Given his level of domination, Jon Jones will continue to be a big favorite in any fight for the foreseeable future.
He was considered about a 6-to-1 favorite to beat Dan Henderson before their scheduled Sept. 1 match was canceled. The announced change to Lyoto Machida made things a little closer, as Jones was installed at about a 5-to-1 favorite, but that bout was quickly scratched from the books when Machida decided he didn’t have enough time to prepare.
Instead, it will be Vitor Belfort stepping into the cage with Jones, and the resulting odds have ballooned in Jones’ favor.
The first line was just released on the matchup today, and according to noted oddsmaker Nick Kalikas, Jones is a -925 favorite over Belfort in the fight to be held at UFC 152 on Sept. 22.
Belfort is a +625 underdog.
Those numbers make Jones one of the heaviest favorites in recent UFC championship history, a number only rivaled in title fights at UFC 112 when B.J. Penn walked into the cage as a -850 favorite over Frankie Edgar. As you no doubt recall, Edgar walked away with an upset decision victory to wrest the UFC lightweight title away.
The 35-year-old Belfort is 21-9 in a career that spans all the way back to 1996. He has won each of his last two fights by finish, but hasn’t competed at light-heavyweight since Sept. 2007. An upset would make him a two-time UFC light-heavyweight champion as he briefly held the crown in 2004 after defeating Randy Couture.
UFC 152 takes place in Toronto.