Here are the early sports betting odds for the interim UFC Lightweight Championship fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson at UFC 209 on Saturday, March 4th, according to offshore online gambling sportsbook SBG Global:
Tony Ferguson +150
Khabib Nurmagomedov -170
Sports Betting Odds Team McGregor vs. Team Faber Finale
The third time will hopefully be the charm for this match-up, which has been cancelled twice in the past. They were first scheduled to meet for The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber Finale on December 2015 but Nurmagomedov pulled out due to injury. Then they were slated for UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans on April 2016, but Ferguson took a rain check with a lung issue. Finally, it appears as if both fighters are healthy – and wealthy enough – to make this long anticipated bout happen.
Same Pay
According to UFC president Dana White, Ferguson would not fight unless he was paid “the same exact money” as Nurmagomedov. So, he wanted to be paid in rubles? Khabib wanted this fight so bad that he offered to pay Ferguson $200.000 out of his own pocket, an offer which the latter refused. There’s no telling exactly how both camps came to agreement – perhaps Ferguson went on Kickstarter to raise the rest of the money, or maybe the perspective of one of those coveted “interim” titles was too tempting to resist – but the match is on and so is offshore online gambling for it.
Nurmagomedov
On to the other side of this sports betting bracket. If Nurmagomedov doesn’t make you rich, he might at the very least make you famous. You’ll be known the following day as the latest victim in his impressive winning streak. The Avar fighter is undefeated at 24-0, including eight UFC bouts. He doesn’t only have a flawless record, but he’s also very methodical – he has won eight fights by KO, eight by submission, and eight by decision. Now that the contract has been signed, the two have proceeded to the apparently obligatory Twitter back and forth, with Nurmagomedov claiming he trains with bears, lions, and gorillas (PETA alert!) and Ferguson responding with a jerk-store-called level comeback, adding that Khabib “can’t box for s***.”
Finally, Nurmagomedov just told Ferguson to “shut up and train” which is actually very sound advice. Juvenile social media antics aside, this is a match that not only offshore online gambling fans are eagerly waiting for. Many MMA personalities predict this will be one for the ages, the skills of both fighters exceedingly outweighing the silly interim title gimmick. After all, it’s not like they are going to manage a political transition following the collapse of the previous governing administration. Let’s just call it what it is; a No. 1 contender’s match for a shot at Conor McGregor’s lightweight championship. But regardless of nomenclatures, and back to sports betting odds, Nurmagomedov is the favorite to beat Ferguson and continue his unbeaten streak. Let’s keep in mind though that streaks are meant to be broken. Will Tony Ferguson be the man to break this one? We’ll find out soon enough.