According to Ariel Helwani, early betting lines showed the next Heavyweight title-shot contender, Junior dos Santos to be the favorite going into his (possibly UFC 136) bout against, current champion, Cain Velasquez. But, it looks like the tides changed quickly and Velasquez is now the favorite by as much as (–160) with dos Santos the (+130) underdog.
dos Santos had been expected to fight Velasquez for the title months ago, but Velasquez suffered a shoulder injury which sidelined their fight and dos Santos took the TUF 13 coaching stint against Brock Lesnar instead. Having trained for months, expecting to face Lesnar, dos Santos was dealt another surprise when Lesnar suffered a repeat bout with diverticulitis which left Shane Carwin as his replacement at UFC 131. dos Santos gave Carwin a solid beating and will now hopefully take his rightful place at the front of the Heavyweight line to meet Velasquez inside the Octagon. We expect lots of line movement in the next few months leading up to this likely October fight. So if you’d like to take advantage of dos Santos as the dog, head here now.