Opening odds: Champ Daniel Cormier, challenger Anthony Johnson set as pick 'em at UFC 206

UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier beat Anthony Johnson the fist time they met. But with a rematch of the UFC 187 clash on the horizon, oddsmakers simply couldn’t pick a favorite.

The opening lines for the UFC 206 headliner, courtesy of MMAOddsBreaker.com, have the two light heavyweights dead even, with both fighters checking in at (-115).

“This is just as difficult to call as the last time,” Brad Taschuk wrote forMMAOddsBreaker. “I picked ‘Rumble’ to walk out with the belt at UFC 187 because I was pretty sure that he would land on Cormier, and I didn’t expect ‘DC’ to be able to survive. Well, one of those things happened.

Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson

“Johnson definitely landed, even launching Cormier across the cage at one point, but was unable to score a stoppage. Once that happened, I thought he would give up, but Johnson surprised me by landing big again in round two. Even in round three, he was able to score a takedown after absorbing quite a bit of punishment in the second. Eventually Cormier got him to quit in the third and secured the rear-naked choke, but it shouldn’t be a completely disheartening performance for Johnson.

“‘Rumble’ knows he can land on Cormier. We all do at this point. On the feet, ‘DC’ isn’t exactly a defensive savant, and because of that he excels when he can get into the clinch and grind opponents down, leading to the eventual takedowns and smothering top game. Heading into their first fight, nobody could have known that Cormier had the chin we now know he has. However, at 37, and with a few more tough performances under his belt (including also getting dropped by Alexander Gustafsson) will he still be able to absorb the same kind of shots?”

UFC 206 takes place Dec. 10 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. The bout order is still to be determined.

Cormier (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is currently ranked No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light heavyweight rankings. Johnson (22-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) checks in just behind at No. 3.

What do you think? Is this one too close to call? Vote below on who you think wins at UFC 206.