In a championship bout that was originally set to headline UFC 215 in Edmonton, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse“ Johnson (26-2-1)—arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA—will return to the Octagon this Saturday at UFC 216 in Las Vegas against Ray Borg (12-2), who had to pull out of the previously scheduled matchup due to illness.
Johnson is a monster -1200 favorite (bet $1200 to win $100), with Borg listed as a +700 underdog (bet $100 to win $700) at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.
However, Johnson-Borg will not be the main event at UFC 216, as that is reserved for the interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson (22-3) and Kevin Lee (16-2). Unlike the co-main event between Johnson and Borg, the Ferguson-Lee bout is expected to be much more competitive.
Ferguson is the -225 favorite, with Lee a +175 underdog on the UFC 216 odds, and both men are riding impressive winning streaks into this event.
Lee has won five in a row, and he is 9-2 in the UFC overall, with his only two losses coming against Leonardo Santos and Al Iaquinta. But Ferguson has been the hottest 155-pound fighter not named Khabib Nurmagomedov, winning nine straight since falling to Michael Johnson via unanimous decision more than five years ago at UFC on FOX 3.
That remains Ferguson’s lone loss in the organization, and he was supposed to fight the unbeaten Nurmagomedov (24-0) for the interim belt at UFC 209 on March 4, but his opponent suffered from an extreme weight cut and was forced to withdraw.
While those winning streaks have earned Lee and Ferguson a title shot, no fighter in the UFC has been better than Johnson over the past five years.
The 5’3″, 125-pounder is 12-0 since walking away with a draw against Ian McCall in his flyweight debut, and he will be looking to tie the promotion’s title defense record versus Borg. Johnson and future Hall of Famer Anderson “Spider” Silva are currently tied for the mark with 10 consecutive title defenses.
Silva has gone 2-4 with one no-contest since seeing his streak end with the first of two losses to former middleweight champ Chris Weidman.
Meanwhile, Borg is the third-ranked contender at 125 behind Joseph Benavidez and Henry Cejudo, two fighters who Johnson has beaten during his streak. The Arizona native has won five of his last six, with his last three wins all going the distance. By contrast, Johnson has two knockouts and four submissions among his past nine.
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