Cejudo Opens As Sizable Betting Favorite Over Cruz

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight kingpin, Henry Cejudo, will make his first 135-pound title defense against ex-division champion, Dominick Cruz, at the upcoming UFC 250 pay-per-view (PPV) event on May 9.

“Triple C” was previously scheduled to collide with Jose Aldo; however, “Junior” got stuck overseas when the coronavirus pandemic shut down the embassy in Brazil. No visa means no way out of the country, paving the way for Cruz (22-2) to step in and take his place.

And he’ll do it as the +175 underdog.

That’s according to our fiscal friends at Best Fight Odds, who awarded the champion a handsome betting line of -245. I don’t think anyone is surprised to see Cejudo clock in as the odds-on favorite considering Cruz, 34, has not competed in over three years.

The athlete formerly known as “The Messenger” has also seen his fair share of time off, thanks to shoulder surgery that kept the Olympian benched since last June. Cejudo (15-2) was forced to surrender his title at flyweight in order to pursue greatness at 135 pounds.

Here’s the rest of the UFC 250 betting line up (via BJPenn.com):

Tony Ferguson -207
Justin Gaethje +164

Amanda Nunes -400
Felicia Spencer +300

Francis Ngannou -293
Jairzinho Rozenstruik +223

Calvin Kattar -250
Jeremy Stephens +194

Anthony Pettis -150
Donald Cerrone +120

Carla Esparza -125
Michelle Waterson +105

Ronaldo Souza -135
Uriah Hall +115

Greg Hardy -190
Yorgan de Castro +165

Fabricio Werdum -230
Aleksei Oleinik +170

Vicente Luque -250
Niko Price +210

Bryce Mitchell -150
Charles Rosa +120

UFC has yet to secure an official location for its May 9 event, but both APEX facility in Las Vegas and “Fight Island” in the Caribbean are currently in the running.

Stay tuned.