Kayla Harrison opens as gigantic favorite over Holly Holm at UFC 300

Kayla Harrison is a massive betting favorite to beat Holly Holm in her UFC debut at UFC 300.

On Tuesday evening, UFC CEO Dana White made a shocking announcement that the promotion signed former PFL women’s lightweight champion Harrison and that she will make her debut at UFC 300 opposite Holly Holm. Along with that, the fight will take place at 135lbs, which will be the first time Harrison fights at bantamweight in her career.

Despite Kayla Harrison making her UFC debut and fighting at bantamweight for the first time, BetOnline opened her as a sizeable betting favorite to defeat Holm, and immediately money came in on her.

ODDS MOVEMENT ALERT
Harrison -500
Holm +385 https://t.co/tzcUoALsnm

— Dave Mason (@DaveMasonBOL) January 24, 2024

Harrison opened as a -375 favorite which implies a 78.9% of winning. However, shortly after the odds went live, money came in on Harrison to make her -500, implying an 83.3% chance of winning the fight.

At -500, you would need to bet $500 to win $100 if you like Harrison to get the win in her UFC debut. If you like Holly Holm, a $100 bet would net you $385 if the former champion can pull off the upset.

Kayla Harrison (16-1) returned to the win column back in November with a lopsided decision win over Aspen Ladd. Before that, the two-time Olympic gold medalist suffered a stunning decision loss to Larissa Pacheco in the 2022 PFL women’s lightweight finals, after having beaten the Brazilian twice before.

In her career, Harrison holds notable wins over Pacheco, twice, Genah Fabian, Kaitlin Young, Cindy Dandois, and Mariana Morais.

Holly Holm (15-6 and one No Contest) is coming off a submission loss to Mayra Bueno Silva in the main event of a Fight Night card in July, but it was overturned to a No Contest after she tested positive for ritalinic acid. Before that, Holm had picked up a decision win over Yana Santos after losing a controversial split decision loss to Ketlen Vieira in the main event of a Fight Night card.

Holm is currently ranked fifth at bantamweight and won the title back in 2015 with a KO win over Ronda Rousey. After winning the belt, she went on to lose three straight fights to Miesha Tate, Valentina Shevchenko, and Germaine de Randamie for the featherweight title. In her career, she holds notable wins over Raquel Pennington, twice, Bethe Correira, Irene Aldana, and Megan Anderson among others.