Khabib/McGregor Odds: Updates on UFC 229 Heading into Saturday's Card
October 5, 2018
With unbeaten lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (26-0) putting his title on the line against former champ Conor McGregor (21-3) at UFC 229 in Las Vegas on Saturday, the betting odds are on the move in the direction of the favorite.
After both fighters made weight on Friday, the support for Nurmagomedov is getting stronger, as the 30-year-old Russian is -170 (bet $170 to win $100) on the Khabib/McGregor odds at some sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. McGregor is a +150 underdog (bet $100 to win $150).
Making the maximum lightweight limit of 155 pounds has been difficult for Nurmagomedov in the past. He was scheduled to meet Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight championship at UFC 209 on March 4 of last year but fell ill due to a botched weight cut and had to bow out. Nurmagomedov later won the lightweight title at UFC 223 on April 7 when he earned a unanimous-decision win over Al Iaquinta.
McGregor is also a large lightweight and has been known to balloon up over 170 pounds on fight day, although he easily weighed in at 154.5 pounds.
In his boxing match versus welterweight champ Floyd Mayweather a little more than a year ago, the 30-year-old Irishman weighed in at 153 for the 154-pound limit. He had about 20 pounds on Mayweather and tried to use his size to his advantage before getting knocked out in the 10th round.
In the Octagon, McGregor fought Nate Diaz twice at welterweight (170 pounds) and split those two bouts before scoring a second-round TKO of Eddie Alvarez for the 155-pound strap.
With weigh-ins out of the way, McGregor's focus remains on regaining one of the belts he lost because of his inactivity in MMA of nearly two years. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov has been eyeing this fight for a long time and believes his opponent has been overhyped with intentions on proving that on Saturday.
However, McGregor's resume is much more impressive than that of Nurmagomedov, who will be facing the biggest test of his career in what will be his 11th bout with the promotion.
For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week's top sports betting news, check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.