UFC 209 Betting Preview, Odds, and Analysis

The UFC returns to pay-per-view this weekend with UFC 209, headlined by a welterweight championship title rematch between champion Tyron Woodley and challenger Stephen Thompson.

Woodley and Thompson last faced off at UFC 205 in November with the welterweight title also up for grabs. That fight went the distance and ended up as a draw after two judges scored it 47-47 and the other 48-47 in favor of Woodley.

In the rematch the champ, Woodley, is a slight underdog at the Bovada sportsbook at +115. Woodley, a lifetime 16-3-1 with six wins by knockout, had won his last three fights before posting the draw.

Thompson enters the bout with a 13-1-1 record, with sevens wins by KO. At Bovada he’s the favorite at -145, as before the draw against Woodley he had won seven straight fights, four by KO.

Also on tap at UFC 209 is a lightweight bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. The winner is expected to get a title shot against Conor McGregor.

Nurmagomedov is a strong favorite at -210 and has yet to lose with a record of 24-0 with eight wins by KO and eight by submission. He last fought at UFC 205 where he took down Michael Johnson by submission with a kimura in the third round.

Ferguson, a +170 underdog at Bovada, is 22-3 with nine wins by KO and eight by submission. He’s on a nine-fight winning streak and last fought at The Ultimate Fighter Finale in early November. He defeated Rafael dos Anjos by unanimous decision.

The other interesting fight on the UFC 209 main card is a long-awaited heavyweight rematch between Allistair Overeem and Mark Hunt.

The pair fought nearly nine years ago at a DREAM event in Japan in 2008. Overeem won by submission in the first round via Americana.

Overeem is a -145 favorite in the rematch despite coming off a loss that snapped a four-fight winning streak. Overeem met up with Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title at UFC 203 in September and lost by KO in the first round. With that loss, his career record stands at 41-15 and one no contest, with 18 wins by KO.

Hunt returns to the octagon for the first time since he faced Brock Lesnar at UFC 200 in July. That fight originally went to Lesnar by unanimous decision, but was changed to a no contest after Lesnar failed a drug test. Hunt is a +115 underdog and owns a 12-10-1 and one no contest record with nine wins by KO.