Oddsmakers are giving UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier a slight edge for his title defense rematch against Anthony Johnson. The pair is scheduled to collide at UFC 210 on April 8.
The AKA-based wrestler opened two weeks ago as a -140 favorite, with “Rumble” barely an underdog at +110. For their first encounter, for the vacant title, Cormier was pegged at -150 while Johnson opened at +136.
Odds courtesy of BookMaker.eu. Updated MMA odds as of February 6.
Anthony Johnson (-102) vs Daniel Cormier (-118)
So, What’s Changed?
While a 10 point shift in the Daniel Cormier odds isn’t very significant, the difference between Johnson’s lines from UFC 187 to the upcoming UFC 210 is noteworthy. There are a few factors that are contributing the closer Cormier-Johnson odds here.
First, Cormier has had problems staying healthy. That’s not a good sign for a 37 year old fight with decades of combat sports competition taking a toll on his body. This matchup was originally slated for December, but postponed due to an undisclosed injury to DC during training camp.
While DC has shown no signs of slowing down, his age is an issue. It’s easy to rattle off a bunch of great fighters who sharply declined in their late 30s – Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell, Rashad Evans are just a few. Of course, there are few fighters that seem to get better with age – Demian Maia and Fabricio Werdum come to mind – but in general it’s a time when bodies begin breaking down.
On the other hand, “Rumble” is squarely in his fighting prime at 32. Since losing to Cormier in 2015, “Rumble” has been on a tear, racking up three straight KO finishes over top contenders. Every fight followed the same pattern: Johnson simply stalked his opponent and landed his nuclear right hand. In his most recent outing, perennial contender Glover Teixeira lasted all of 13 seconds.
The Brief Fight Breakdown
It takes a special type of fighter to survive against Rumble, because he’s easily the most dangerous striker in the UFC. DC is one of only a handful of men who possesses the skillset to beat Johnson. Not only did he recover from an early knockdown – something that almost never happens – he used his elite wrestling to grind Johnson down and submit him.
The question is whether he can do it again, as Johnson knows exactly what’s coming. Considering that he stopped the takedowns for NCAA champion Phil Davis, you’d assume that he could stop DC’s. But there is a difference between wrestling in college and being selected from the Olympic team, as Cormier was.
Given Cormier’s advancing age and Johnson’s recent surge, choosing fight picks here proves extremely difficult. You’ll have to wait till fight week to get our official UFC betting selection, but here’s some advice in the meantime.
How You Should Bet on This Fight
If you’re convinced that Johnson will get his revenge, then you should lay money on him now. While “Rumble” opened as an underdog in the last fight, there was a surge of betting at the last minute that made him close as the favorite on fight night.
Conversely, if you think that DC’s wrestling will once again prevail, it’d probably be in your benefit to wait as his UFC betting line will likely go up in a couple weeks. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he reached -100 in a week’s time.
For more exciting fight news, be sure to check out UFC 209 Is the First Must-See Card of 2017
