Jon Jones Opens as -400 Favorite in Future Rematch With Alexander Gustafsson


(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

Three months before their title fight at UFC 165, Jon Jones opened up as a massive -800 favorite against Alexander Gustafsson, who was slated as a +500 underdog. In other words, the oddsmakers felt that Jones/Gustafsson would be an even bigger squash match than Jones/Sonnen. Of course, this was back when everybody assumed that Bones could walk through the Swedish challenger with no trouble whatsoever. As it turned out, Gustafsson was the toughest test of Jones’s career, and might have stolen the belt if he hadn’t started to fade in the championship rounds.

We’re still not certain when Jones and Gustafsson will meet up for an encore performance, but that shouldn’t stop you from betting on the hypothetical fight. The opening line for Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 was recently released, establishing Jones as a still-hefty -400 favorite, compared to a +300 mark for Gustafsson. Since then, the line has slightly widened out, suggesting that the early money is coming in on Jones. (i.e., the oddsmakers are making Jones less profitable and Gustafsson more profitable, in an attempt to lure more wagers in Gustafsson’s direction.)

And why wouldn’t people be betting on Jones? Gustafsson may have made the champ look vulnerable during their five-round war, but the reality is that Gustafsson still wasn’t able to come away with a victory, despite putting in the greatest performance of his career. So if you were thinking of laying some cash on Gus in the rematch, here’s what you need to ask yourself: Does it really makes sense to wager on Gustafsson now that he’s significantly less profitable than he was for the first fight? Do you expect Gustafsson to do even better against Jones the second time? Really? Why?

In my opinion, the only logical reason for betting on Gustafsson in the rematch is that the fight could easily turn into another evenly-matched five-round war of attrition — and when a fight like that goes to the judges, you might as well be flipping a coin.


(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

Three months before their title fight at UFC 165, Jon Jones opened up as a massive -800 favorite against Alexander Gustafsson, who was slated as a +500 underdog. In other words, the oddsmakers felt that Jones/Gustafsson would be an even bigger squash match than Jones/Sonnen. Of course, this was back when everybody assumed that Bones could walk through the Swedish challenger with no trouble whatsoever. As it turned out, Gustafsson was the toughest test of Jones’s career, and might have stolen the belt if he hadn’t started to fade in the championship rounds.

We’re still not certain when Jones and Gustafsson will meet up for an encore performance, but that shouldn’t stop you from betting on the hypothetical fight. The opening line for Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 was recently released, establishing Jones as a still-hefty -400 favorite, compared to a +300 mark for Gustafsson. Since then, the line has slightly widened out, suggesting that the early money is coming in on Jones. (i.e., the oddsmakers are making Jones less profitable and Gustafsson more profitable, in an attempt to lure more wagers in Gustafsson’s direction.)

And why wouldn’t people be betting on Jones? Gustafsson may have made the champ look vulnerable during their five-round war, but the reality is that Gustafsson still wasn’t able to come away with a victory, despite putting in the greatest performance of his career. So if you were thinking of laying some cash on Gus in the rematch, here’s what you need to ask yourself: Does it really makes sense to wager on Gustafsson now that he’s significantly less profitable than he was for the first fight? Do you expect Gustafsson to do even better against Jones the second time? Really? Why?

In my opinion, the only logical reason for betting on Gustafsson in the rematch is that the fight could easily turn into another evenly-matched five-round war of attrition — and when a fight like that goes to the judges, you might as well be flipping a coin.

Anderson Silva Rumored to Want Weidman Rematch During Super Bowl Weekend, Opens as Betting Favorite Once Again


(The courtship continues.)

Anderson Silva insisted immediately after his knockout loss to Chris Weidman last Saturday at UFC 162 that he didn’t want a rematch. Then again, the guy just had his brain scrambled up real good and probably shouldn’t be held accountable for anything he said in the post-fight interview. A recent tweet from Brazilian journalist Guilherme Cruz who himself cites Lauro Jardim of Veja (I know, we’re stretching it here, but we want to believe) says that “sources close to Anderson Silva revealed he wants a rematch with Weidman on Feb. 2014.”

That would probably be the UFC’s big Super Bowl weekend event, if true. Sounds reasonable, right nation?

Silva is currently serving a forty-five day injury suspension and will need more time than that to even begin to recover from his knockout, at least to the extent that one’s brain can ever recover from being knocked out. Silva ate some thudding shots to the dome in the first round while on his back from Weidman before ever getting knocked out and eating more shots on the ground in the second.

Add a couple decades of damage from sparring and training for the 38-year-old and you’ve got an ex-champ who needs a breather. But, an early February bout would at least give “The Spider” a few months off for nothing but rest before he’d have to get back into a training camp. If he’s going to continue to fight and fight in the middleweight division, that’s about as reasonable a schedule as he’ll likely be offered.


(The courtship continues.)

Anderson Silva insisted immediately after his knockout loss to Chris Weidman last Saturday at UFC 162 that he didn’t want a rematch. Then again, the guy just had his brain scrambled up real good and probably shouldn’t be held accountable for anything he said in the post-fight interview. A recent tweet from Brazilian journalist Guilherme Cruz who himself cites Lauro Jardim of Veja (I know, we’re stretching it here, but we want to believe) says that “sources close to Anderson Silva revealed he wants a rematch with Weidman on Feb. 2014.”

That would probably be the UFC’s big Super Bowl weekend event, if true. Sounds reasonable, right nation?

Silva is currently serving a forty-five day injury suspension and will need more time than that to even begin to recover from his knockout, at least to the extent that one’s brain can ever recover from being knocked out. Silva ate some thudding shots to the dome in the first round while on his back from Weidman before ever getting knocked out and eating more shots on the ground in the second.

Add a couple decades of damage from sparring and training for the 38-year-old and you’ve got an ex-champ who needs a breather. But, an early February bout would at least give “The Spider” a few months off for nothing but rest before he’d have to get back into a training camp. If he’s going to continue to fight and fight in the middleweight division, that’s about as reasonable a schedule as he’ll likely be offered.

Looking towards the possibility of a rematch between Silva and Weidman, betting lines have already been released, and they’ve opened with Anderson as only slightly less of a favorite than he was going into their first bout. According to MMA Fighting, “Sportsbook.com made Silva a -175 favorite (he’s already been bet up to -185), while 5Dimes.eu listed the Brazilian at -140. Weidman is a +155 and +100 underdog on the sites, respectively.”

Looks like the American still has to make believers out of a few more degenerate gamblers. Perhaps after the initial shock of him beating Silva wears off, money will start to come in on Weidman.

Do you want to see the immediate rematch, ‘taters? And, if so, who would you put your money on and why?

Elias Cepeda