Kamaru Usman opens as sizeable favorite over Jorge Masvidal in UFC 261 rematch

According to oddsmakers, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is an even bigger favorite over Jorge Masvidal in their upcoming rematch.

Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) will take on Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 14-8 UFC) in the UFC 261 headliner April 24 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. It’ll be the UFC’s first event without any limit on fan capacity in more than a year.

Usman, who swept two of the three judges’ scorecards in his unanimous decision win over Masvidal last July at UFC 251, has opened up as a roughly 3-1 betting favorite in the rematch. Per SportsBetting.ag. Usman is listed at -350, with Masvidal coming back as +285 underdog. In plain terms, a bettor would need to place $350 on Usman to yield a return of $100, while a $100 bet on Masvidal would pay out $285.

For their first fight, Usman defeated Masvidal as a -250 betting favorite.

Since then, Usman has gone on to notch his third title defense with a third-round TKO over Gilbert Burns last month at UFC 258. On the other hand, “BMF” champion Masvidal, who had a breakout 2019 with three stoppage wins over Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz, has not competed since the loss to Usman.

UFC 251 reportedly drew an estimated 1.3 million pay-per-view buys, the most the promotion has drawn for a single event since UFC 229 in October 2018, which was headlined by the grudge match between lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.