Aleksandar Rakic vs. Thiago Santos UFC 259 opening betting odds released

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming light heavyweight bout between Aleksandar Rakic and Thiago Santos at UFC 259.

In a battle between two of the top-five light heavyweights in the UFC, Rakic meets Santos in a three-round fight on the undercard of UFC 259 on March 6 in Las Vegas. We do not yet have an official main event for this card, but whispers are that Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngnannou may headline the event. The promotion also recently added UFC women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson as the co-main event.

With Rakic vs. Santos coming up in just a few short months, and with both men eyeing a spot at 205lbs title contention with a win, the oddsmakers were quick to release the betting line for this fight. Check out the opening odds for the bout below (courtesy BestFightOdds).

UFC 259: Aleksandar Rakic (-265) vs. Thiago Santos (+185) https://t.co/hEpVUuUgpF @tmarretamma

— BestFightOdds (@BestFightOdds) December 19, 2020

UFC 259 Odds

Aleksandar Rakic -265
Thiago Santos +185

Rakic opened as a -265 betting favorite. That means a $265 bet would win $100. As for Santos, he opened as a +185 betting underdog. That means a $100 bet would win $185.

Rakic (13-2) is the No. 4 ranked light heavyweight in the UFC. The 28-year-old native of Austria is coming off of his best win to date in the Octagon, a dominant decision over former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith back in August. Overall, Rakic holds a 5-1 record in the UFC with his notable win being a head kick KO over Jimi Manuwa, with his lone defeat in the UFC coming against Volkan Oezdemir by split decision.

Santos (21-8) is the No. 2 ranked light heavyweight in the UFC. The 36-year-old Brazilian is one of the best light heavyweights in the world and he proved that when he took Jon Jones to a split decision at UFC 239. But that fight was in July 2019, and Santos has only fought once since then, a submission loss to Glover Texiera back in November. Santos is an elite light heavyweight but after losing to Teixeira he needs to bounce back with a win.

Who do you think wins, Aleksandar Rakic or Thiago Santos?

This article appeared first on BJPenn.com on 12/22/2020.