UFC 211 Betting Preview: Miocic, Jedrzejczyk Odds-On Favorites to Defend Belts

UFC champions Stipe Miocic and Joanna Jedrzejczyk each have their eyes set on records for consecutive title defenses. In order to eventually reach their goals, heavyweight Miocic and strawweight Jedrzejczyk must win on Saturday as small favorites at UFC 211 in Dallas.

The two are fighting in the main and co-main events on the card.

The record for consecutive title defenses at heavyweight is two, a mark Miocic (16-2) can tie with a victory against former champ Junior Dos Santos (18-4). The 34-year-old Miocic is a -140 betting favorite (wager $140 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark, but he lost the first fight to Dos Santos via unanimous decision in December 2014.

Dos Santos only defended the title one time when he scored a second-round TKO of Frank Mir at UFC 146 nearly five years ago. He had knocked out Cain Velasquez in his previous bout to win the title and then gave it right back to him in losing a unanimous decision in his next fight. The 33-year-old Brazilian is a +120 underdog (bet $100 to win $120) and has split his last two since beating Miocic, who has won four straight.

On the women's side, the unbeaten Jedrzejczyk (13-0) is attempting to top Ronda Rousey's record for title defenses by a female in the UFC with six. She is more than halfway there with four after earning a unanimous-decision win over Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 205 last November at Madison Square Garden.

The 29-year-old Pole is widely considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound women's MMA fighter in the world, and she is listed as a -170 favorite against rising contender Jessica Andrade (16-5).

Andrade is a +140 underdog on the UFC 211 odds, and even though she is ranked No. 3 by the UFC, she has gone a perfect 3-0 at 115 pounds since dropping down from bantamweight, where Rousey was champion.

That 20-pound difference has made the 25-year-old Brazilian a much bigger threat to win the title, as she has finished two of her three opponents so far in the division by TKO and guillotine-choke submission. Her last bout resulted in a Fight of the Night bonus after she dominated Angela Hill in a unanimous-decision win.