With UFC 238 right around the corner, we recently got a very late yet extremely exciting match-up in the always enthralling 155-pound lightweight division.
Fresh off his recent impressive five-round dismantling of Al Iaquinta at UFC Ottawa, the always active veteran Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is back in the top five of the division he took time away from for two years. And he’s now one fight away from his second career UFC title shot as he’s set to take on the former interim champion, Tony Ferguson.
For Ferguson, it will be his first bout since being cleared to compete again following his mental health struggles. At UFC 229 in October 2018, he defeated Anthony Pettis via second-round TKO.
In wake of the fight being made official over the weekend, the betting odds have now been released.
As expected, BetOnline has the 35-year old “El Cucuy” who rides a wild 11-fight winning streak as the -190 favorite over his multi-UFC record holding counterpart. Cerrone currently sits as the +165 underdog after his successful return to the division where he’s won back to back fights in ultra-impressive fashion.
Along with the great lightweight clash at UFC 238 will be two big title fights.
The main event features flyweight king, Henry “The Messenger” Cejudo moving up to bantamweight to try and capture a second UFC title when he encounters the “Magic” one, Brazil’s former World Series of Fighting champion, Marlon Moraes. The elite bantamweight competitor is currently the slight favorite over the 125-pound champion at -130 with Cejudo as the +110 underdog. A position that isn’t new for the Olympic gold medalist.
The co-main event on the other hand, not so close in the eyes of the oddsmakers.
Flyweight champion, Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko will be looking to make her first successful title defense as she takes on the “Evil” veteran, Jessica Eye. Shevchenko is favored at a whopping -1000 opposed to Eye’s +675.
The full June 8 event line-up can be seen below.
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV, 10:00 PM EST / 7:00 PM PST)
- Bantamweight – 135lbs: (C) – (Fly C)Henry Cejudo vs Marlon Moraes
- Flyweight – 125lbs: (C)Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Eye
- Lightweight – 155lbs: Tony Ferguson vs Donald Cerrone
- Bantamweight: Jimmie Rivera vs Petr Yan
- Heavyweight – 207-265lbs: Tai Tuivasa vs. Blagoy Ivanov
Preliminary Card (ESPN, 8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST)
- Strawweight – 115lbs: Tatiana Suarez vs. Nina Ansaroff
- Bantamweight: Pedro Munhoz vs Aljamain Sterling
- Strawweight: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Alexa Grasso
- Featherweight – 145lbs: Ricardo Lamas vs Calvin Kattar
Early Prelims (UFC Fight Pass, 6:15 PM EST / 3:15 PM PST)
- Strawweight: Yan Xiaonan vs Angela Hill
- Middleweight – 185lbs: Bevon Lewis vs Darren Stewart
- Bantamweight: Eddie Wineland vs Grigory Popov
- Flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian vs. Joanne Calderwood
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/13/2019