It takes a special kind of fighter to enter the Octagon as a solid favorite against a defending champion in the UFC, but that is the case for Francis Ngannou (11-1) as he prepares to take on heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic (17-2) in the main event at UFC 220 this Saturday at TD Garden in Boston.
Ngannou is listed as a -175 betting favorite (bet $175 to win $100) against Miocic at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.
The 31-year-old, who was born in Cameroon and later moved to France, has been one of the promotion’s biggest surprises since making his UFC debut on December 19, 2015. Ngannou is a perfect 6-0 in the organization, finishing all six of his opponents so far (five knockouts and one submission).
In fact, only one of his career bouts has gone the distance, which was his lone loss by unanimous decision a little more than four years ago. His devastating first-round KO of Alistair Overeem at UFC 218 on December 2 was named Knockout of the Year and earned him this title shot just seven weeks later.
Meanwhile, Miocic is riding a five-fight winning streak, with all of the bouts ending via TKO, including four in the first round. The 35-year-old has defended his title belt twice since upsetting Fabricio Werdum for the championship in Werdum’s home country of Brazil.
Miocic is a +145 underdog (bet $100 to win $145), and the last time he was in this role came against Werdum when he was going for the title. His only two losses came versus Junior Dos Santos, which he later avenged in his last fight, and Stefan Struve.
In the co-main event, light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier (19-1, 1 no-contest) will also be putting his title on the line, though he is a big favorite at -330 facing Swiss fighter Volkan Oezdemir (11-1). Cormier‘s last bout at UFC 214 was originally a third-round KO loss to Jon Jones but was overturned to a NC after his opponent tested positive for a banned substance. Jones remains the only man to ever defeat Cormier.
Like Miocic, Oezdemir (+270) has won five in a row, with the last two ending in impressive fashion. Both opponents lost in less than a minute in the first round, with the latter coming against Jimi Manuwa and resulting in a Performance of the Night bonus.
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