UFC 206 Odds: Holloway vs Pettis “Highlights” Revamped Card

The UFC 206 card (Dec. 10, 2016, in Toronto) has undergone a few changes since we last gave you the odds, so let’s take a moment to catch up.

Daniel Cormier vs Anthony Johnson II, the main event, was scrapped in late November after Cormier was forced to withdraw due to injury. The UFC scrambled to replace Cormier, suggesting former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi, but Johnson declined and opted to hold out for the Cormier match-up.

New girl on the block, Poliana Botelho, was also scheduled to face Valérie Létourneau, but Botelho was suspiciously removed from the fight and replaced by fellow newcomer Viviane Pereira.

The middleweight bout between Tim Kennedy and former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans was also scrapped after Evans’ pre-fight MRI scan showed some irregularities, rendering him unfit to fight. The Ultimate Fighter 17 middleweight winner Kelvin Gastelum was booked as the replacement.

UFC 206 was already an underwhelming card, featuring interesting match-ups but lacking big-name draws. With the loss of Evans, Cormier, and Johnson, the card lost the biggest names it had.

To remedy the situation, the UFC stripped Conor McGregor of his featherweight title, awarded it to then-interim champion Jose Aldo, and made the Holloway-Pettis fight a featherweight interim championship fight. It was a way to artificially raise the stakes of the Holloway-Pettis match-up, which was bumped up to the main event.

Here’s a look at the three biggest fights on the revamped card.

Updated UFC 206 Odds

Max Holloway (-185) vs Anthony Pettis (+145)

Anthony Pettis will be fighting for the second time in the featherweight division after making the switch from lightweight and he’ll be up against Max Holloway, the third-ranked fighter in the division. Pettis is coming off a string of high-profile losses, whereas Holloway’s last loss was to Conor McGregor back in 2013. Take Holloway to continue his march up the featherweight charts. 

Pick: Max Holloway (-185)

Donald Cerrone (-270) vs Matt Brown (+205)

Matt Brown was a compromise replacement for the Cerrone fight. He’s the 14th-ranked welterweight in the UFC and is coming off a first-round loss to Jake Ellenberger. On the other hand, Donald Cerrone is a veteran of the sport who has taken on the best fighters in multiple divisions. Brown will give him a test, but Cerrone is in a slightly higher league, skill and experience-wise. 

Pick: Donald Cerrone (-270)

Tim Kennedy (-222) vs Kelvin Gastelum (+175)

Kennedy has not fought in the UFC since 2014 when he was rocked by Yoel Romero. He is ranked 12th in the middleweight division, but at 37 years old, he’s very close to the curtains of his career. Kelvin Gastelum is a lot younger (25) and has a lot to prove. He’s yet to show that he can handle himself among the best, but his performance during The Ultimate Fighter inspires confidence. His value at +175 inspires a wager. 

Pick: Kelvin Gastelum (+175)

Photo credit: “Donald Cerrone” by Martial Arts Nomad, CC BY-SA 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0], via Flickr.