Khamzat Chimaev’s new UFC 279 opponent is considered slightly more challenging by the bookmakers and fans.
Chimaev was initially scheduled to fight Nate Diaz in the UFC 279 main event but ended up missing weight by 7.5 pounds and therefore missing out on what was a golden opportunity. Now, Chimaev is relegated to the co-main event slot and will fight Kevin Holland, who weighed in at 180 pounds for his fight with Daniel Rodriguez.
Khamzat Chimaev’s weight won’t be a problem for Holland, who has fought most of his UFC career at middleweight before returning to welterweight earlier this year. Although Kevin Holland’s current weight class is welterweight, the bout with Rodriguez was fortunately scheduled at 180 pounds.
Oddsmakers consider Chimaev a significant betting favorite for their fight at UFC 279. It makes perfect sense, too, considering that his excellent wrestling ability will likely cause problems for Holland, who was looking forward to a pure striking contest with Rodriguez on Saturday night.
Chimaev will enter the fight as a -600 betting favorite. On the other hand, Holland is now a +400 underdog in the co-main event.
- Khamzat Chimaev: -600
- Kevin Holland: +400
The betting odds mean that a $100 wager on Kevin Holland could potentially return $400 profit if he manages an upset victory. A $600 bet on Khamzat Chimaev is needed to return $100 profit.
Watch Chimaev vs. Holland fight live
- Date: Saturday, Sept. 10
- Time: PPV Main Card starts at 10 pm ET, Prelims start at 6 pm ET
- Watch:
ESPN + PPV (order here)
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kevin Holland is the co-main event of the UFC 279 PPV main card. Fans can order UFC 279 on the ESPN+ website to watch every main card fight live, including the Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson main event. After ordering, fans can stream every UFC 279 fight to a preferred device, including TVs, mobiles, computers, laptops, tablets, and more.
UFC 279 odds
Saturday, Sept. 10 – T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Main Card – 10:00 pm ET / 7:00 pm PT only on
- Nate Diaz (+110) vs. Tony Ferguson (-140)
- Khamzat Chimaev (-600) vs. Kevin Holland (+400)
- Li Jingliang (+115) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (-145)
- Irene Aldana (-170) vs. Macy Chiasson (+140)
- Johnny Walker (+180) vs. Ion Cutelaba (-230)
Prelims – 8:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm PT on ESPN+
- Hakeem Dawodu (-220) vs. Julian Erosa (+175)
- Denis Tiuliulin (+110) vs. Jamie Pickett (-140)
- Jake Collier (-500) vs. Chris Barnett (+350)
Early Prelims– 6:30 pm ET / 3:30 pm PT on ESPN+
- Norma Dumont (-420) vs. Danyelle Wolf (+320)
- Chad Anheliger (+140) vs. Alateng Heili (-170)
- Melissa Martinez (-175) vs. Elise Reed (+145)
- Darian Weeks (-120) vs. Yohan Lainesse (-110)
