UFC 279: Chimaev vs. Diaz takes place on Saturday, September 10 at T-Mobile Arena 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 279 Odds
Khamzat Chimaev -1100
Nate Diaz +775
Li Jingliang -275
Tony Ferguson +235
Kevin Holland -150
Daniel Rodriguez +!30
Irene Aldana -156
Macy Chiasson +136
Ion Cutelaba -180
Johnny Walker +155
Hakeem Dawodu -190
Julian Erosa +165
Jailton Almeida -1500
Anton Turkalj +750
Jamie Pickett -180
Denis Tiuliulin +155
Jake Collier -300
Chris Barnett +250
Norma Dumont -350
Danyelle Wolf +285
Alatengheili -255
Chad Anheliger +215
Melissa Martinez -252
Elise Reed +212
Darian Weeks -150
Yohan Lainesse +130
Here are my quick thoughts on the UFC 279 Opening Odds:
- The main event of UFC 279 sees Khamzat Chimaev take on Nate Diaz in what could very well be the final fight of Diaz’s UFC career. Chimaev is unbeaten and he has run through pretty much everyone in his UFC run with ease, with the exception of Gilbert Burns in his last fight, who pushed him to the brink. Still, Chimaev won, and Diaz is arguably an easier matchup on paper stylistically just due to his poor takedown defense. Obviously, Diaz is one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster, and for good reason considering all he’s accomplished in the Octagon. But given that he’s an aging fighter who has taken a ton of damage throughout his career, going up against a young killer such as Chimaev seems like a bad matchup. There is no doubt Diaz is the clear underdog in this fight, and that’s why Chimaev is a huge favorite.
- Also on the card is a welterweight bout between Li Jingliang and Tony Ferguson. Jingliang is coming off of a great KO win over Muslim Salikhov in his last fight, while Ferguson has lost four straight, including a brutal front kick KO loss to Michael Chandler his last time out. Ferguson is a legend, but moving up to welterweight against Jingliang is a tough matchup.
