With UFC 279 wrapped up and in the past, it’s time to look forward to the next major card. UFC 280 will mark UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi, and take place on October 22nd.
With both the Lightweight and Bantamweight Championships set to be on the line, there will surely be plenty of interest in this card. As UFC 279 taught us, the card will be subject to change between now and then, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to get bets in on the event.
In fact, many online sportsbooks in New Jersey have already released odds for the event. Not many deep markets have been released to this point, but you can already bet on the winners of major main card fights.
Odds via BetMGM
Charles Oliveira (+125) vs. Islam Makhachev (-150)
The card’s headliner is the Lightweight Championship contest between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev.
Oliveira will be looking to regain the Championship after he was stripped of it for failing to make weight at UFC 274. It was a controversial decision to strip him of the title over half a pound, and he still managed to defeat Justin Gaethje via submission in the first round. Despite this, he opens as a slim underdog at +125.
Islam Makhachev is looking to capture his first UFC Championship in this bout. Back in February, the Russian defeated Bobby Green via a first-round TKO. Oddsmakers are on his side by narrow margins, at -150.
Aljamin Sterling (-165) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (+135)
The other championship bout of the evening sees reigning Bantamweight Champion Aljamin Sterling face off against T.J. Dillashaw.
Dillashaw has only had one fight since being served a two-year suspension for banned substances in 2019. In that match-up, he defeated Cory Sandhagen via split decision in July 2021. With not much of a recent history to draw upon, Dillashaw is the underdog at +135. Dillashaw is no stranger to headlining Pay-Per-Views, so you can never count him out.
Sterling is relatively fresh off his last fight, where he defeated Petr Yan via split decision to unify the Bantamweight Championship in April. He’s won 10 of his last 11 fights, so it makes sense that he would be the preferred choice by bookies at -165.
Belal Muhammad (+120) vs. Sean Brady (-145)
The fight of the night with the shortest odds belongs to Belal Muhammad and Sean Brady.
Belal Muhammad is a slim underdog, despite not having lost in his last 8 fights (including a no-contest), 6 of which have ended via unanimous decision. In his last fight, he beat Vicente Luque this way. Muhammad opens up at +120.
Sean Brady is the favorite to win, with -145 odds. Brady is undefeated in 15 professional fights, so it makes sense that he would be the favorite. The Philadelphia native defeated Michael Chiesa via unanimous decision in his last fight.
Petr Yan (-375) vs. Sean O’Malley (+290)
The heaviest favorite of fights available for betting right now is Petr Yan.
The Russian will be in his first fight since losing to Aljamin Sterling in the Bantamweight Championship Unification bout in April. He has a 16-3 professional record and is looking to get back into talks to fight for the Bantamweight belt. Oddsmakers clearly think that he has a big advantage here, with a pretty massive -375 line.
On the other hand, Sean O’Malley is quite the underdog here. As the biggest longshot on the card thus far, it looks like he is walking into the lion’s den against Yan. But, O’Malley is no slouch. His most recent fight ended in a no-contest due to an accidental eye-poke, but outside of that, the knockout specialist has a 15-1 career record. As the longest shot on the books, it may be worth betting on O’Malley to get a big payout.
UFC 280 is still a long time away and the card could change, but it’s still always fun to look ahead and get an idea of who is favored to win each fight early on.
