{"id":141391,"date":"2020-07-11T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-11T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=141391"},"modified":"2020-07-13T08:46:48","modified_gmt":"2020-07-13T15:46:48","slug":"ufc-251-odds-usman-volkanovski-favored-in-fight-island-title-bouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ufc-251-odds-usman-volkanovski-favored-in-fight-island-title-bouts\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC 251 Odds: Usman, Volkanovski Favored in Fight Island Title Bouts"},"content":{"rendered":"

A welterweight title fight between champion Kamaru Usman and challenger Jorge Masvidal headlines UFC 251 on Saturday night, the first card to be held on the company\u2019s \u201cFight Island\u201d in Abu Dhabi.<\/a> Usman enters the fight as a -240 favorite to beat Masvidal (+200) and keep his championship, according to William Hill.<\/p>\n

\"UFC
Alexander Volkanovski (left) kicks Max Holloway (right) during their fight at UFC 245 on Dec. 14, 2019, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Image: Steve Marcus\/Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Usman expected to be fighting Gilbert Burns on Monday. But Burns had to drop out after testing positive for the coronavirus. Thankfully, the UFC found a suitable replacement option in Masvidal, who was willing to take the fight on short notice after resolving his contract issues with the company.<\/p>\n

Masvidal needed to cut 22 pounds in just one week to make weight. But he remains a dangerous opponent despite the lack of preparatory time. Usman certainly isn\u2019t taking the holder of the \u201cBMF Belt\u201d lightly heading into UFC 251.<\/p>\n

Each and every time you step in there, there\u2019s always a risk, especially in my situation,\u201d<\/strong> Usman told Yahoo Sports. \u201cThere\u2019s always a risk to step in there, but especially doing it on seven, six, seven days notice after you just trained for a different opponent [with] a different style and now having to make that mental switch. But at the end of the day, this is what champions are made of.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Masvidal has his work cut out for him if he wants to leave Fight Island with the championship belt. Usman\u2019s wrestling skills have overwhelmed most opponents, and Masvidal will need to find a way to keep the fight on its feet if he wants to pull off the upset.<\/p>\n

Holloway Looks for Revenge <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The featherweight championship is also on the line at UFC 251, as Alexander Volkanovski (-220) will defend his crown against Max Holloway (+180) — the same man he beat to claim the title in December. The 28-year-old Holloway has lost two of the last three fights but remains confident that he\u2019ll be back on top before long.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m only 28, I\u2019m only getting better,\u201d<\/strong> Holloway told CBS Sports. \u201cUFC is going to be seeing a lot of my face for many years to come, so I ain\u2019t worried about it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If Holloway wants to walk out with a win on Saturday, he\u2019ll need to find a way to neutralize Vokanovski\u2019s leg kicks, which proved decisive in the Australian\u2019s unanimous decision win last year.<\/p>\n

Yan Takes Centerstage\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The UFC 251 card contains a rare third title fight, though this one is for a vacant crown. Bantamweights Petr Yan (-230) and Jose Aldo (+190) will face off for the belt previously held by the now-retired Henry Cejudo.<\/a><\/p>\n

Yan comes in as the favorite despite the fact that Aldo is the bigger name in MMA. The two previously trained together, and Yan now believes he\u2019s ready to outclass the veteran.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad to be fighting Aldo, who is a legend of the sport,\u201d Yan told reporters. \u201cIt was a great experience, training with him. We sparred, we grappled. I think it was four years ago, and I have become a better fighter since that time. I don\u2019t think he has become a better fighter. He\u2019s stayed the same.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A welterweight title fight between champion Kamaru Usman and challenger Jorge Masvidal headlines UFC 251 on Saturday night, the first card to be held on the company\u2019s \u201cFight Island\u201d in Abu Dhabi. Usman enters the fight as a -240 favorite to beat Masvidal (+200) and keep his championship, according to William Hill. Usman expected to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":141392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUFC 251 Odds: Usman, Volkanovski Favored in Fight Island Title Bouts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UFC 251 is the first show for the company on Fight Island, and features a total of three title fights, including Kamaru Usman taking on Jorge Masvidal.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ufc-251-odds-usman-volkanovski-favored-in-fight-island-title-bouts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UFC 251 Odds: Usman, Volkanovski Favored in Fight Island Title Bouts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UFC 251 is the first show for the company on Fight Island, and features a total of three title fights, including Kamaru Usman taking on Jorge Masvidal.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ufc-251-odds-usman-volkanovski-favored-in-fight-island-title-bouts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-11T08:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-07-13T15:46:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Volkanovski-Holloway-UFC-251-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3072\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ufc-251-odds-usman-volkanovski-favored-in-fight-island-title-bouts\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ufc-251-odds-usman-volkanovski-favored-in-fight-island-title-bouts\/\",\"name\":\"UFC 251 Odds: Usman, Volkanovski Favored in Fight Island Title Bouts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ufc-251-odds-usman-volkanovski-favored-in-fight-island-title-bouts\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ufc-251-odds-usman-volkanovski-favored-in-fight-island-title-bouts\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Volkanovski-Holloway-UFC-251-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-11T08:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-13T15:46:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"UFC 251 is the first show for the company on Fight Island, and features a total of three title fights, including Kamaru Usman taking on Jorge Masvidal.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ufc-251-odds-usman-volkanovski-favored-in-fight-island-title-bouts\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ufc-251-odds-usman-volkanovski-favored-in-fight-island-title-bouts\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ufc-251-odds-usman-volkanovski-favored-in-fight-island-title-bouts\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Volkanovski-Holloway-UFC-251-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Volkanovski-Holloway-UFC-251-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":3072,\"height\":2048,\"caption\":\"Alexander Volkanovski (left) kicks Max Holloway (right) during their fight at UFC 245 on Dec. 14, 2019 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. 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