UFC Fight Night: Charles Olivier vs. Dustin Poirier

UFC Fight Night: Charles Olivier vs. Dustin Poirier will kick off this Saturday night in Las Vegas. This weekend’s action-packed card sees 15 different matchups taking place culminating with the main event. Each of these combats can be can be wagered on at SugarHouse sportsbook.

The pay-per-view event begins at 6:00 PM EST and will be held at the T-Mobile Arena just outside of Sin City. The main card gets underway at 10:00 PM EST. Check out BetMaker’s preview and prediction of the main event before placing your UFC bets.

UFC Fight Night Preview

These two talented lightweights meet with title implications on the line. Charles Olivier landed the lightweight belt after his knockout of Michael Chandler. This will be his first chance to defend that title but he’ll have his hands full with one of the sport’s most lethal punchers.

Let’s start with Olivier. He is currently on a nine-fight winning streak with his most recent being that championship decision over Chandler. The 32-year-old has always been a great grappler thought his boxing skills are improving, too. Olivier is the record holder for most submissions in UFC history with 14. You can bet that he’s hoping to get Poirier on the ground early and often. For his career, Olivier’s posted a 31-8-0 overall record with nine of those wins coming by way of knockout.

While Olivier looks to get this bout to the mat, Poirier will do his best to keep things standing. He’s one of the sport’s top technical boxers and is fresh off of a knockout of Conor McGregor. It’s one of two TKOs he owns over McGregor while he’s also landed wins over Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, and Anthony Pettis.

Poirier is 8-1-0 over his last nine fights with the lone loss coming to Khabib Nurmagomedov two years ago. For his career, he’s 28-6-0 with an astonishing 17 KOs. He’s certainly eager to turn this into a boxing match with a chance to land another major knockout.

Will Olivier successfully defend his title or will Poirier become UFC’s next lightweight champion? Let’s take a look at the odds.

Who is favored to win UFC Fight Night?

It’s rare that you see the defending champ listed as an underdog but that’s exactly the position Olivier finds himself in entering Saturday night’s event.

While the lightweight finds himself on a nine-fight winning streak, Vegas favors Poirier. He’s landed -159 odds to win according to SugarHouse, while Olivier boasts +130 money line odds. If you think he will successfully defend his title, there’s value in backing the current champion.

Other trends to keep an eye on come with the length of the fight and the manner in which it ends.

Poirier holds +130 odds of ending the bout with a knockout. He’s the more technical boxer and can deliver powerful punches to his opponents. While Olivier did land a win in his last fight, he was nearly knocked out by a massive right hand by Michael Chandler. He rebounded to get the victory and the belt but could be vulnerable if the fighters stay on their feet.

Olivier would rather get this thing to the mat where he’ll have his best shot at earning a win. He holds +275 odds of winning by submission, by far his most likely method of victory.

As far as length of the fight, Vegas believes that this fight will not go the distance. There are +250 odds of the bout lasting all three rounds compared to -360 odds of the match ending early. The over/under of 2.5 rounds has been set with the under landing -148 odds.

UFC Fight Night Prediction

We’re going to trust Vegas on this one. Poirier is the favorite for a reason. He’s been one of the sport’s top fighters and packs a powerful punch. His boxing abilities far exceed those of Olivier, so as long as he can keep this fight off the mat, he should land the win and the title.

We’d be tempted to go ahead and take the +130 odds of Poirier winning in knockout fashion but for now, we’ll stick with an outright win.

Poirier will leave as lightweight champion while Olivier’s title run ends before it even gets started.

UFC Fight Night Pick: Dustin Poirier (-159)

Want more? Be sure to head over to SugarHouse sportsbook for the latest UFC odds on each of the 15 fights taking place Saturday night.