[ad_1]
Israel Adesanya may not hold the UFC middleweight title anymore but he’s still favored to win in a potential showdown with new champion Dricus du Plessis.
Following a razor-close win over Sean Strickland this past Saturday night at UFC 297, du Plessis claimed the 185-pound title for the first time in his career. Immediately afterwards, the South African called out Adesanya for a long awaited fight after they were originally expected to meet this past September.
Despite du Plessis remaining undefeated in the UFC with his win over Strickland, Adesanya still commands a lot of respect as one of the most dominant champions in recent history. That’s why the oddsmakers at Sportsbetting.ag have Adesanya listed as a very slight favorite should he draw du Plessis next.
Here are the opening odds for the fight:
Dricus Du Plessis -105
Israel Adesanya -115
Based on those odds, it would require a $115 bet on Adesanya to win back $100 as the favorite. A $100 bet on du Plessis would return $105 as the underdog.
Because the line is so incredibly close, it wouldn’t take a lot of betting action to see the fighters switch places by the time they actually meet in the octagon.
The current odds are a dramatic shift from previous betting lines that opened after du Plessis became the No. 1 contender in the division following a stunning win over former champion Robert Whittaker. At the time, Adesanya opened as a massive -330 favorite with du Plessis sitting as a +270 underdog.
Since that time, Adesanya suffered a shocking upset loss to Strickland and then du Plessis claiming the middleweight title, which has the odds much closer this time around.
The UFC hasn’t announce with any certainty that Adesanya vs. du Plessis is next but it would certainly seem like a matchup that would attract a lot of eyeballs, especially considering the bad blood simmering between these two for the past year.
[ad_2]
Source link
