UFC Fight Night 124 Main Card Odds – The UFC kicks off their 2018 calendar this Sunday in Saint Louis as they deliver Fight Night 124. The main event of the night sees featherweight action as veteran Jeremy Stephens takes on Korea’s Doo Ho Choi in a non-title five round bout.
It is hard to believe Stephens is still just 31 years old after all this time. He is 14-13 overall with the UFC and his career with the big company is now in it’s eleventh year. He has been serving as a gatekeeper for a long time and he has broken through with some big wins in his career. We last saw him in September when he snapped a personal two fight losing streak with a unainmous win over Gilbert Melendez. That win may have saved Stephens from a pink slip.
In this one, Stephens is back in his typical role. In Choi, he is facing a fighter who is coming off a layoff of just over one year. He had joined the UFC after a nice run in Japan that saw him earn the prospect label. He went 3-0 to start his UFC career to raise expectations but he took a loss to Cub Swanson in December of 2016 and we have not seen him since. That fight with Swanson was a memorable slug-fest so that memory leads the books to label him the favorite heading into this one.
The co-feature comes in the middleweight division as hard working Uriah Hall faces off against veteran Vitor Belfort. Belfort is now 40 years old and long past being relevant, but he is a still a bit of a name and a draw. He has been active, logging two fights in 2017. We last saw him in June when he defeated veteran Nate Marquardt.
Uriah Hall is looking to establish some consistency. He fought five UFC fights in 2015, but he has gone just 1-2 since. He returned this past September after a layoff of 10 months to notch a win over Poland’s Krzysztof Jotko.
After a tough luck run that saw him go 1-4 at lightweight, Michael Johnson will try his luck at featherweight. Johnson is favored heading into the fight but waiting to see how he adjusts to the new weight cut is important. Johnson is now north of 30 years old and that has proven to NOT be the time to start cutting an additional ten pounds.
Greeting him on the way in is surging veteran Darren Elkins. Elkins had a solid five fight winning streak with the UFC at the start of his career but his rise was tempered by a 2-3 spell. Elkins has put together another five fight winning streak and as a former lightweight contender Johnson represents an upgrade in competition. Elkins could be in line for a title shot with an impressive win. Elkins last run was cut short by perennial contender Chad Mendes, but Elkins is a much improved fighter since then.
Below are the odds for the UFC Fight Night 124 main fights as they stand today.
UFC Fight Night 124 – Scottrade Center – St. Louis, Missouri – FS1 – Sun 1/14
Featherweight 5 rounds –
Jeremy Stephens +140 o1½ -245
Doo Ho Choi -160 u1½ +205
Middleweight 3 rounds –
Vitor Belfort +265 o1½ +155
Uriah Hall -325 u1½ -175
Flyweight 3 rounds –
Jessica Rose Clark -110 o2½ -300
Paige VanZant -110 u2½ +250
Welterweight 3 rounds –
Emil Weber Meek +475 o2½ -135
Kamaru Usman -650 u2½ +115
Featherweight 3 rounds –
Darren Elkins +135 o2½ -200
Michael Johnson -155 u2½ +170
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