Amanda Nunes vs Cris Cyborg Betting Odds

The UFC world was shocked at the end of 2018 at UFC 232 when Amanda “Lioness” Nunes knocked out Cris Cyborg in a matter of 51 seconds to win the women’s featherweight title. Those bettors who foresaw that outcome cashed in nicely as Nunes closed as a +180 underdog with Cyborg coming back at -233.

However, in a potential rematch, online sportsbook Sportsbook has Lioness with odds of -155 and Cyborg coming back at +125. Although this fight hasn’t been announced, both competitors have asked for the rematch so it’s likely to happen.

Odds Analysis

This would mark the first time that Cyborg has been an underdog in the Octagon as she has had an average closing line of -955 and has won six of her seven fights in the UFC, four by knockout. She had only one previous defeat prior to losing to Nunes and that came in 2005 in her pro debut. Clearly, there is value on Cyborg as an underdog. That being said, I’m not sure it’s the bet to make after Nunes essentially ran through her.

Meanwhile, this just shows that books may be tired of losing their hat in Amanda Nunes’ fights as she has been an underdog in seven of her 12 UFC fights and she is 6-1 in those bouts as a dog. If you had bet $100 on each of those scraps, you would have profited $909.

How Will This Fight Play Out?

First of all, there needs to be some reconciliation between Dana White and the UFC brass and Cyborg as she currently doesn’t have a contract for another fight and could leave for another organization if they can’t reach an agreement.

Nunes absolutely stormed Cyborg in the first meeting, showing little to no respect for her power, and earned a fast knockout win. What was most impressive was how Lioness stood in front of Cyborg and really demonstrated her defensive boxing by keeping her hands high and having fantastic head movement.

There’s no denying the power that Cyborg has. However, in her first fight following the loss to Nunes, she landed some clean shots on Felicia Spencer but was unable to put her away. Perhaps age is catching up to her. If she doesn’t have the knockout power that she once did, I don’t see a way that she can outbox, outpoint and ultimately beat the two-division champion, Amanda Nunes.