Oddsmakers Identify Cormier vs. Rumble 2 as a Pick ‘Em Fight

On December 10, the UFC will return to Toronto, Ontario, Canada with UFC 206. The card will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between current champion Daniel Cormier, and brick-fisted challenger Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

These two fighters, of course, have some history together.

Back in May of 2015, Rumble was scheduled for a title shot against then light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Unfortunately, this fight was nixed when Jones was stripped of the title and suspended from competition as a result of his troubles outside the cage. With Jones’ withdrawal, Rumble would then shift his focus to Cormier, who he would fight for the vacant light heavyweight crown.

On that fateful May night, Cormier would weather some early adversity to put Rumble away with a third round rear-naked choke – a fairly decisive end in a sport where scoring controversy so often generates headlines.

Despite Cormier’s stoppage win in his first encounter with Rumble, oddsmakers have identified their looming rematch as a veritable pick ’em fight.

Opening odds, which are courtesy of MMAOddsbreaker.com, have Cormier pegged at -115. In layman’s terms, this means that a successful bet of $115 on Cormier would earn you $100. Rumble, meanwhile, is hovering at the exact same point. In other words, these early odds suggest you may was well flip a coin in any effort to predict this fight’s winner.

Cormier will enter the fight having recently dispatched of middleweight legend Anderson Silva in a last-minute, non-title light heavyweight bout. Rumble, meanwhile, was last seen in action in August, when he levelled Glover Teixeira in just 13 seconds.

UFC 206, which will emanate from Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, has recently come together with addition of several compelling bouts.

Outside of the main event, we’ll see a flyweight scrap between Zach Makovsky and John Moraga, a lightweight showdown between John Makdessi and Lando Vannata, a light heavyweight battle between prospects Misha Cirkunov and Nikita Krylov, and perhaps most intriguingly, a featherweight showdown between the veteran Cub Swanson and rising star Doo Ho Choi. Elsewhere on the card, we’ll see many of Canada’s top talents make appearances, while several bouts are still to be announced.

Are you surprised by the early odds for Cormier vs. Rumble 2? Sound off, PENN Nation!