UFC 274 goes Saturday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona with two title fights atop the card. Lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will defend his belt against former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje while the Women’s Strawweight strap is also on the line.
This will be Oliveira’s second title defense after submitting Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 last December. Oliveira holds the UFC record for most submissions (15) and finishes (18). The champ is the moneyline favorite at -172.
Gaethje comes in a winner of five of his past six fights, with a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov his only blemish during that stretch. The 33-year-old is +140 on the moneyline.
Rose Namajunas will defend her title against Carla Esparza in a rematch more than seven years in the making as Esparza and Namajunas battled for this belt upon its inception back in 2014. Rose is the moneyline favorite (-210) to avenge her early career loss to Esparza. The challenger is a +168 underdog despite coming in on a five-fight win streak.
Following losses to Oliveira and Gaethje, Michael Chandler comes in as a big moneyline favorite (-375) favorite to beat Tony Ferguson. Ferguson, a +285 moneyline dog, has dropped three straight, including a fifth round TKO defeat to Gaethje and a decision loss to Oliveira.
Turn back the clock for a Light Heavyweight battle featuring the ageless Shogun Rua. The 40-year-old Brazilian, who carried the division strap back in 2010, will have to overcome nearly 2-to-1 odds and a much bigger Ovince Saint Preux. OSP comes down from heavyweight and is the moneyline favorite (-260) despite dropping five of his past seven bouts in the promotion.
Speaking of ageless, the 39-year-old Donald Cerrone will look to pick up his first win in three years. The Cowboy is on a six-fight winless streak but is the favorite at -178 against fellow UFC vet Joe Lauzon. Lauzon (+144) is making his Octagon return after a two and a half year lay off. His last fight came in October 2019, when he picked up a TKO victory over Jonathan Pearce in Lauzon’s backyard of Boston.
All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
