While Cub Swanson vs Brian Ortega will be the blockbuster main event of the evening, there are several other contests that are sure to get the crowd going – and thanks to Paddy Power, we’ll be running down the odds of those bouts.
Liz Carmouche, the woman who competed in the first ever female MMA fight in UFC history, will be attempting to gain a measure of revenge when she takes on former opponent Alexis Davis. Liz is a ½ favourite, with Davis coming in at 6/4. Given how open their division is right now, a win could put one of them in a great position moving forward.
Then comes one of the more interesting fights of the night – Marlon Moraes vs Aljamain Sterling. Moraes is attempting to rebound from a disappointing loss in his last outing, meanwhile, Sterling will try and live up to the reputation that he’s created for himself.
Clearly, the bookmakers haven’t put too much stock in that line of thinking, with Marlon still being an 8/13 favourite in comparison to Aljamain at 6/5. Surprising? A little bit.
Now we come to the main event of the evening in the featherweight division, where the winner can stake a claim for the number one contendership dependant on how decisive their victory is. Cub Swanson is the extremely narrow favourite with odds of 4/5, meanwhile, Ortega, who remains unbeaten in professional MMA, comes in at 10/11.
A decision victory for either man seems most likely at 10/11, with a submission stoppage only being 8/5. Considering they have 13 sub wins between them we shouldn’t be too surprised, but still, it’s worth noting.
The UFC is on something of a roll as of late as they attempt to banish the bad memories from the first half of 2017, and given how strong this card is, they should be confident that the streak can and will continue.
2018 is already lining up to be a blockbuster year in MMA and the featherweight division could be at the core of that, with Max Holloway waiting in the wings to see who could step up to try and put an end to The Blessed Era.
Prepare yourselves, people, because UFC Fight Night 123 could be something special.
