Renan Barao will be a heavy favorite at UFC 173 Saturday night when he puts his UFC bantamweight title on the line against TJ Dillashaw.
It has been over nine years and 32 decisions since the 27-year-old Brazilian last went down to defeat, the longest current unbeaten streaks in MMA.
Dillashaw (10-2-0), ranked as the No. 4 challenger in the UFC bantamweight division, opened as a modest plus-325 underdog, per Odds Shark, when the fight was announced, but he is now pegged as a plus-575 underdog against Barao (34-1-0, 1 NC).
It is the first title shot for the 28-year-old Dillashaw, who was bumped up to the main event after Raphael Assuncao, the No. 2 bantamweight division challenger, was forced to decline the bout due to a rib injury suffered at UFC 170.
Assuncao defeated Dillashaw by split decision when the two battled at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields back in October.
In the co-main event, undefeated Daniel Cormier (14-0-0) is heavily favored to defeat Dan Henderson in a light heavyweight bout that may be the most highly anticipated fight on the card at UFC 173.
Cormier, the No. 4 challenger in the division, has the respect of sportsbooks going into Saturday, with odds of minus-950 at some books monitored by Odds Shark.
Henderson (30-11-0), who currently sits as the division’s No. 6 challenger, is a tempting plus-650 long shot, and it is easy to understand why. The 43-year-old lost all three of his fights in 2013 but bounced back with a gutsy rally to defeat Mauricio Rua this past March at UFC Fight Night 38 with a third-round TKO after clearly losing the first two rounds.
Robbie Lawler (22-10-0) returns to action at UFC 173 in his first bout since losing by unanimous decision to Johny Hendricks in a UFC welterweight championship fight at UFC 171. Lawler is a minus-230 favorite against No. 5 welterweight challenger Jake Ellenberger (29-7-0).
The Juggernaut is a plus-180 underdog against Lawler but hopes to improve his division ranking and increase his chances of getting a title shot against Hendricks. Ellenberger is coming off a dreadfully boring loss by unanimous decision to Canadian Rory MacDonald last July at UFC on Fox 8.
Current UFC 173 odds
Sam Sicilia -150
Aaron Phillips +130
Li JingLiang +130
David Michaud-150
Anthony Njokuani -230
Vincent Pichel +195
Al Iaquinta -360
Mitch Clarke +295
Chico Camus +295
Chris Holdsworth -360
Tony Ferguson -275
Katsunori Kikuno +235
Mike Chiesa -135
Francisco Trinaldo +115
Francisco Rivera +145
Takeya Mizugaki -170
James Krause +150
Jamie Varner -175
Robbie Lawler -215
Jake Ellenberger +185
Dan Henderson +650
Daniel Cormier -950
TJ Dillashaw +575
Renan Barao -800
Odds courtesy of BestUFCOdds.com.
