After KO of Siver, McGregor is a short underdog vs. Aldo
Published on Monday, 1/19/15, at 3:13 p.m. Eastern.
Updated on Tuesday, 1/20/15, at 3:42 p.m. Eastern.
Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor improved to 5-0 in the UFC by blasting Dennis Siver via second-round knockout in the main event at Sunday’s UFC Fight Night Boston.
Jose Aldo is a perfect 7-0 in the UFC and his lone career defeat came more than nine years ago.
McGregor hooked up his supporters as an outrageous favorite in the -1100 range. Just as I pointed out in my preview at VegasInsider.com, the best way to back McGregor was by playing ‘under’ 1.5 rounds at a -170 price. When ‘The Notorious’ got the KO early in the second stanza, ‘under’ backers cashed a winner.
McGregor stormed out of the Octagon and immediately approached Jose Aldo, the long-time featherweight kingpin who will make his next title defense against McGregor. McGregor got to within one yard of Aldo before UFC security officials subdued McGregor and sent him back into the cage.
The McGregor-Aldo fight will be “May in Vegas,” according to Dana White at the post-fight presser. The most anticipated fight in the history of the 145-pound loop appears destined for Mandalay Bay or the MGM Grand for the annual Vegas show over Memorial Day Weekend.
5Dimes had Aldo listed as a -165 favorite (late Monday night), while McGregor was a +125 underdog. As of Tuesday afternoon, 5Dimes had adjusted Aldo to -195 (McGregor +155). Bovada had Aldo at -175 with ‘The Notorious’ at +145 on the comeback.
In the co-main event in Boston, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone won his seventh consecutive fight by capturing a unanimous-decision win (30-29 three times) over former lightweight champ Benson Henderson, who has now lost three of his last five fights.
Many MMA media members and fighters disagreed with the decision. BE Sports had it 29-28 for Henderson, but we also had Cerrone for a +115 return so no complaints with the result from here.
Gamblers taking ‘over’ (2.5 rounds) cashed a ticket.
You can follow the line moves for Aldo-McGregor below. (The numbers presented by each name are the best currently available among a slew of different betting shops.)
In other UFC news leaking out Tuesday, Bloody Elbow is reporting that the promotion is on the verge of signing Mirko Cro Cop to a multi-fight deal to return to the Octagon in the heavyweight division. Cro Cop last fought in the UFC in 2011 when he lost by KO to Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson.
The move appears to be a defensive one based mostly on preventing Bellator from inking Cro Cop to a contract. White felt like Cro Cop was well past his prime in 2011, so the news comes as a surprise and appears to simply be a business move in order to keep Bellator out of the press. In a similar move the UFC re-signed Rampage Jackson recently. I’m hoping Rampage gets matched up with Fabio Maldonado. As for Cro Cop, I wonder if Pat Barry would return to the Octagon for a rematch since ‘HD’ would know he wouldn’t have to worry about his opponent wanting to wrestle.
