In some of the biggest Canadian sports betting news in a long time, Georges St-Pierre has been booked to fight current belt-holder Michael Bisping for the welterweight championship in his long-awaited return to the UFC.
GSP decided to take three years off after a bloody battle with Johny Hendricks and a grueling run as the welterweight champion but he's now ready for a resurgence at the tender age of 35. The native of Saint-Isidore, Quebec, opened as the -130 favorite at online sportsbook Sportsbook but at the time of writing had been bet to -150 for his bout with The Count.
George “Rush” is one of the greatest stars the UFC has ever seen and by far the best Canadian to ever enter the Octagon, with a professional record of 25-2 and nine consecutive title defenses. That streak, however, will be reset even if he wins against Bisping as his lengthy absence resulted in St-Pierre having to forfeit his belt.
MMA expert Justin Hartling has his early thoughts on the welterweight matchup at OddsShark.com under the UFC tab.
Canadian NHL Teams Slighted in Updated Futures Odds
The NHL trade deadline may have passed but the time for hockey betting has not. Sportsbook made a huge futures dump on Thursday, updating their Stanley Cup, conference, division and end-of-year award futures.
Canadian teams didn’t do a lot at the deadline and that was reflected in the odds update that has the Habs as the biggest of the Canadian Stanley Cup contenders at 14/1. Montreal added some grit to the lineup – by acquiring Dwight King and Jordie Benn – which was a little surprising as it was another goal scorer they really needed.
Sitting six points up on the Senators in the Atlantic, the Canadiens are massive favorites to win it and as of right now, they’re the only team north of the border in contention for a division crown.
Friday will see three Canadian teams in action with the Jets slightly favored at home against the Blues, the Flames big faves vs the Red Wings at the Saddledome and the Maple Leafs finishing off their West Coast road swing as underdogs at the Duck Pond in Anaheim.
Raptors Should be Ok without Lowry
Kyle Lowry is an integral piece of the puzzle for the Raptors and as we saw in the first game after we knew he would be out long term, his teammates know it. The Raps will take on the Wizards tonight in D.C. just two nights after allowing the Wiz to walk all over them at the Air Canada Centre.
The Dinos opened as four-point dogs for this evening's contest, and if their 3-10 straight-up record as an underdog this season is any indication, DeMar DeRozan and the rest of the Raps are in trouble in the nation’s capital tonight.
On a positive note, Toronto is 5-1 against Washington in their last six head-to-head matchups and has historically performed well with Lowry out of the lineup (22-17 since Lowry came to Toronto).