UFC 251 Betting Splits: Who is the Public Betting On Fight Island?

UFC 251, the first event at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, is seeing a major change to the card following Gilbert Burns’ positive COVID-19 test. As a result, Jorge Masvidal is stepping into his spot in the co-main event against Kamaru Usman. Usman (-305) is the favorite against Masvidal (+230), but the betting splits on that fight are still an unknown.

However, the rest of the fights, including the co-main event Alex Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway, are seeing plenty of action on DraftKings. Through July 6, there are a few interesting developments to keep an eye on.

Holloway and Volkanovski are seeing a fairly even split on the handle and tickets with Holloway seeing slightly more in each category. On one hand, Holloway is the underdog so it’s not surprising to see bettors pick the underdog. On the other hand, Volkanovski dismantled Holloway in a five-round unanimous decision in UFC 245 in December. The Australian dominated the Hawaiian in their only fight.

Five years ago, seeing Jose Aldo as an underdog would have been baffling. The Brazilian was considered one of the best fighters of his generation. However, following his stunning loss to Conor McGregor in 2015, Aldo has fallen off. Including the McGregor knockout, Aldo only has three wins in his last eight matches.

He’ll face Russian fighter Petr Yan, who is 14-1 in his professional career and a perfect 6-0 in the UFC. The public is backing the favorite by a wide margin. Can Aldo turn back the clock and reward bettors who still have faith in him? Only time will tell.

Although Paige VanZant is a massive underdog (+525) against Amanda Ribas (-835), bettors are going all-in on the Dundee, OR native. VanZant is 8-4 in her career, but is coming into this match after a submission win over Rachael Ostovich in January. Ribas, who is 9-1 in her career, is the favorite for a reason, but bettors who take the chance on VanZant stand to win big if she can pull off the upset.

These bettings splits are updated as of July 6, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

UFC 251 Betting Splits