Francis Ngannou opens as betting favorite over Jon Jones

UFC heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou opened as the betting favorite in a potential superfight against UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

Ngannou and Jones have been going back-and-forth on social media as of late with talks of a potential heavyweight superfight between two of the UFC’s biggest stars. Jones would be moving up in weight to take on Ngannou in what would undoubtedly be one of the biggest fights in UFC history. Now the sportsbooks are getting in on the action.

The online sportsbooks on Tuesday opened up the betting odds for a potential Ngannou vs. Jones fight. Take a look at the odds courtesy of BestFightOdds.com.

Future Events: Francis Ngannou (-160) vs. Jon Jones (+130) https://t.co/VO30HT1Mz6 @francis_ngannou @JonnyBones

— BestFightOdds (@BestFightOdds) May 18, 2020

UFC Futures Odds

Francis Ngannou -160
Jon Jones +130

Ngannou opened as a -160 betting favorite. That means a bet of $160 would win you $100. Jones opened as a +130 betting underdog. That means a bet of $100 would win you $130.

It’s very rare to see Jones as a betting underdog considering he’s essentially gone undefeated in his career save for a controversial DQ loss to Matt Hamill in 2009. Jones has been one of the most dominant champions in UFC history since winning the UFC light heavyweight title in 2011, but he has appeared to look mortal as of late, winning controversial decisions over Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes in his last two bouts.

Ngannou, meanwhile, has been on a roll as of late with first-round knockout wins over Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Junior dos Santos, Cain Velasquez, and Curtis Blaydes over his last four fights. That snapped his two-fight losing skid to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis back in 2018, and once again Ngannou is one of the scariest men in MMA. In a potential matchup against Jones, Ngannou would have the size and power advantage. However, Jones still has his wrestling to fall back on, making this an extremely intriguing matchup.

Along with opening as the favorite over Jones, Ngannou also opened as a betting favorite over Daniel Cormier recently.

Who do you like at these odds, Francis Ngannou or Jon Jones?