Brian Ortega will finally get his shot at the UFC featherweight title when he meets reigning champion Max Holloway on Saturday as a narrow -120 betting favourite on the UFC 231 odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Ortega was in line for a title shot following his stunning first-round knockout of former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 222, which lifted his professional record to a perfect 14-0 going into Saturday night’s main event at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
The 27-year-old had been scheduled to battle Holloway at UFC 226 in early July. However, with Holloway suffering from concussion symptoms Ortega was forced to continue his wait for his first bid for a UFC championship belt.
A black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Ortega has been dominant during his march to top contender status in the UFC featherweight division. T-City has finished opponents in his past seven octagon appearances, including submission wins over division rivals Cub Swanson and Renato Moicano. However, the California native has yet to see action in championship rounds since joining the UFC in 2014.
Holloway makes his return following a year-long absence pegged as a narrow -110 underdog. The popular Hawaiian’s last contest came in early December of last year when he handed former champion Jose Aldo a second straight TKO defeat at UFC 218, rewarding bettors by paying out on -285 odds.
Holloway has also been a force in the octagon, claiming victory in 12 straight fights since dropping a unanimous decision to Conor McGregor five years ago at UFC Fight Night 26.
Holloway has finished opponents on nine occasions during his current win streak, but has seen nine of his past 11 outings last into the third round. That includes a TKO win over Anthony Pettis as strong -250 chalk that earned him the interim UFC featherweight crown in his last appearance in Toronto at UFC 206.
Earlier in the evening, Valentina Shevchenko takes on Joanna Jedrzejczyk as a heavy -360 betting favourite in a fight for the UFC women’s flyweight title.
Shevchenko made her first appearance as a flyweight since 2006 in her last outing, earning a Performance of the Night bonus for her second-round submission win over Priscila Cachoeira at UFC Fight Night 125 as a massive -1200 wager.
A former UFC women’s strawweight champion, Jedrzejczyk makes her flyweight debut as a heavy +270 underdog on the UFC 231 odds.
JJ was perched as the No. 1 pound-for-pound female MMA fighter during her two-year reign atop the UFC women’s strawweight division before suffering the first setbacks of her career in recent consecutive losses to Rose Namajunas.
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