The opening betting odds for the new UFC Moscow co-main event between Greg Hardy and Alexander Volkov have now been released.

The mixed martial arts world was stunned yesterday when it was revealed that Hardy will be replacing the injured Junior dos Santos in the co-main event of UFC Moscow on November 9. The former NFL star will be going head to head with former Bellator heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov, which serves as a huge step up in competition.

Hardy currently holds a 5-1 (1) record in the wake of his most recent bout, which was overturned from a unanimous decision victory after he used an inhaler between round two and round three.

Now, with just over two weeks to go until the fight takes place, BestFightOdds has released the odds ahead of the highly anticipated showdown.

UFC on ESPN+ 21: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar: Alexander Volkov (-175) vs. Greg Hardy (+150) https://t.co/s0HCUduosN @AlexDragoVolkov

— BestFightOdds (@BestFightOdds) October 22, 2019

In what will come as a surprise to plenty of fight fans, Volkov is just a narrow -175 favourite with Hardy being a +150 underdog. While the Russian may be coming off the back of a knockout loss to Derrick Lewis last year, he still holds a 30-7 professional record and has far more experience than Hardy.

The expectation from those within the MMA community is that Hardy has bitten off more than he can chew, but at the same time, he’s been commended for accepting a fight of this nature.

It’s certainly an almighty step up in competition but if he can even get out of the first round, you’d have to imagine it’ll be seen as a huge positive for the American.

Who do you think will come out on top when Greg Hardy and Alexander Volkov step into the cage together in Moscow?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/23/2019.