After Khabib Nurmagomedov won at UFC 254 and announced his retirement, the lightweight division is left without a champion. With such a stacked division, the UFC probably won’t take long to fill the vacancy. There have already been UFC betting odds released for the future of the division, as well as Nurmagomedov’s fighting future. One set of betting odds is very telling about the immediate future of the division.
UFC Betting Odds Released for Lightweight Division
The least surprising odds are regarding Nurmagomedov’s future as a fighter. According to betonline.ag, the odds that Khabib sticks to his retirement are -500. The odds of him fighting again are +300. These odds reiterate what many of us already thought about “The Eagle.” He is not like most fighters, who will pull publicity stunts as a money grab to sell a fight. If he says he promised his mom he won’t fight again, he probably means it. Everything we know about the man points to him being a man of his word.
Just in case we do see the Russian fight again, the site also released odds on who his next opponent will be. They are as follows:
Georges St-Pierre– +150
Conor McGregor– +300
Kamaru Usman– +500
Tony Ferguson– +600
Floyd Mayweather, Michael Chandler– +900
Jorge Masvidal– +1000
Manny Pacquiao– +2000
Again, the previous odds tell us it isn’t likely he’ll fight again. But if he does, GSP is the most likely fight, which matches up with what Nurmagomedov has said in the past. He thinks a win over the welterweight GOAT would be the ultimate boost to his legacy.
And finally, and perhaps most interestingly, odds were set on who will be the next UFC lightweight champion. This is how they shook out:
Conor McGregor- +100
Dustin Poirier– +200
Tony Ferguson- +600
Michael Chandler- +700
Justin Gaethje– +900
Charles Oliveira– +1200
Georges St-Pierre- +2500
By far, the biggest takeaway from these odds are that McGregor and Poirier are the overwhelming favorites. First, it tells us that the oddsmakers are expecting the fight between the two in January to be for the vacant strap. Second, it tells us that McGregor is expected to win that fight. There might be value on Gaethje here, who would likely step in if either McGregor or Poirier pulled out of that fight. But who knows how this division will shake out.
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