The mixed martial arts (MMA) gods delivered us a massive title fight between UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. Now it is time to enjoy the ride and soak of the fun before the two stars collide at UFC 229 on Oct. 6 in Las Vegas.
Just hours after the fight was announced at the UFC 25th anniversary press conference in Los Angeles, Calif., oddsmakers were already on the prowl. While the odds are due to change in the coming two months, early numbers show Nurmagomedov as the betting favorite.
According to our buddies over at Bovada, “The Eagle” is currently a -175 favorite to take care of McGregor in his return to the Octagon. On the other side, McGregor comes in as a +145 underdog, which is understandable given his two-year absence from the sport.
While these odds make sense right now, McGregor tends to swing the numbers his way as the fight draws closer. The Irishman’s mind games sometimes play a factor in the way his opponents enter a bout, so it will be interesting to see how Khabib stomachs the verbal lashing McGregor is about to unleash.
In McGregor’s case, he’s about to face the worst possible matchup on the 155-pound roster. If there’s anything McGregor is less qualified to do it’s fighting off his back. Khabib is likely to enforce that reality at UFC 229 so “Notorious” better come with a new bag of tricks. After all, Khabib is planning on taking McGregor down 100 times.
Of course, McGregor could always flip the script and stun Khabib early with a left hand to recapture the UFC lightweight title.
Everything is a possibility, folks. But for now, Khabib is the betting favorite to retain his lightweight belt at UFC 229.