UFC 266 final odds: Champions remain betting favorites, Diaz falls to underdog in Lawler rematch

Before UFC 266 gets going tonight from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, let’s take a look at the closing betting odds and…

By: Eddie Mercado | 2 years ago
UFC 266 final odds: Champions remain betting favorites, Diaz falls to underdog in Lawler rematch
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Before UFC 266 gets going tonight from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, let’s take a look at the closing betting odds and see what has changed since our midweek moneyline post. On the PPV main card, we’ve got the UFC’s featherweight king not budging as the betting favorite in the main event, with the women’s flyweight queen still being favored in the co-main. Then there’s that 17-year-old rematch going on, where a shadow boxing video prompted a fall into underdog territory. There’s a picture of the moneylines for each of this card’s matchups towards the bottom of the page.

In the UFC 266 headliner, the bookies are favoring Alexander Volkanovski, at -170, to retain his 145-pound strap. That leaves Brian Ortega in the underdog slot, and he can be scooped up at a value of +160. A popular prop bet for this fight is ‘Volkanovski wins by decision,’ which is on deck with a small plus line of +135. If you ask me, ‘Ortega wins by submission’ at +550 will forever be an awfully enticing proposition.

The widest betting line of UFC 266 belongs to the co-main event. What else can be said about the defending champ Valentina Shevchenko? She has proven herself to be leaps and bounds above the field, and has justified such absurd odds for a fist fight. If low risk, low reward is your thing, then Shevchenko at -1800 is your ticket. If you’re team chaos, then Murphy at +980 is your underdog Hail Mary. Valentina is actually strongly favored to get the finish. The prop bet ‘Shevchenko wins inside distance’ has been seen as drastic as -225, with ‘Murphy wins inside distance’ circulating at a laughable +1600.

Now for a pick’em fight that’s not so even anymore… at least according to the betting public. Earlier in the week, we had -110 moneylines for both Robbie Lawler and Nick Diaz heading into tonight’s rematch. That was until that behind the scenes footage dropped showing Diaz shadow boxing in a rather diminished way from the fighter who we’ve all come to love and respect. Once that video went viral, an influx of coin came crashing in for Robbie, sending his betting line to -160, and Diaz’s into underdog territory at +150.

Check out the UFC 266 betting odds, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com:

For an in-depth breakdown of each UFC 266 fight, check out The MMA Vivisection with Bloody Elbow’s own Zane Simon and Connor Ruebusch. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date with all of our live video content. Stay glued to Bloody Elbow for all of your event coverage including play-by-play, results, highlights, and more! Happy hunting!

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About the author
Eddie Mercado
Eddie Mercado

Eddie Mercado is a writer and content creator for Bloody Elbow, and has covered combat sports since 2015. Eddie covers everything from betting odds and live events, to fighter interviews and co-hosting the 6th Round post-fight show and the 6th Round Retro. He retired at 1-0 in professional MMA, competed in one Muay Thai match in Thailand, and is currently a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu under the great Diego Bispo.

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