Dillashaw favoured over Cejudo in battle of champions at UFC Brooklyn

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Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw smiles after a win. (Chris Carlson/AP)

T.J. Dillashaw will be looking to become the fourth fighter in UFC history to simultaneously hold championship belts in multiple weight divisions when he battles Henry Cejudo on Saturday for the flyweight title at UFC Fight Night 143 as a -210 favourite on the UFC odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

The 32-year-old American successfully defended his UFC bantamweight crown with a first-round TKO win in a rematch with former champion Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227, and is now unbeaten in four trips to the octagon ahead of Saturday night’s Dillashaw vs. Cejudo main event matchup at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Dillashaw claimed the UFC bantamweight title for a second time in stunning fashion, knocking out the previously undefeated Garbrandt in the second round of their clash at UFC 217 as a heavy +175 underdog, and earning the first of two consecutive Performance of the Night bonuses.

Cejudo is pegged as +170 underdog on the UFC Brooklyn odds in the first defence of his UFC flyweight title, which he claimed with a surprising split decision win over long-time champion Demetrious Johnson as a massive +350 underdog, also at UFC 227.

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That marked the seventh time in nine UFC appearances that “The Messenger” has been forced to go the distance, earning the judges’ nod in six of those contests while picking up the win in seven overall. However Cejudo’s victory over Johnson marks the first time he has seen a fight go beyond three rounds. Conversely, Dillashaw has seen four of his past eight fights extend into championship rounds, and earned the win in three of those contests.

Elsewhere on the UFC Brooklyn odds at online betting sites, former NFL star Greg Hardy makes his UFC primetime debut as he takes on fellow heavyweight Allen Crowder in Saturday’s co-main event as a massive -600 favourite.

Hardy has been focused on an MMA career since seeing his NFL career end following the 2015 season, and has produced impressive results, posting first-round knockout victories in all six of his amateur and professional fights, with five of those victories coming in under 60 seconds.

Crowder returns to action after suffering a first-round TKO loss to Justin Willis as a +180 underdog in his promotional debut at UFC 218, ending a stretch of four straight TKO victories, including three first-round finishes.

As well, Gregor Gillespie looks to improve his unblemished professional MMA record to 13-0 as he takes on fellow lightweight Yancy Medeiros as a lofty -550 favourite, while Paige VanZant tries to end a two-fight losing streak as she takes on Rachael Ostovich as the -160 betting favourite in a battle of women’s flyweights.

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