UFC president Dana White is putting the finishing touches to the upcoming UFC 229 card, which is planned to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on October 6. There’s a stacked schedule, including a top-of-the-bill brawl between Conor McGregor and long-term rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Fans attending the show or tuning in live to the television coverage on UFC Fight Pass will also catch a glimpse of MMA stars including Anthony Ferguson, Sergio Pettis, Sean O’Malley, Alan Patrick, Ryan Laflare and Dominick Reyes.
Source: MMAFighting.com via Twitter
Punters looking to get in early and beat the rush to secure their share of the value will be glad to learn bookmakers have priced up their latest MMA betting odds and it has given followers of the sport plenty to talk about, especially in the main event.
Starting with the evening’s big fight and we have the long overdue lightweight pairing of McGregor and Russian sensation Nurmagomedov. This fight really could go either way but one thing that can certainly be relied upon is the build-up and press tour will be almost as entertaining as the battle itself.
It didn’t take long for the two to make headlines, Notorious causing an uproar at the opening press conference. Supposed to be a closed-door event, open only to fighters and their teams as well as officials and members of the press, McGregor told fans through his popular Twitter feed anyone who bought a bottle of his brand whiskey will be allowed to attend. That didn’t go down well with organisers but it did cause much amusement amongst reporters.
That’s where the joking stops, however, and when these two proud gladiators meet in the octagon this autumn it’s Khabib that will prevail, according to bookies. He’s 4/7 favourite at Paddy Power to silence his rival, or a tasty 13/5 to win by submission.
Source: UFC via Twitter
McGregor may have been written off, but he has made a career out of upsetting the odds from the underdog position and will fancy his chances of doing the same again. His stand-up fighting game is certainly expected to have improved 10-fold after sharing a ring with the man who calls himself The Best Ever. 17/10 says he’ll score by knockout or backers can play it safe and clinch 5/4 in the fight winner market.
Another lightweight contest throws together Tony Ferguson and Anthony Pettis. El Cucuy will get the better of Showtime if this bout follows the thinking of odds-makers with the 34-year-old Californian the bookies’ pick at 3/10. A bold call but it’s very convincing, especially when put next to the 11/5 of his opponent.
Decent odds for either man and that’ll help bump up your accumulator returns on the night but if you’d prefer to push your luck a bit more you can risk your stake in the method of victory market. This requires you to not only pick the victor but say how he’ll get the job done.