the promotion. Brazil’s Nicolau was 3-1 in the UFC during his first stint in the promotion but was cut when the organization was getting rid of flyweights. Now that the UFC is making more of an investment with its flyweight division, the matchmakers brought back Nicolau after he picked up two wins on the regional circuit. The problem here is that Nicolau hasn’t fought since August 2019. That long layoff could prove to be a serious issue here, an issue that Kape himself felt in his last fight against Pantoja when he dropped a close decision.
