Nick Diaz and Tony Ferguson aren’t fighting one another at UFC Abu Dhabi but they share something in common ahead of the Aug. 3 card.
Aside from both fighters competing at 40 years old, Diaz and Ferguson opened as massive underdogs once the first UFC Abu Dhabi betting lines were revealed on Wednesday. Diaz faces Vicente Luque in the five-round co-main event, while Ferguson clashes with Michael Chiesa at welterweight.
According to the oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag, Ferguson is actually a bigger underdog than Diaz. Here are the opening odds for Ferguson vs. Chiesa:
Tony Ferguson: +350
Michael Chiesa: -450
Meanwhile, Diaz, who hasn’t fought since 2021 — with his last win coming all the way back in 2011 — actually sits closer on the betting lines for his fight against Luque.
Nick Diaz: +250
Vicente Luque: -300
Based on those odds, a $100 bet on Diaz would return $250 if he’s victorious, whereas that same $100 bet on Ferguson would get back $350.
Of course, Ferguson has lost seven fights in a row and is going up a weight class to face Chiesa at 170 pounds, so the odds likely aren’t on his side.
In possibly a crazier twist, Cory Sandhagen is actually a bigger underdog than Diaz in his main event fight against Umar Nurmagomedov. Sandhagen faces Nurmagomedov in a five-round fight, with the winner expected to earn a bantamweight title shot.
Cory Sandhagen: +330
Umar Nurmagomedov: -400
There’s a lot of hype surrounding the undefeated Nurmagomedov, who counts Khabib Nurmagomedov as his cousin and one of his mentors, but he’ll be taking a decided step up in competition when he meets Sandhagen in August.
As a reminder, odds on a fight can change depending on the bets placed on the athletes, so these lines could shift dramatically before the action begins on Aug. 3.