Jose Aldo opens as underdog for bantamweight debut

Perhaps surprisingly, former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has opened up as a betting underdog for his bantamweight debut against Marlon Moraes at UFC 245.

Jose Aldo, the long-time featherweight kingpin of the UFC, announced recently that he was moving down to 135lbs for the first time in his career. The UFC matched him up against the No. 1 ranked bantamweight Marlon Moraes for his divisional debut at UFC 245. Still, considering Aldo’s pedigree most would have figured he would still be favored to win.

Not so, say the oddsmakers, who opened Jose Aldo as the underdog. Check out the opening betting odds for Aldo vs. Moraes below, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com.

UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington: Jose Aldo (+135) vs. Marlon Moraes (-175) https://t.co/yJxGYzzKPw #ufc245 @josealdojunior @MMARLONMORAES

— BestFightOdds (@BestFightOdds) October 27, 2019

UFC 245 opening odds

Marlon Moraes -175
Jose Aldo +135

Marlon Moraes opened as a -175 betting favorite. That means you would have to bet $175 to win $100. Jose Aldo opened as a +135 betting underdog. That means you would have to bet $100 to win $135.

Jose Aldo has a 28-5 career record in MMA, having made his pro debut back in 2004. He began his career with a 10-1 record before signing with the WEC in 2008. Between 2008 and 2010 he ran through the competition in the WEC, going 8-0 and winning the WEC featherweight title, which he defended twice. When the WEC folded the UFC brought Aldo over and awarded him the first-ever UFC featherweight title. He defended the UFC championship seven times before losing it to Conor McGregor. Since his loss to McGregor in 2015, Aldo is just 3-3 in the Octagon. However, he has fought only elite competition. In his last fight, he lost to current No. 1 featherweight contender Alexander Volkanovski.

Marlon Moraes, meanwhile, is 22-6-1 in his MMA career, having made his pro debut back in 2007. Moraes was the WSOF bantamweight champion between 2014 and 2016 and defended his belt seven times during that time period. Since signing with the UFC, Moraes is 4-2 overall. However, he lost via TKO to champion Henry Cejudo in his last bout at UFC 238. Despite losing to Cejudo, Moraes retained his spot as the No. 1 contender at 135lbs.

Who do you have your money on in the bantamweight fight between Marlon Moraes and Jose Aldo?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/28/2019.