UFC 252 odds: The odds shift on main event after big bet comes in on Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic
The Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic main event for UFC 252 on Saturday started as a pick’em at BetMGM. Then Cormier was a slight favorite and one bettor really liked the odds.
The biggest bet MGM has taken on UFC came in on Cormier. A bettor wagered $10,000 to pay out $18,696 on Cormier to win at -115 odds.
The odds on Cormier went up after that. He is currently -121 at BetMGM, a notable shift from the opening line of -110. Cormier is the clear pick among early bettors on the heavyweight title fight.
Most of money, bets coming in on main event
According to BetMGM’s figures, Cormier was getting 56.2 percent of the bets as of Thursday morning, and 78.9 percent of the money. That means most of the big bets — and most of the bets, period — are on Cormier’s side.
Not surprisingly, Cormier-Miocic is taking the most money at BetMGM of any fight on Saturday’s card, at 33.6 percent. The second-most money on any fight is the women’s strawweight bout between Felice Herrig and Virna Jandiroba. That fight is getting 22.2 percent of the money among all the bouts on the card. Jandiroba is a huge -304 favorite.
By percentage of bets and not money, the second-most popular fight is Marlon Vera vs. Sean O'Malley. Herrig-Jandiroba has taken some bigger bets. O’Malley is also a -304 favorite.
But most eyes will be on the main event.
Third meeting between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic
Cormier and Miocic split the first two fights, leading to the third one on Saturday. Cormier announced Saturday will be his last fight, adding to the drama.
As Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole pointed out, Cormier seems to have an edge in the 25-foot cage. It was enough of an edge that Miocic’s team looked at the blueprints of Apex, the fight venue, and did its own measurements to see if it could fit the usual 30-foot cage. The fight stayed in the smaller cage.
There is still time for bets to come in on UFC 252, but it’s clear from the early wagers that bettors believe Cormier will finish his fighting career on a high note.
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