Opening odds released for Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson fight on April 18

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson has been booked for the fifth time and now odds for the fight have been released.

UFC president, Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that they were targeting April 18 in Brooklyn, New York for the bout. Ali Abdelaziz, the manager of Khabib Nurmagomedov then tweeted out that his client had signed the contract for the bout.

Here we go. The champ signed his bout agreement against tony Ferguson. This man has been asking for this ass whooping and now he has earned it April 18th the eagle will land in Brooklyn one more time. This one is for the fans. pic.twitter.com/ifG2f9Yt9l

— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) November 26, 2019

With the bout seemingly official, the Las Vegas sportsbooks are prepared to set the opening odds, according to Okamoto.

Per John Murray (@vegasmurray) from @SuperBookUSA, these betting odds are about to go live in Las Vegas …
Khabib Nurmagomedov -240
Tony Ferguson +190

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 26, 2019

With Khabib Nurmagomedov at -240, it means you need to bet $240 in order to win a $100. As for Tony Ferguson, a $100 bet would net you a +190 return given he is a +190 underdog. The betting lines have hovered around that mark, as following UFC 223, the bookies had the Dagestani champion as a -200 favorite while “El Cucuy” was a +170 underdog.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is coming off of a submission win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 to defend his lightweight title. Before that, he got another submission win over Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in one of the biggest events in UFC history. He won the vacant title over Al Iaquinta at UFC 223. The Russian is currently 28-0 and 12-0 inside the Octagon.

Image via @ufc on Instagram

Tony Ferguson, meanwhile, last fought at UFC 238 where he TKO’d Donald Cerrone by doctor stoppage. Before that, he earned a TKO win over Anthony Pettis at UFC 229. He is currently on a 12-fight winning streak and has notable wins over Kevin Lee, Rafael dos Anjos, and Edson Barboza during that stretch and also won the UFC’s interim lightweight title.

Nurmagomedov and Ferguson were first booked at the TUF 22 Finale in 2015, but the Russian pulled out with an injury. Then, in April of 2016, they were re-booked for UFC on Fox 9, and this time Ferguson got hurt. It was followed up by the Russian pulling out at UFC 209 due to a failed weight cut and then at UFC 223, the American withdrew due to a leg injury.

What do you make of the opening odds between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson? And, who would you bet? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 11/25/2019.