Opening odds for UFC Long Island’s Chris Weidman vs. Kelvin Gastelum main event

On July 22, the UFC will make its anticipated debut in Long Island with UFC on Fox 25. Over the last few weeks, the UFC has announced several matchups for this card, including its main event. This main event will pit struggling former champion and New Yorker Chris Weidman against surging former welterweight Kelvin Gastelum in a five-round middleweight contest.

Now that this Long Island main event has been announced, the opening odds for it have been released. These odds were broken by MMA oddsmaker Joey Oddessa (via MMAJunkie.com).

The opening odds identify the former champ Weidman as a -150 favorite, which means that a successful $150 bet on him will earn you $100. Gastelum, meanwhile, has been pegged as a +120 dog. This means that a successful $100 bet on him will earn you $100.

Given that Weidman is on a three fight losing streak, these odds might surprise some people. In his last three fights, the former champion has been defeated by Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero, and Gegard Mousasi – all by way of strikes. That said, he is likely to be the bigger, stronger man in the cage, and remains one of the middleweight division’s most established contenders, which could be the reason for his status as the favorite.

Gastelum, meanwhile, will carry some serious momentum into this fight, which could make him a smart bet as the underdog. After a series of failed cuts to the welterweight division, he was forced up to the middleweight division where, despite a size disadvantage, he’s looked better than ever. In his first fight back in the division, he pummelled the game Tim Kennedy to a TKO win. In his second fight in the division, he knocked Vitor Belfort senseless inside a round – though this outcome was regrettably ruled a no contest when Gastelum tested positive for marijuana metabolites.

What do you, make of these early odds for UFC Long Island’s Chris Weidman vs. Kelvin Gastelum main event?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/17/2017.