A common occurrence in combat sports is the match-up between a young, rising talent, against an old, battle-hardened veteran. UFC 279 will deliver exactly that this Saturday night from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas when Khamzat Chimaev takes on Nate Diaz in the event’s headline fight.
For Diaz, this is his opportunity to leave the UFC on a high note having debuted all the way back in 2007 and accrued a professional record of 20-13-0. Chimaev, on the other hand, is looking to add a famous scalp to his already impressive unbeaten record of 11-0-0 as he continues his climb up the UFC’s welterweight division.
Both fighters will be eager to impress at the end of a packed card for UFC 279.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 8th, 2:00 P.M. (EST)
Bookmaker William Hill has Khamzat Chimaev as the clear favourite on all fronts for this match. With odds of 1.11 for an outright win compared to Diaz’s 6.50, Chimaev is the overwhelming favourite. However, Diaz is known to pull out an upset from time to time, none more famous than his 2016 knockout of Conor McGregor.
Odds of a Diaz win are long. From a pure value standpoint, going with Diaz to win via submission at 10.00 or knockout at 15.00 is worth a look. With that said, clearly the bookies don’t have confidence in Diaz’s ability to go the distance with Chimaev. With Chimaev holding the upper hand in strength, striking, wrestling and age, this match up is looking like it will be a one-track fight.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 8th, 2:00 P.M. (EST)
A full card of fights will precede Chimaev vs. Diaz with several exciting bouts offering excellent betting opportunities.
Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez meet in the catchweight division with both fighters coming into UFC 279 off the back of consecutive wins. William Hill has Holland the slight favourite at 1.50 and seems to be favouring his seven inch reach advantage over Rodriguez’s high volume of strikes, who sits at 2.60 in the odds.
The men’s heavyweight division also promises to provide an exciting fight with Jake Collier taking on Chris Barnett.
After fighting the majority of his career at the middleweight and light heavyweight class, Collier has returned to the Octagon from a three year hiatus as a large heavyweight. Flirting with the 265 pound mark, Collier has added significant size to his frame while maintaining the speed and movement of a middleweight. Sitting at a record of 2-3-0 so far in his heavyweight career, Collier will be eager to turn things around on Saturday.
Barnett will also be desperate for a win having lost two of his three UFC matches to date. Racking up 13 years as a professional fighter before debuting in the UFC, Barnett has an all or nothing fight style and is likely to either knockout Collier in dramatic fashion or run out of gas and provide an easy win for Collier. William Hill has Collier at 1.22 in this one and Barnett at 4.20.
