Daniel Cormier defends his UFC light heavyweight championship against a familiar foe on Saturday, taking on Anthony Johnson in the main event of UFC 210 as a narrow even-money betting underdog at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Currently No. 5 on the Pound-for-Pound Fighter Rankings, Cormier claimed the title with a third-round submission victory over Johnson at UFC 187, but circumstances have limited him to just two octagon appearances since then.
Cormier successfully defended his crown in an epic clash with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192, earning the split decision win as -300 chalk, and lifting his professional MMA record to 18-1 going into Saturday night’s matchup at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
Following multiple failed attempts to schedule a rematch with former champion Jon Jones, Cormier took on veteran Anderson Silva in a non-title bout at UFC 200, claiming the unanimous decision as a -325 favourite.
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Perched as a -130 favourite in his rematch with Cormier, “Rumble” Johnson has displayed his fearsome punching power with knockout victories in each of his past three fights.
Johnson devastated Glover Teixeira with a KO win just 13 seconds into his UFC 202 matchup as -225 chalk. Johnson also ended Ryan Bader’s night with a KO in the opening frame at UFC on Fox 18 while sporting -265 odds, and currently holds the UFC record with five career KO victories in under one minute.
Earlier in the evening, middleweight Gegard Mousasi aims for a shot at a fifth career world title when he takes on Chris Weidman as -120 chalk on the UFC 210 betting lines.
Since losing three of six contests in 2014 and 2015, Mousasi has claimed four straight victories including three straight wins inside the distance, lifting him to No. 5 on the MMA Middleweight Rankings.
The previous holder of the DREAM middleweight crown, the Strikeforce and DREAM light heavyweight titles, and the Cage Warriors middleweight championship, Mousasi paid out as a -600 favourite in his first-round win over Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night 99, and has earned 30 of his 41 career wins in under five minutes.
A slim -110 underdog on Saturday, Weidman has yet to recover from a TKO loss to Luke Rockhold as a -165 favourite at UFC 194 that cost him the UFC middleweight belt, following up with a third-round KO loss to Yoel Romero at UFC 205 to fall to 13-2 on his career.
Elsewhere in UFC lightweight action, Will Brooks sits as a -275 favourite against Charles Oliveira, a +215 underdog, while Cynthia Calvillo is a -270 favourite in her women’s strawweight clash with Pearl Gonzalez, a +210 underdog.
