Opening odds released for Jon Jones vs. Israel Adesanya

The opening odds have been released for a potential superfight between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

The online sportsbook Bovada opened the odds for the potential matchup. Here they are, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com.

Future Events: Israel Adesanya (+375) vs. Jon Jones (-550) https://t.co/VO30HT1Mz6 @stylebender @JonnyBones

— BestFightOdds (@BestFightOdds) October 8, 2019

UFC Futures Opening Odds:

Jon Jones -550
Israel Adesanya +375

Jones opened as a -550 betting favorite. That means you would have to be $550 to win $100. As for Adesanya, he opened as a +375 underdog. That means a bet of $100 would win you $375.

Despite Adesanya being arguably the hottest fighter in the sport right now, it’s not difficult to see why Jones opened as such a big favorite. After all, the UFC light heavyweight champion has ben nearly unstoppable in his entire UFC career save for a DQ loss to Matt Hamill. Adesanya would also have to move up in weight to 205lbs to challenge Jones, giving the long-time light heavyweight champ another key advantage.

That being said, you can’t totally count Adesanya out of this fight. Although he weighs less than Jones, Adesanya actually matches up fairly well physically. Both men are 6’4″ and Jones has a 4″ reach advantage, but typically Jones is taller and longer than most of his opponents. He won’t have nearly as much of that edge when he takes on Adesanya.

Then again, Jones is arguably the most dominant fighter in MMA history, and his greatness cannot be undisputed. Although he took a beating against Thiago Santos in his last fight and won a controversial split decision, he still got his hand raised. As the bigger fighter, he automatically has the advantage, and the betting line takes that into account.

But you also can’t doubt Adesanya considering how amazing he’s looked. At this point, though, he has to fight Paulo Costa while Jones could fight Chris Weidman next. If both men win those fights, then don’t be surprised if we see Jones vs. Adesanya eventually booked. In the meantime, the bad blood will continue to brew.

Who do you have your money on in a potential superfight between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/9/2019.