This weekend’s UFC Fight Island 5 bantamweight headliner between Marlon Moraes and Cory Sandhagen is certainly one for the hardcore mixed martial arts fan.
Moraes will look to make it two wins in a row as he seeks another title shot while Sandhagen will be hoping to bounce back from his first setback in the UFC following a first-round submission loss to Aljamain Sterling in June.
It’s very possible the winner of this fight could earn the next bantamweight title shot. So who are oddsmakers siding with?
When the fight was initially announced, Moraes opened as the -135 favorite while Sandhagen was a slight +115 underdog.
However, with just a day to go for the event, Sandhagen is now the favorite with odds ranging from -135 to -152 according to various oddsmakers. Moraes, on the other hand, is now an underdog ranging from +105 to +125.
That means you would have to bet $135 to win $100 on Sandhagen while a $100 stake on Moraes would earn you a profit of $125.
It appears bettors are confident in Sandhagen’s chances, especially given that this is a five-rounder and Moraes has shown to slow down in the past. However, “Magic” has the ability to end the fight at any point and it’s certainly worth a punt to put some action on a finish from the Brazilian.
Here are the opening odds for the pair’s last five fights:
Marlon Moraes last five fights
- vs. Jose Aldo (W): -175
- vs. Henry Cejudo (L): -175
- vs. Raphael Assuncao (W): -215
- vs. Jimmie Rivera (W): +150
- vs. Aljamain Sterling (W): -175
Cory Sandhagen last five fights
- vs. Aljamain Sterling (L): +210
- vs. Raphael Assuncao (W): +175
- vs. John Lineker (W): -105
- vs. Mario Bautista (W): -475
- vs. Iuri Alcantara (W): +135