UFC 241 Fight Night Betting and Odds Preview – August 18, 2019

The UFC 241 Fight Night will be headlined by the heavyweight extravaganza between current champion Daniel Cormier and former champion Stipe Miocic. Other fights which will draw a lot of publicity and are part of the card include the Anthony Pettis vs Nate Diaz welterweight fight and the Yoel Romero vs Paulo Costa middleweight bout.

The UFC 241 is also known as the Cormier vs Miocic 2 card and for good reason. Cormier defeated the American with Croatian origins in their first bout and by doing so took away his title. With the heavyweight title once again on the line, UFC enthusiasts and betting aficionados can expect a very closely contested fight. Miocic has had more than a year to prepare for this one and he will be raring to go.

This means that we are in for the best Fight Night of the summer without a doubt and MMA fans at the Honda Centre in Anaheim, California and around the world will witness a real spectacle on August 18.

Betting operators have already come out with some enticing odds for the main card fights and here we will preview the three main fights and compare the UFC odds given to the six main participants.

Betway

Daniel Cormier current heavyweight record is 15-0. His ascend has been stellar and he is definitely one of the greats of UFC. He breezed through the Strikeforce before coming to UFC and showed his dominance right from the start by beating the likes of Frank Mir and Roy Nelson.

That’s why it comes as no surprise that the people at Betway give him odds of 4/6 to triumph over Miocic. Stipe’s last fight was against Cormier more than a year ago and he has had more than enough time to prepare for the rematch. He is given higher odds of 6/5 to win, but considering that he will be raring to go here, especially after the way he lost to Cormier last year, he looks like a good value bet.

In the co-main event Nate Diaz (20/21) returns to the busy end of welterweight in his fight against his evenly matched opponent Anthony Pettis (5/6). Diaz will try to show that he has still got it and that after three years away he can still win with ease.

The third-billed main card fight pairs the favourite and middleweight contender Yoel Romero (8/15) against the seventh ranked middleweight fighter Paulo Costa (6/4). Romero should win this one and make it 13-0, but Costa is immensely talented and might spring a surprise.

SportPesa

UFC betting enthusiasts probably remember that it was last summer that Cormier ended Miocic’s title reign with a first round knockout. The knockout came as a result of a lot of tactical work in Cormier’s team during which they realized that Miocic exited each clinch with his hands low.

Cormier and his team used this knowledge and this is how Miocic’s title reign ended. Miocic might feel hard done by this, but UFC is as tactical as it is physical and he probably spent most of his time away from the ring analyzing every Cormier’s move.

However, as with other bookmakers, the people at SportPesa still feel that Cormier is the favourite and give him odds of 20/31 to win here. They do believe though that Miocic is not without a chance and the odds of 21/20 are indicative of this.

Many people claim that welterweight is the hottest division right now and the Pettis vs Diaz fight is a testament to this. SportPesa gives identical odds of 5/6 for both fighters in a fight which might even overshadow the headliner.

Finally, Yoel Romero (20/41) is a slight favourite against the Brazilian Paulo Costa (7/5) in a fight which will also produce lots of thrills.

Sports Interaction

Sports Interaction specializes in offering UFC and MMA betting and they frequently hand out the best fight odds. However, for 241 they only give odds for two of the fights and do not have the Romero vs Costa fight in their offer.

When it comes to the main fight of this card, Cormier is once again the favourite as he is given odds of 67/100. Cormier was scheduled to fight Brock Lesnar to defend his title, but since Lesnar decided against an MMA return, the choice fell to Miocic.

This is good for UFC betting enthusiasts as the desire to avenge his previous defeat guarantees an incredible fight. Cormier will not shy away from the challenge himself and that is a recipe for an epic fight. What can make the fight even better is backing Miocic at enticing odds of 6/5. He relishes the big occasions and fighting Cormier is as big as an occasion can be.

In the other fight Sports Interaction offers betting on, Nate Diaz is a slight underdog against Anthony Pettis. This is because unlike with other bookmakers, Sports Interaction gives him higher odds of 91/100 when compared to Pettis’ odds of 83/100. These higher odds on Diaz present a perfect opportunity for value hunters.

Unibet

It is to be expected that Miocic has learned from his first round knockout defeat and that he will return much better prepared into what is actually a rematch here. Not many fighters get the chance to avenge their defeats immediately in their next fight and Miocic will look to use that chance.

The American has defended his heavyweight title three times in the past and there are not many fighters better than him when it comes to fighting under pressure. The odds of 6/5 which Unibet gives to him present a good opportunity for punters to make a decent profit on a motivated and proven champion.

This doesn’t mean that Daniel Cormier’s odds of 4/6 are not enticing enough or will not come to fruition as Cormier is actually the favourite in this fight. What it means though, is that there is much better value in backing Miocic.

In other fights offered by Unibet, Romero is the clear favourite against Costa as he is given lower odds of 13/25 when compared to the odds of 29/20 given to his opponent; while Diaz and Pettis are evenly matched at odds of 19/20 and 41/50 respectively.

Royal Panda

Cormier is the clear favourite with Royal Panda and he is given odds of 67/100 to triumph on August 18. Miocic might have something to say about that, but the people at Royal Panda still give him higher odds of 107/100.

Both fighters are at the very top of UFC at the moment and this fight might turn into a five-round epic. Choosing between them is as difficult as it gets, but considering that Miocic comes with the motivation to make it 1-1 and is given higher odds, he looks like a better bet here.
In Royal Panda’s second 241 fight, Yoel Romero (51/100) will try to prove that age is only a number for him and defeat the much younger (14 years his junior) and very talented Paulo Costa (27/20).

In the last fight, Nate Diaz is going against Anthony Pettis and picking the winner here is as difficult as it gets. Diaz returns with a point to prove and the odds of 21/25 reflect this. However, Pettis is the number 8 contender at 170 pounds and his odds of 21/25 show that he is more than a match for Nick Diaz’ younger brother.