Shogun and Lombard Open as Sizeable Favorites In Upcoming Bouts

Injuries have derailed some of the summer’s biggest fights, but there are still plenty of match-ups to talk about including the debut of a former Bellator champion and the return of a former UFC title holder.

Former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard will make his long awaited Octagon debut at UFC 149 where he faces former light heavyweight Tim Boetsch in a 185lb showdown.

According to Nick Kalikas from BetOnFighting.com, Lombard’s reputation as a knockout artist will follow him to the UFC where he has opened as a sizeable favorite over UFC veteran Boetsch.

Lombard comes in as a whopping -310 favorite with the comeback on Boetsch at +240

Before he even signed with the UFC, Lombard was calling out middleweight king Anderson Silva, but first things first he has back up the hype and for now the oddsmakers are betting on that becoming reality.

At UFC on Fox 4, the entire main event was scrapped when Lombard’s original opponent Brian Stann fell out of the fight due to injury so the promotion opted to go with former light heavyweight champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua taking on Brandon Vera.

Vera was originally scheduled to fight James Te Huna at UFC on Fuel TV 4 in July, but got the opportunity to face Rua instead when injuries forced several changes on the summer cards.

Rua opens as an expected favorite in the fight with -290 odds in his favor while Vera comes back at the underdog with +220 odds on his side.

As the fight draws closer, those numbers could shift due to Rua’s popularity and status heading into this one with Vera struggling mightily over his last several performances.