UFC 262: Oliveira vs. Chandler takes place on Saturday, May 15 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. 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 262 Odds
Charles Oliveira -178
Michael Chandler +146
Tony Ferguson -125
Beneil Dariush +105
Shane Burgos -120
Edson Barboza +100
Katlyn Chookagian -135
Viviane Araujo +115
Gina Mazany -300
Priscila Cachoeira +250
Jordan Wright -120
Jamie Pickett +100
Antonina Shevchenko -150
Andrea Lee +120
Kevin Aguilar -110
Tucker Lutz -110
Ronaldo Souza -120
Andre Muniz +100
Matt Schnell -125
Rogerio Bontorin +105
Mike Grundy -135
Lando Vannata +115
Christos Giagos -225
Sean Soriano +175
Here are my quick thoughts on the UFC 262 Opening Odds:
- The main event of UFC 262 is a five-round vacant lightweight title bout between Charles Oliveira (30-8) and Michael Chandler (22-5). This fight was made possible by the retirement of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who gave his belt up. Starting with Oliveira, he has been in the UFC since 2010 but it hasn’t been until the last few years that he has become a true UFC title contender. The Brazilian has won his last eight fights in a row, which includes an absolute drubbing over Tony Ferguson in his last fight. Oliveira has always had elite grappling but not that he has improved his striking, he has become a serious title contender and is one win away from being the champion. As for Chandler, we have seen him dominate the competition in Bellator for years, and in his UFC debut he knocked out Dan Hooker. Chandler has been very impressive as of late and is certainly a live dog here, but the oddsmakers chose to open with Oliveira as the favorite due to his long win streak in the UFC.
- The original co-main event for this card featured Leon Edwards vs. Nate Diaz, but the fight was pushed back a month until UFC 263 due to an injury that Diaz suffered in his training.
- The new co-main event sees Tony Ferguson (25-5) take on Beneil Dariush (20-4-1). Ferguson was, for years, an elite lightweight but he has struggled in his last two fights, getting absolutely dominated by both Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. After seeing him lose both those fights in a one-sided fashion, it’s difficult to say how much gas Ferguson has left in his tank. As for Dariush, he has won his last six fights in a row and deserves the chance to fight a top-10 opponent in Ferguson. This should be an awesome fight and the opening odds were close.
- It’s also worth noting that the middleweight bout between Jack Hermansson and Edmen Shahbazyan, which was originally slated for this card, has been postponed until May 22. Sources told MMAOddsbreaker.com that the fight was shifted back due to COVID-19 protocols. It’s unfortunate this fight has been pushed back a week as Hermansson and Shahbazyan were expected to put on a show for the fans, but we will have to wait until the May 22 card for this fight to take place. Still, UFC 262 is a solid card overall and the fights that are remaining should be fun. It’s just unfortunate two of the best fights were postponed.
