Cris Cyborg vies for a ninth straight win by knockout or TKO when she defends her UFC women’s featherweight crown against Holly Holm at UFC 219 on Saturday as a -360 favourite on the UFC odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The former Strikeforce and Invicta FC women’s featherweight champion has gone undefeated in 19 fights since suffering a first-round loss by submission in her professional debut in 2005, including TKO wins in three previous UFC appearances going into Saturday night’s matchup at T-Mobile Arena.
Cyborg stormed onto the UFC scene in impressive fashion, finishing Leslie Smith by TKO just 81 seconds into their clash at UFC 198 to pay out as a -1200 bet. The 32-year-old Brazilian followed up with a second-round TKO victory over Lina Lansberg at UFC Fight Night 95 before ascending to the UFC women’s featherweight championship with a third-round TKO win over Tonya Evinger as -1100 chalk at UFC 214.
Listed as a +270 underdog in Saturday’s main event, Holm enters the octagon looking to become just the fifth fighter in UFC history to win championships in multiple divisions.
A winner of multiple world titles as a professional boxer, Holm posted wins in her first 10 professional MMA fights, including a stunning second-round knockout of Ronda Rousey as a +525 underdog at UFC 193 that earned her the UFC women’s bantamweight title.
Holm’s reign proved to be short lived, falling to Miesha Tate as -310 chalk in her first title defense at UFC 196. That loss marked the first of three straight defeats, including a unanimous decision loss to Germaine de Randamie in a battle for the UFC women’s featherweight crown at UFC 208 before returning to form with a third-round KO of Bethe Correia as -500 chalk at UFC Fight Night 111.
Also on Saturday, Khabib Nurmagomedov will try to improve his pro MMA record to a perfect 25-0 as he takes on Edson Barboza as a -300 betting favourite in a clash of highly ranked lightweights.
Pegged as the No. 2 challenger among lightweights, “The Eagle” has been idle since wearing down Michael Johnson en route to a third-round submission win as a -335 favourite at UFC 205. A +230 underdog in Saturday’s contest, No. 4 Barboza is coming off a second-round KO of Beneil Dariush as a -170 wager at UFC Fight Night 106, but has seen five of his past seven fights go the distance.
Elsewhere on the UFC 219 odds, Carlos Condit battles fellow welterweight Neil Magny as -165 chalk, while Cynthia Calvillo tangles with Carla Esparza as a -260 favourite in a women’s strawweight matchup.
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