How would you like a flying knee to the face? OK then, how about watching a flying knee delivered to someone else’s face? If that’s more your speed, and you like to wager on such stuff, too, then the UFC 273 odds market should suit you well.
The main event pits featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski against Chan Sung Jung, one of two title fights on the docket Saturday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Multiple oddsmakers provided insights and intel on opening/current UFC 273 betting odds and action. Check back through Saturday evening for regular updates.
UFC 273 Odds
| Favorite | Odds | Underdog | Odds | Weight Class |
| Alexander Volkanovski | -660 | Chan Sung Jung | +500 | Featherweight (145 pounds max) |
| Petr Yan | -455 | Aljamain Sterling | +365 | Bantamweight (135 pounds) |
| Khamzat Chimaev | -535 | Gilbert Burns | +420 | Welterweight (170 pounds) |
| Mackenzie Dern | -120 | Tecia Torres | Even | Women’s strawweight (115 pounds) |
| Vinc Pichel | -120 | Mark Madsen | Even | Lightweight (155 pounds) |
| Ian Garry | -385 | Darian Weeks | +315 | Welterweight (170 pounds) |
| Jairzinho Rozenstruik | CANCELED | Marcin Tybura | CANCELED | Heavyweight (265 pounds) |
| Raquel Pennington | -170 | Aspen Ladd | +150 | Women’s bantamweight (135 pounds) |
| Mike Malott | -195 | Mickey Gall | +170 | Welterweight (170 pounds) |
| Jared Vanderaa | -128 | Aleksei Oleinik | +108 | Heavyweight (265 pounds) |
| Anthony Hernandez | -195 | Josh Fremd | +170 | Middleweight (185 pounds) |
| Piera Rodriguez | -125 | Kay Hansen | +105 | Women’s strawweight (115 pounds) |
| Julio Arce | -185 | Daniel Santos | +160 | Bantamweight (135 pounds) |
Odds via Circa Sports and updated as of 9 p.m. ET on April 9.
Volkanovski vs Jung Odds and Betting Action
UPDATE 9 P.M. ET: Tonight’s main event opened at Volkanovski -475/Jung +355. An hour before the five-bout main card begins, Volkanovski is out to -735, with Jung at +495. Ticket count is quite heavy to the underdog Jung, at 91%, but 60% of money is on the big favorite.
“We’re seeing ticket volume for the ‘dog to win outright in the main, but it’s nothing massive overall, as far as the bottom line is concerned,” WynnBet senior trader Motoi Pearson said. “We have taken some legit action for Volkanovski to win by TKO.”
Volkanovski is currently +225 to win by knockout/technical knockout.
UPDATE 1 P.M. ET SATURDAY: BetMGM opened Volkanovski as a -500 favorite and sat at a massive -800 this morning, before dialing back a touch to -750. Jung correspondingly opened +340 and reached +500, where he remains now. At those prices, very few straight bettors are laying the juice with the favorite, with ticket count and money in the 9/1 range on big underdog Jung.
UPDATE 11 P.M. ET WEDNESDAY: Two weeks ago, Volkanovski went up as a hefty -485 favorite at Circa Sports, with Jung a +385 underdog. Tonight, the numbers are far more lopsided for this title fight, although Circa has the shortest price around on Volkanovski.
“There was action immediately on the favorite, and at that price (-485), you’re gonna get parlay action, as well. The Volkanovski parlays continue to flow, and we’re at Volkanovski -660/Jung +500,” Kalikas said. “We did start seeing some recreational play on Jung, because of the [plus-money] price. We’re not gonna get too many more straight bets on Volkanovski. It’s all gonna be on the ‘dog.
“But I expect parlays to continue on Volkanovski. Still, I think we’re gonna be rooting for the favorite. If he loses, it won’t be crazy because that busts up the parlays. We’re in a pretty good spot.”
‘Verdict’ Is In: Crowdsource Poll Massively Favors Volkanovski
VerdictMMA.com provides Props.com with crowdsource polling on key fights, from Verdict’s database of enthusiastic MMA supporters. On fight day, picks are running 5/1 in favor of Volkanovski, and 46% of all picks have the champion winning by decision. The next-most-popular prediction: Volkanovski by third-round knockout, at 14% of all picks in the scheduled five-rounder.
To partake in Verdict MMA’s crowdsource polls, download the mobile app at the App Store or Google Play.
Sterling vs Yan Odds and Betting Action
UPDATE 9 P.M. ET SATURDAY: Tonight’s bantamweight title bout opened at Petr Yan -400/Aljamain Sterling +305 at WynnBet, and it’s now at Yan -470/Sterling +345. Yan is attracting 81% of tickets and 72% of money.
UPDATE 1 P.M. ET SATURDAY: Petr Yan hit BetMGM’s UFC 273 odds board as a -450 chalk and is at -500 on fight day, with Aljamain Sterling a +360 underdog. Much like the main event, co-main straight bettors aren’t willing to stomach the heavy juice on the favorite. Ticket count is 5/1-plus and money almost 4/1 on Sterling.
UPDATE 11 P.M. ET WEDNESDAY: In a rematch from a wild UFC 259 bantamweight title bout, champion Aljamain Sterling meets interim champion Petr Yan. When these two first faced off in March 2021, Yan was in control in the fourth round, but was disqualified after what was deemed an illegal knee to the face. The fight ended when Sterling couldn’t continue.
So Sterling and Yan will try to settle things one more time. However, this time at a wildly different price. Yan opened a prohibitive -400 chalk and Sterling a +325 ‘dog at Circa, and the numbers have since moved out to -455/+365. Last year’s bout went off around a pick ’em.
“There’s nothing crazy on straight bets yet. You can’t lay -400 when last time it was a pick ’em,” Kalikas said. “It’s pretty much steady parlay action — everyone who parlayed Volkanovski is [tying him to] Yan. That’s such a popular two-team parlay combination. We’re in a very similar position to the main event. We’ll need a parlay buster in Sterling, and Yan on the straight bets.”
‘Verdict’ Is In: Crowdsource Poll a Landslide for Yan
Similar to the margin in Verdict MMA’s poll on Volkanovski vs Jung, polling is running about 5/1 in favor of sizable chalk Yan. The most popular method of victory is Yan by decision, at 26% of all picks, followed by Yan winning by third-round knockout (20%) or fourth-round knockout (19%). Aljamain’s highest number in the Verdict poll is to win by decision, at just 6% of total picks.
Burns vs Chimaev Odds and Betting Action
UPDATE 9 P.M. ET SATURDAY: Khamzat Chimaev hit WynnBet’s UFC 273 odds market as a -440 chalk, with Burns +330 on the buyback. Chimaev is now up to -545, while Burns is a +395 underdog. The favorite is nabbing 75% of tickets, but just 56% of money for this welterweight bout.
UPDATE 1 P.M. ET SATURDAY: In another bout with a lopsided favorite, Khamzat Chimaev has moved from -370 to -550 at BetMGM. Gilbert Burns opened a +290 ‘dog and is now +375. So again, much like tonight’s main event and co-main, the sizable plus-money underdog is getting the bulk of the action. Ticket count is 9/1 and money almost 3/1 on Burns.
UPDATE 11 P.M. ET WEDNESDAY: Although the top two bouts on the UFC 273 odds board have titles on the line, the most intriguing clash might just be this welterweight contest between Gilbert Burns and Khamzat Chimaev. Circa Sports opened at Chimaev -400/Burns +325, and like the main and co-main, there’s been heavy action on the favorite, pushing the price out to Chimaev -580/Burns +450.
“This isn’t a title fight, but it’s just as important. A lot of people are anticipating this fight. It’s a three-headed monster of a card, and this might be the most interesting of them all,” Kalikas said. “It’s a similar situation to the other two fights. Early respected action coming in on Chimaev, and this is another one that’s definitely receiving a lot of parlay action. But the good thing is, on Burns’ side, it’s so easy to receive action on him, and straight-bet money will continue to come in on Burns from here [until fight night].
“We’ll probably need Chimaev, but Burns could be another parlay buster. If any of those three ‘dogs come through [in the final three fights], it’s probably gonna be good for us.”
‘Verdict’ Is In: Crowdsource Poll Eyes Quick Chimaev victory
Verdict MMA’s poll on Burns vs. Chimaev indicates an expectation for an early end to this three-round bout in the middle of the five-bout main card. Chimaev is getting 76% of picks overall, with 28% of total picks projecting a first-round knockout and 18% of total picks predicting a second-round KO for the favorite.
Interestingly, the fight going to a decision netted 9% of picks for both Burns and Chimaev.
Other UFC 273 Odds and Betting Action
UPDATE 1 P.M. ET SATURDAY: You have to scroll down to the fourth fight on tonight’s main card, but there, you’ll find a matchup that bookmakers expect will be competitive. Tecia Torres opened as a -120 chalk in BetMGM’s UFC 273 odds market, but that’s now flipped to Mackenzie Dern -120, while Torres is even money in this women’s strawweight bout. Torres is netting 59% of tickets, and money is even closer, at 52% on the now short underdog.
UPDATE 11 P.M. ET WEDNESDAY: Kalikas always likes to dive a little deeper to find interesting bouts in MMA events. In this case, it’s Aspen Ladd vs Raquel Pennington in a women’s bantamweight clash on the preliminary card. Pennington opened as a -170 chalk and Ladd a +150 underdog in the UFC 273 odds market. The odds peaked at Pennington -200/Ladd +175 and are now at -185/+160.
“This is one of the fights that’s seeing two-way sharp action. We’ve got some conflicting opinions,” Kalikas said. “Early on, we did get a pretty decent amount of Pennington sharp action. When the ‘dog got to +175, we started getting some sharp bites on Ladd. I expect this to continue to be two-way action. I don’t think it’ll be a big decision. If anything, I’d expect the ‘dog price to maybe drop a little bit.”
‘Verdict’ Is In: Crowdsource Poll Backs Underdog Ladd
On fight day, polling is much closer for the Ladd-Pennington preliminary-card fight than the top three fights on the main card. And the underdog is the play at Verdict MMA. Ladd is netting 59% of all picks, with the bulk of those — 50% of all picks — on Ladd to win by decision in the three-round fight. The second-most popular prediction: Pennington to win by decision, getting 34% of all picks.
In the main-card Dern-Torres fight, Dern is polling at 71%, with 26% of all picks taking the modest chalk to win by decision, and 25% of all picks on Dern by second-round submission in the three-round bout. The third-most popular choice is Torres by decision, netting 24% of all picks.
