Cyborg vs Holm Odds For Saturday’s Fight – The UFC 219 comes to us this Saturday night live from Las Vegas with a card headlined by Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino vs Holly Holm.
It is a great fight and the UFC is showing it’s faith in the women’s divisions by headlining their “big” New Year’s holiday event. Certainly, the UFC would have preferred an unblemished Ronda Rousey to face “Cyborg” but Rousey could not hold up her end of the bargain. Why the UFC didn’t strike earlier and make the Rousey vs Cyborg match years ago could be the subject of another blog. Holly Holm is what we get.
After taking down the Rousey legend, Holm went on a three fight losing streak that left her in limbo with the UFC. Rumor has it the her team clashed with UFC President Dana White, but they need her now.
Cyborg is a dominant force in MMA and the UFC is going to have trouble matching her up competitively. Before Rousey lost her invulnerability, Cyborg was viewed as a potential “superfight” type of opponent. Since inaugurating the 145 pound weight class, she has gone 3-0 with all three wins coming by early stoppage.
The bottom line is that a high skill opponent like Holm could present trouble for Cyborg. The Brazilian phenom counts on her strength and aggression in her fights and most opponents do not survive her onslaught.
Despite her three fight losing streak, Holm remains a formidable opponent. Cyborg likes to come out punching, kicking and throwing knees and it is going to take a fighter with a technical game plan to weather the storm. Holm’s background as a boxing world champion and her understanding of movement and footwork were key to her win over Rousey and they are her best chance against the powerhouse in front of her on Saturday.
At lightweight, Edson Barboza faces off against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Barboza boasts a 3 fight winning streak and a 13-4 overall record with the UFC but he is still under most people’s radar. A win over the returning Nurmagomedov would go a long way towards getting Barboza noticed.
Nurmagomedov is mounting another comeback after a layoff of more than a year. He returned for a pair of fights in 2016 after missing all of 2015 due to a knee injury. Undefeated, “The Eagle” has been a top contender for a long time but injuries and Conor McGregor’s foray into the weight class have prevented Nurmagomedov from getting a title shot. This fight is about Nurmagomedov showing he can return to previous form and has no ill effects from the multiple injuries and years off.
Kudos to the ladies divisions for carrying the UFC 218 PPV. A second ladies fight is featured on the PPV portion of the program as strawweights Carla Esparza and Cynthia Calvillo square off. The PPV broadcast will open with welterweight action as former interim champ Carlos Condit faces Neil Magny.
Below are the odds for the PPV fights set for UFC 219.
UFC 219 – T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, Nevada – PPV
Featherweight 5 rounds –
Holly Holm +315 o1½ -245
Cris Cyborg -380 u1½ +205
Lightweight 3 rounds –
Edson Barboza +240 o2½ -130
Khabib Nurmagomedov -280 u2½ +110
Strawweight 3 rounds –
Carla Esparza +220 o2½ -185
Cynthia Calvillo -260 u2½ +160
Welterweight 3 rounds –
Neil Magny +145 o2½ -130
Carlos Condit -165 u2½ +110
Cyborg vs Holm Odds For Saturday’s Fight / Into boxing as well? Check out more boxing news and features at The Sweet Science.
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