UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley Betting Preview

Former champions Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley headline the final UFC promotion before Dana White takes MMA back to Fight Island for UFC 253. This fight has been discussed for the last two years, as these have been two of the top welterweights in the division, and that has led to plenty of verbal sparring over that time. Covington is a significant favorite according to the MMA betting odds at BetOnline, but Woodley figures to be more motivated as a loss here would be his third straight defeat and perhaps signal the end of an era.

UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley will be broadcast in its entirety on ESPN Plus. It will be held at the UFC APEX center in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, September 19, with the preliminary card starting at 5 p.m. ET, and the main card kicking off at 8 p.m. ET.

UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley Betting Odds

Colby Covington -340

Tyron Woodley +280

Woodley held the UFC welterweight belt around his waist for almost three years. He claimed the title with a stunning first-round knockout of then-champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 in July 2016, and he successfully defended the strap four times before losing the belt to Kamaru Usman at UFC 235. That defeat came be unanimous decision, and he followed that up with another unanimous decision loss at the hands of Gilbert Burns almost four months ago. At the age of 38, he is no spring chicken, and he may not get another title shot if he loses this bout.

He turns a lot of people off with his antics, but there’s no denying Covington’s skill. Covington is currently the No. 2 welterweight in the world, and his only recent loss was a fifth-round TKO at the hands of the indomitable Usman. He won five straight bouts by unanimous decision prior to his loss to Usman, picking up wins over other top welterweights like Lawler, Rafael dos Anjos, and Demian Maia.

These odds are too high for Woodley. While he has lost his last two bouts, those losses came against the two top welterweights in the division per the current UFC rankings. This fight has a good chance of going the distance, and Woodley has shown he still has a lot of stamina despite being six years older than Covington.

Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone +128

Niko Price -148

Cowboy has been a fan favorite for years, but he is in the twilight of his career. He has now lost his last four fights, and his last victory came in May 2019 when he beat Al Iaquinta by unanimous decision. Three of those four losses were by TKO, so there are questions about whether he can stand and trade like he did in the past.

We have seen Niko Price alternate wins and losses for the last two years, but when he has won, he has earned Performance of the Night bonuses for his stunning knockouts. His last three victories have all doubled as Performance of the Night awards, so he has the potential to send Cerrone to the canvas early. However, none of those victories came against top tier opponents, making the Cowboy the play as an underdog by the UFC betting odds.

Khamzat Chimaev -420

Gerald Meerschaert +320

One of the most impressive fighters at Fight Island was Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev made his UFC debut in Abu Dhabi, and he scored two victories in two separate weight classes in the span of just 10 days. He secured a second-round submission win over John Phillips at middleweight and then scored a first-round TKO of Rich Mitchell at welterweight. He declared that he was ready to fight again ASAP, and that has led to his star rising in the promotion.

However, Chimaev is getting far too much respect from the oddsmakers here. The Chechen phenom has finished each of his opponents off within two rounds, yet Gerald Meerschaert is a big step up in competition. Meerschaert is a very good wrestler that has submitted his opponent in 23 of his 31 victories, so he has more than a puncher’s chance to pull off the upset at over 3-1.

Johnny Walker -128

Ryan Spann +108

Fans have somewhat soured on Johnny Walker after two straight losses, but he should be a bigger favorite per the MMA betting odds against Ryan Spann. He is a solid all-around fighter, and he is only a slight favorite because Ryan Spann has won four straight fights. Spann will have a hard time against Walker as he doesn’t have the same stamina and it showed in a split decision win in his last bout.

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