Ferguson listed as -190 favorite vs ‘Cowboy’ (+150) at UFC 238

Published on Sunday, 5/12/19, at 2:43 p.m. Eastern.

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto broke the news on Friday. With UFC 238 being headlined by a pair of title fights that don’t necessarily move the needle whatsoever, the main card needed a major boost.

It got just that with the addition of a crucial lightweight showdown between second-ranked Tony Ferguson and third-ranked Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.

Ferguson (24-3 MMA, 14-1 UFC), the 35-year-old winner of TUF13, has won 11 consecutive fights and hasn’t tasted defeat since dropping a unanimous decision to Michael Johnson on May 5 of 2012.

‘El Cucuy’ won the interim lightweight belt by submitting Kevin Lee via triangle choke at UFC 216. However, when Ferguson tore his knee up after tripping in a freak accident at a media event just eight days before he was to face Khabib Nurmagomedov to unify the 155-pound belts, he was stripped of the interim title.

Ferguson made a quick recovery and returned to the Octagon at UFC 229 to face Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis. The bout earned Fight of the Night honors and Ferguson prevailed when Pettis’s corner stopped the fight before the start of the third round due to multiple cuts on Showtime’s face.

Cerrone will be making his second-quickest turnaround in this spot. He just went five rounds last weekend in a dominant UD win over fourth-ranked Al Iaquinta. Cerrone has bagged four fight-night bonuses during his current three-fight winning streak.

Cerrone is 2-0 since returning to the lightweight loop following a three-year detour in the welterweight division. Cerrone had won eight fights in a row until he lost to Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Orlando in December of 2015. In other words, he’s beaten 10 straight 155-pound foes not named RDA (sorry for Butch Jonesin’ that stat).

As of Sunday afternoon, 5Dimes had Ferguson installed as a -190 favorite, leaving Cowboy at +150 on the comeback (risk $100 to win $150).

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

–Where the hell have I been?! Well, I took a full-time job with MajorWager.com. Therefore, I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from BE Sports. You can check out all of my by-lines over at MajorWager here, including my recap of the beatdown Cerrone put on Iaquinta at UFC Ottawa.

–You can follow us at MajorWager on twitter right here (@majorwagerUNO).

–During last night’s UFC 237 card, the promotion announced the co-main event for UFC 241: Nate Diaz vs. Pettis in a three-round affair that’ll be contested at welterweight. Pettis made his 170-pound debut his last time out when he knocked out Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson in the second round. Diaz will return to the Octagon for the first time in nearly three years since splitting back-to-back welterweight bouts against Conor McGregor.

–Speaking of ‘The Notorious,’ look for him to face Justin ‘The Highlight’ Gaethje sometime in the fall. To be clear, this is just my theory. I haven’t read or seen anything of the sort reported. My thinking is simply that this is the best scrap to make. McGregor’s other options were Cerrone or Diaz to complete their trilogy. With both fighters now booked, it makes the most sense. I think Gaethje will win that fight and would love to get him as an underdog.