Conor McGregor Betting Preview
Following months of speculation, “The Notorious One” Conor McGregor (22- 4) will return to the Octagon at UFC 257 for the 27th MMA fight in his career and 13th in the UFC (11-2). After two brief retirements and a third fake retirement, the biggest star in the world of MMA is ready to show his fans that he has plenty left in the tank. McGregor is on record saying that he’s in the best shape of his life and if you’re one of his 50 million followers on social media, you’ll notice he’s training harder than ever for this upcoming fight.
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McGregor is so well-respected in the world of MMA because he never backs down from a challenger and he’s always pushing himself to take on the best fighters in the world. A great example of this occurred just a few days prior to UFC 189, when McGregor’s scheduled opponent Jose Aldo backed out of the Main Event and Conor agreed to fight highly skilled wrestler, Chad Mendes. Most challengers would’ve cancelled the fight but the Irishman accepted the challenge on short notice and earned a TKO victory versus Mendes in just the second round.
Just like his unmatched skills in the Octagon, McGregor knows how to work the microphone better than anyone in the UFC. His press conferences became “must see” and garnered as much attention as the fights themselves. Whether it was Mendes, Diaz, Aldo and even Mayweather…. nobody could match McGregor’s clever wit with a microphone in his hand.
UFC Journey
Conor officially became the second UFC fighter from Ireland in February 2013. He fought against Marcus Brimage for his UFC debut in April of that year and triumphed over his opponent to claim the Knockout of the Night award for the first time in his career. After signing another multi-fight deal with the UFC, McGregor defeated the first seven fighters the promotion threw at him, including quality opponents and future champions like Max Holloway, Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo.
Betting History
McGregor’s first defeat under the UFC promotion came in his eighth fight, when he lost to Nate Diaz, who was a +240 underdog. McGregor recovered by posting a 3-1 record following that fight, with wins over Diaz (-125 odds), Alvarez (-185 odds) and Cerrone (-160 odds). McGregor has been a betting favorite since his debut, and MMA odds makers have had him as a favorite for 11 of his 13 UFC fights. Conor has come a long way since fighting out of Dublin, Ireland, and has since become the highest paid fighter in UFC history. Currently, McGregor has reported annual earnings of $30 million with a published net worth above $110 million.
McGregor’s had just two losses as a part of the UFC roster, both coming at the hands of future MMA Hall of Famers in Khabib Nurmagomedov and Nate Diaz. It’s worth mentioning that McGregor was able to avenge his loss to Diaz by taking the rematch in an epic 5-round decision. The same cannot be said for his loss to Khabib, as McGregor has yet to face Nurmagomedov since the Russian choked him out. With that being said, they did have an encounter outside of the Octagon when McGregor became enraged with Khabib’s teammate and threw a chair through a bus window. The incident caused injuries to multiple passengers and even forced Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg to withdraw from their scheduled fights on the card. Conor pled guilty and avoided jail time, but is still facing some backlash for his role in the melee. What makes this fight versus Dustin Poirier so interesting is that Dana White is on record saying that if McGregor wins, he will have a rematch against Khabib, which would quickly become one of the biggest fights in MMA history and an incredible event for betting fans. The whole world will be watching to see if McGregor can get past Dustin Poirier to secure the coveted rematch with Khabib.
UFC 257 Preview
Arguably the most famous and polarizing MMA fighter of all time, Conor McGregor enters his rematch against Dustin Poirier as the favorite, with his betting odds currently listed at -275 at Bovada sportsbook. The betting line first opened to the public in August, and McGregor was a -175 betting favorite at the time. You can’t help but notice all the money that’s been pouring in on McGregor, causing the betting line to climb significantly to -275. This betting line could reach -400 by the time the fighters enter the ring live from Fight Island, Abu Dhabi on January 23 on Pay-Per-View.
McGregor is looking to make it 2-0 vs Dustin “Diamond” Poirier as they face off for their long awaited rematch. Poirier has won 10 fights since his defeat at the hands of the Notorious One, beating some of the best fighters in the world, including Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway and Dan Hooker. Following their last matchup, McGregor went on to become the biggest star in UFC history and established himself as the first UFC fighter ever to hold two belts simultaneously. McGregor was already the reigning featherweight champion when he defeated Eddie Alvarez in the second round at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden in November 2016 to add the lightweight title to his resume. Not to be forgotten, Conor also went 11 rounds in a boxing match with the 52-0 Floyd Mayweather. It’s fair to say that Conor McGregor has done more for the popularity of MMA than any other fighter. He also boats 38.1 million Instagram followers, which is more than the entire UFC roster combined!
The upcoming UFC 257 should be another blockbuster with over one million Pay-Per-View buys predicted and Las Vegas odds makers expecting heavy betting on McGregor as a result of his favorable odds. You can be sure he’ll have countless fans watching, but only time will tell if the legendary Irishman has any magic left for the Octagon.
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McGregor previous fights and betting line:
- UFC 246: McGregor (-160-W) vs. Cerrone
- UFC 229: Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor (+135-L)
- UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor (-185-W)
- UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor 2 (-125-W)
- UFC 196: McGregor (-300-L) vs. Nate Diaz
- UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor (-180-W)
- UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor (-105-W)
- UFC Fight Night 59: McGregor (-588-W) vs. Siver
- UFC 178: McGregor (+190-W) vs Poirier
- UFC Fight Night 46: McGregor (-400-W) vs. Brandao
- UFC Fight Night 26: Holloway vs. McGregor (-190-W)
- UFC on Fuel TV 9: McGregor (-170-W) vs. Brimage
