Khabib Nurmagomedov is a perfect 25-0-0 through the first 25 fights of his professional career. The Russian superstar will try to become the undisputed UFC lightweight champion with a win over Max Holloway Saturday night in the main event of UFC 223.
Nurmagomedov opened as a -550 betting favorite for this match on the UFC 223 odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. UFC fans were hoping the announcement on Sunday that Tony Ferguson would be pulling out of his title fight with Nurmagomedov with a knee injury was an April Fools joke, but it was not. This was the fourth time that a fight between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson has been canceled, but fortunately fight fans are getting an excellent main event replacement in Max Holloway.
Holloway (+375) is the current UFC featherweight champion and he enters this fight with a 12-fight winning streak. To make weight for this title bout, Holloway will need to cut over 10 pounds more than his normal fighting weight. If he is able to do so and to pull off the upset, he’d become the second fighter behind Conor McGregor to hold two UFC title belts in different divisions simultaneously.
At UFC 217, Rose Namajunas pulled off a massive upset as a +400 underdog in defeating the seemingly invincible Joanna Jedrzejczyk, ending her career undefeated streak at 14-0 and taking her UFC Strawweight Title. Five months later, Jedrzejczyk is cashing in on her rematch in what should be an extremely interesting title bout. This time around, the odds are much less extreme as Jedrzejczyk is a slight favorite at -125 over Namajunas (-105).
Two featherweights will try to improve their stocks on Saturday as Calvin Kattar (-140) clashes with Renato Moicano (+110). Kattar owns a career record as a professional of 18-2, entering this fight on a 10-fight winning streak that includes two wins in his first two fights in the UFC. Moicano lost his undefeated professional record of 11-0 with a loss to Brian Ortega at UFC 214 and will try to regain his momentum with a win here.
Rounding out the main card are Anthony Pettis (+110) vs. Michael Chiesa (-140) and Al Iaquinta (-120) vs. Paul Felder (-110).
UFC 223 Betting Lines
Khabib Nurmagomedov (-550) vs. Max Holloway (+375)
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (-125) vs. Rose Namajunas (-105)
Calvin Kattar (-140) vs. Renato Moicano (+110)
Anthony Pettis (+110) vs. Michael Chiesa (-140)
Al Iaquinta (-120) vs. Paul Felder (-110)
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