The opening betting odds were released for the upcoming UFC light heavyweight title fight between champion Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya.

UFC president Dana White made the announcement following UFC Vegas 12 that Adesanya will move up to 205lbs in order to challenge Blachowicz for a second belt. Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, has expressed interest in the past about moving up in weight. He will now do so sometime in 2021 when he takes on Blachowicz, who will be making his first title defense since winning the vacant title over Dominick Reyes by TKO at UFC 253.

With Adesanya vs. Blachowicz now official from the UFC’s end, the online sportsbooks released the opening betting odds for the matchup (via Aaron Bronsteter).

Opening line for Israel Adesanya vs. Jan Blachowicz via @betonline_ag

Adesanya -250
Blachowicz +210

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) November 1, 2020

UFC Future Odds

Israel Adesanya -250
Jan Blachowicz +210

Adesanya opened as a -250 betting favorite. That means a $250 bet would win $100. Blachowicz opened as a +210 betting underdog. A bet of $100 would win you $210.

Adesanya (20-0) has been a popular bet at the sportsbooks ever since entering the UFC in 2018, so it’s no surprise seeing him as the favorite here against Blachowicz even though he’s the one moving up in weight. Adesanya has closed as the betting favorite in all nine of his UFC fights and he won all nine of them, so of course, he is going to be the favorite here against Blachowicz. He will be doing so coming off of a dominant TKO win over Paulo Costa in his last fight. However, it remains to be seen if that dominance will carry to 205lbs.

Blachowicz (27-8) won the vacant light heavyweight belt in his last fight, an impressive knockout win over Reyes. Overall, Blachowicz has won eight of his last nine fights, with three knockouts and two submissions during that stretch. Blachowicz, however, has not earned the respect of bettors despite his impressive run. In his last four fights, he closed as the underdog against Reyes, Corey Anderson, and Luke Rockhold, and he KOed them all.

Who is your money on, Israel Adesanya or Jan Blachowicz?