Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo (26-3) lost the title belt in his home country of Brazil back on June 3, and he will now try to reclaim it in a rematch against new champ Max Holloway (18-3) at UFC 218 this Saturday in Detroit.
Holloway closed as a small underdog in the first meeting at UFC 212 and scored a third-round TKO of Aldo, but this time around the tables have turned, as he is listed as a -300 favorite (bet $300 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.
Aldo is a +230 underdog (bet $100 to win $230) and had won the interim championship after Conor McGregor vacated the belt, earning a unanimous-decision win over top 145-pound contender Frankie Edgar before losing it to Holloway. Edgar was scheduled to have the next title shot in the main event here before pulling out a few weeks ago due to injury.
That gave Aldo a second chance to beat Holloway, who has won 11 in a row.
Holloway has finished three of his past five opponents, including his last two, heading into his first title defense. The 25-year-old Hawaiian is definitely the bigger fighter in this matchup, with a four-inch height advantage, and he has used that noticeable size edge to climb up the ranks of the division over the years. His last loss inside the Octagon came against McGregor more than four years ago when he was just 21 years old.
The co-main event at UFC 218 will feature a pair of heavyweights who are on opposite ends of their respective careers. Francis Ngannou (10-1) is riding a nine-bout winning streak and is viewed as a potential future champ. Meanwhile, opponent Alistair Overeem (43-15, one no-contest) recently got a title shot and has won two straight since getting knocked out in the first round by current champ Stipe Miocic.
The 31-year-old Ngannou is a -235 favorite on the UFC 218 odds versus the 43-year-old Overeem (+185), who will try to use his experience at this stage of his career to overcome a physical disadvantage.
All 10 of Ngannou’s wins have come via stoppage (six knockouts and four submissions), and Overeem has totaled 19 of each among his victories.
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