Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz betting odds not lopsided heading into UFC 249

Bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo is a moderate betting favorite entering his UFC 249 title defense against former belt holder Dominick Cruz.

According to BetMGM, Cejudo (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) is currently favored at -223, while Cruz (22-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is the underdog at +180.

In layman’s terms, a bettor would have to put down $223 dollars on Cejudo in order to profit $100, should he win. Conversely, $100 on Cruz would result in a $180 profit.

Cejudo has not competed since UFC 238 in June 2019, when he successfully defended his title for the first time against Marlon Moraes. Coming off of surgery, Cejudo will look to continue his momentum and extend his winning streak to five.

As for Cruz, the 35-year-old has been away from UFC competition for more than three years. His most recent fight came at UFC 207 in December 2016, when he lost his title to Cody Garbrandt. Since the defeat, Cruz has been scheduled twice – once in December 2017 and once in January 2019. Both times, Cruz withdrew due to injury.

UFC 249 takes place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The current UFC 249 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje – for interim lightweight title
• Champ Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz – for bantamweight title
• Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
• Calvin Kattar vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Yorgan De Castro vs. Greg Hardy

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET)

• Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis
• Aleksei Oleinik vs. Fabricio Werdum
• Carla Esparza vs. Michelle Waterson
• Uriah Hall vs. Ronaldo Souza
• Vicente Luque vs. Niko Price
• Bryce Mitchell vs. Charles Rosa
• Sam Alvey vs. Ryan Spann

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