Editorial

Velasquez vs. Ngannou odds, and ends

Fortune favors the bold, but the odds favor Cain Velasquez.

Kirik Jenness

February 17, 2019 · 4 min read

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UFC on ESPN 1, also known as UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez and UFC Phoenix will be held on February 17, 2019 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

These are The Odds, courtesy of Joey Oddessa. Follow him on Twitter.

Main Card (ESPN at 10 p.m. ET)

FRANCIS NGANNOU +147
CAIN VELASQUEZ -177

JAMES VICK -120
PAUL FELDER -110

CORTNEY CASEY +260
CYNTHIA CALVILLO -360

ALEX CACERES +235
KRON GRACIE -315

BRYAN BARBERENA +324
VICENTE LUQUE -474

ANDRE FILI +116
MYLES JURY -146

Late Prelims (ESPN at 7 p.m. ET)

ALJAMAIN STERLING +116
JIMMIE RIVERA -146

BENITO LOPEZ +152
MANNY BERMUDEZ -182

ASHLEE EVANS SMITH +147
ANDREA LEE -177

NIK LENTZ +151
SCOTT HOLTZMAN -181

Early Prelims (ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET)

JODIE ESQUIBEL EV
J PENNE -130

RENAN BARAO +135
LUKE SANDERS -165

EMILY WHITMIRE -105
ALEKSANDRA ALBU -125

How Fight Odds Work

Unlike a spread on a football game where one team is getting a certain amount of points (ex. Saints +7), in MMA fights the line on the game is called a moneyline. These are the +/- used on UFC broadcasts. The figure is how much money you have to bet in order to win $100 (-), and how much a $100 bet will earn (+). They are perhaps best understood via example:
FRANCIS NGANNOU +147
CAIN VELASQUEZ -177

In this fight, Cain is the -177 favorite, meaning if you bet $177 on him and he wins, you would only profit $100. If he were to lose though, you would lose the full $177.

If you were to bet on Ngannou at +147, if you bet $100 on him and he wins the fight, you will profit $147. If he were to lose the fight, you would lose your original $100 bet.

Depending on how people are betting on the fights the odds will shift from the moment they open, right up until the night of the fights.

The sport is built on moments that make you involuntary think HOLY F***ING S***!!! Those can come at any time, on any portion of the card, from any fighter. Thus, some bettors look to the underdogs, sometimes big ones, as the best bets. And they say never bet until the weigh-ins.

These are The Ends, courtesy of God, the Social Network and Aleksandra ‘Stitch’ Albu.