One of the most anticipated UFC rematches finally will take place Saturday when light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier faces Anthony Johnson in the UFC 210 main event as a -105 betting underdog at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Cormier first claimed his light heavyweight belt with a third-round submission win in his first clash with Johnson, paying out as a +100 underdog, and is unbeaten in two octagon appearances since then ahead of Saturday night?s matchup in Buffalo.
Cormier was denied the UFC light heavyweight title when he dropped a unanimous decision to Jon Jones at UFC 182 as a +170 underdog in his first professional MMA loss.
In his first title defense, Cormier eked out a controversial split decision over Alexander Gustafsson as a heavy -300 favorite at UFC 192. But with a suspension to Jones scuttling immediate hopes of a rematch, and a groin injury postponing a planned date with Johnson at UFC 206, Cormier has made just one octagon appearance in 18 months, picking up the unanimous decision as -450 chalk in a non-title bout with Anderson Silva at UFC 200.
Johnson enters the octagon Saturday as the -125 betting favorite after earning Performance of the Night honors in three straight KO wins.
At UFC 202, Johnson knocked out Glover Teixeira just 13 seconds into the first round, paying out as a big -225 favorite. Johnson also recorded a first-round KO win over Ryan Bader as -265 chalk at UFC on FOX 18, and stunned Gustafsson in the lead-up to his first date with Cormier, earning a first-round TKO as a +230 underdog at UFC on FOX 14.
Also on the card, after suffering violent losses inside the distance in his last two outings, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman takes on Gegard Mousasi as a +105 underdog on the UFC 210 betting lines.
Weidman posted wins in his first 13 professional MMA contests, ending nine inside the distance, including six opening-round victories, but lost his middleweight crown by TKO to Luke Rockhold as a -165 favorite at UFC 194, and was stunned by a third-round KO loss to Yoel Romero as -225 chalk at UFC 205.
Mousasi?s current four-fight win streak includes first-round wins over Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night 99 as a -600 bet, and a fourth-round KO of Thiago Santos that earned him UFC 200 Performance of the Night honors.
In other UFC 210 action, Patrick Cote is -150 chalk in his welterweight clash with Thiago Alves, who sports +120 odds, while lightweight Will Brooks faces Charles Oliveira as a -235 favorite.
Thumbnail photo via Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports Images
