The UFC is closing the door on the most successful year in the promotion’s history – and you know damn well that the new owners wanna keep the ball rolling. You don’t buy a sport for over $4 billion without expecting to make the type of stacks that Scrooge McDuck could swim around in.
And the best, and maybe only, way to outdo 2016 is with bigger fights. Super fights. Money fights. That’s what it all seems to come down to. This is a sport where pay-per-view makes up the majority of the revenue, and the matchups drive the numbers.
The UFC has already scheduled a few fights for early 2017, but nothing major has been announced yet. We’ve got a few UFC picks for massive money fights that would be sure to draw huge PPV numbers. We’re also playing armchair oddsmaker and projecting UFC betting lines for these matchups.
If and when any of these fights come to fruition (fingers crossed), BookMaker.eu is where you’ll be able to find the latest UFC odds.
Conor McGregor (-190) vs Nick Diaz (+150)
You read right, that’s NICK Diaz. Not Nate, even though he’s tied 1-1 with McGregor. When it comes to the Diaz bros, it’s Nick that’s by far the more volatile human being. At least half of what he says makes no sense whatsoever – it’s like crazy person ramblings.
Nick was the originator not showing up to press conferences. He made middle fingers in the octagon cool. He laid down and took a nap in front of Anderson Silva midfight.
Throwing Nick into a cage with McGregor to avenge his little brother’s loss would be every fight fan’s dream come true. You could make each press conference a $10 pay-per-view stream and I’d pay it. Security guards to separate the two wouldn’t be enough – the faceoffs would have to be done through prison glass windows with phones for trash talking.
There’s also no way the fight itself wouldn’t be amazing. Nick has the size, durability and cardio advantage, Conor has the knockout power and timing. It’d be like throwing these guys into the blender and pressing the emulsifier button. Fight of the Decade stuff, right here.
Conor McGregor (+140) vs Georges St. Pierre (-170)
I promise not all of these fights will involve Conor McGregor. But here’s another one that would shatter every PPV record. GSP and Mystic Mac are two of the biggest stars in the sport’s history, but they are like bizarro opposites of each other.
Where McGregor is brash and outspoken, St. Pierre is classy and humble. The Irishman will talk shit all day, while it’s tough to get the French-Canadian to say anything bad about an opponent. The contrast of personalities is beyond compelling when we’re looking at Georges St. Pierre’s odds.
As for the fight itself, Joe Rogan said it best on his podcast when asked how Conor would fare against GSP: “Prepare. To get. Wrestlefucked.” Of course, McGregor’s athleticism and punching power would make things interesting, but I kind of agree with Rogan here, even if GSP hasn’t fought in three years.
Cyborg Justino (-160) vs Holly Holm (+120)
Let’s just accept the fact that Cyborg vs. Rousey will never happen. For years it was the elusive money fight, MMA’s version of Pacquiao-Mayweather. Instead, let’s focus on a money fight that was actually offered in recent weeks.
Dana White announced recently that he had offered a bout for the inaugural bantamweight title between Rousey-killer Holly Holm and soultaker Cris Cyborg Justino.
IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME we see Justino get matched up with a premier fighter, not the scrubs that the UFC has been feeding her. Unfortunately, Cyborg turned down the proposed fight date, saying she couldn’t make weight – but she didn’t nix the fight entirely.
Instead, she said she could get to 145 pounds in March. Please, please make it happen, Cyborg. And say yes to Holm. Pitting the Brazilian’s savage Muay Thai against Holm’s world-class boxing is something we would ALL pay good money for with these fight odds. It’s SO close to happening.
Jon Jones (-225) vs Anthony Johnson (+175)
Can we just all admit that Jones vs. Rumble is the matchup that we want instead of a rematch with Cormier? We’ve seen that movie before. It was good, but not something I’d pay to watch in the theater again. No, I wanna watch a new flick where the stakes are raised and NO ONE IS SAFE.
That’s every fight with Rumble Johnson. You’re not just fighting to win, you’re fighting for self-preservation. I could think of a half-dozen traps for the next Saw movie where you have to complete some random task or else take punches from him.
And he is the ONLY legitimate light heavyweight contender that Jones hasn’t beaten yet. We need to see Jones survive against him.
Who killed it in the UFC in 2016? Read UFC Odds: Three Strong 2016 Fighter of the Year Candidates
