UFC 227 Odds & Preview

UFC 227 is set for Saturday night from Los Angeles — with the main event featuring a rematch between two heated bantamweights, as T.J. Dillashaw will defend his belt against Cody Garbrandt — the belt that he took from Garbrandt at UFC 217 back in November. Dillashaw won via TKO in the second round, and now Garbrandt will be looking for redemption. The co-main event will feature Demetrious Johnson defending his flyweight belt against Henry Dejudo. This will be Johnson’s 12th title defense, and he took down Cejudo easily at UFC 197 back in April 2016. Let’s take a look at the card as well as our MMA odds insights for some of the bouts scheduled for Saturday’s UFC 227.

UFC 227 Odds & Preview

Main Card (10:00pm ET, PPV)

• T.J. Dillashaw (-115) vs. Cody Garbrandt (-105)
• Demetrious Johnson (-485) vs. Henry Cejudo (+385)
• Renato Moicano (-400) vs. Cub Swanson (+325)
• Polyana Viana (-255) vs. JJ Aldrich (+215)
• Thiago Santos (-370) vs. Kevin Holland (+310)

Preliminary Card (8:00pm ET, FX)

• Pedro Munhoz (-255) vs. Brett Johns (+215)
• Ricky Simon (-125) vs. Montel Jackson (+105)
• Matt Sayles (-110) vs. Sheymon Moraes (-110)

Preliminary Card (6:15pm ET, Fight Pass)

• Alex Perez (-140) vs. Jose Torres (+120)
• Ricardo Ramos (-225) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (+185)
• Weili Zhang (-255) vs. Danielle Taylor (+215)
• Marlon Vera (-500) vs. Wuliji Buren (+400)

The main card has a lot of heavy favorites on it — except for the main event. T.J. Dillashaw vs Cody Garbrandt gives you the sort of rematch that we get in the movies — a chance for immediate redemption for the loser. However, Dillashaw is already working hard on the mental game, saying that he was feeling bad for Garbrandt because this was not the big rivalry for Garbrandt initially. Dillashaw does not take a lot of risks in order to bring wins, and he uses a lot of movement to avoid taking hard strikes, instead of moving straight ahead. However, in their fight in November, Dillashaw simply took Garbrandt apart, and by the time that second-round TKO happened, it already seemed like the fight was well in hand. Garbrandt looked overmatched, and it will be hard to imagine him making the needed improvements in such a short time, particularly against a confident Dillashaw. UFC 227 Prediction: Dillashaw wins via knockout In the early preliminary card, one interesting bout involves Alex Perez and Jose Torres. Torres won championships in two divisions within Titan FC, taking down a number of talented fighters in just two years. He did suffer a setback in his UFC debut, but he got the call on short notice and had to cut quickly from 145 pounds in order to qualify for the fight. Torres comes in as a slight underdog here, but he has the goods to deliver against Perez, and he is one of the few underdogs on any part of this card who has solid potential to bring value. The other intriguing underdog comes from Brett Johns and Pedro Munhoz, in the second preliminary card. Munhoz has elite striking power and can finish with submissions in a hurry. However, he has a hard time getting takedowns, and he has not put together a combination of strikes that can break down opponents quickly. Johns comes in as a significant underdog here, and he has the tools to break down Munhoz’s grinding approach. Johns can absorb some strikes while staying on his feet, and his own wrestling skills are well above average. If you’re looking for an underdog who delivers a little more value, Johns is definitely worth considering. Finally, also in the early card, we have Ricardo Ramos vs Kyung Ho Kang. Ramos is the favorite, but he struggled with Michinori Tanaka — whom Kang was able to solve. Kang has a ton of skills and can wear down better fighters, but then he has a hard time fighting off people who (on paper) shouldn’t be able to hang with him. He has size and strength for the weight class — so Kang is another underdog to consider.