UFC 201 takes place this weekend from Philips Arena in Atlanta and features a Welterweight Championship main event as defending champion Robbie Lawler (27-10, 1 NC) puts his belt on the line against the supremely tough and talented Tyron Woodley (15-3) in the main event.
The betting odds for the UFC 201 main event have Lawler the favorite (-210), as he should be, since he’s bested the likes of Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit since winning the title from Johny Hendricks in 2014.
Woodley (+175) is coming off wins over Kelvin Gastelum and Dong Hyun Kim since losing a decision to Rory MacDonald in 2014. Prior to that he had wins over Carlos Condit and Josh Koscheck and has remained among the top contenders in the division since transferring from Strikeforce in 2012.
Lawler is a heavy hitter with 20 of his 27 wins coming by knockout. Woodley mixes things up more and holds 5 wins via knockout, 5 via submission and 5 via decision.
Woodley comes from a wrestling background and has done well in incorporating the other aspects of MMA. Will he be able to solve the Robbie Lawler puzzle though? Maybe not.
Lawler does a good job of shutting wrestlers down and knows all about how to deal with them in the Octagon. As far as striking, Lawler definitely has the advantage against Woodley. Lawler has faced some of the most technical and hardest hitters in the game, and in nearly 40 professional fights has only been stopped by strikes once, by Nick Diaz, way back in 2004.
There’s no doubt Woodley has some power and can take you out under the right circumstances, but if you went to this betting site to learn how to place money on the UFC 201 main event, our pick would be on Lawler.
Here’s the complete betting odds for UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley:
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
- Welterweight Championship: Champion Robbie Lawler (-210) vs. Tyron Woodley (+175)
- Women’s Strawweight: Rose Namajunas (-240) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (+200)
- Welterweight: Matt Brown (-290) vs. Jake Ellenberger (+245)
- Bantamweight: Francisco Rivera (+100) vs. Érik Pérez (-120)
- Flyweight: Ian McCall (+205) vs. Justin Scoggins (-245)
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 2)
- Light Heavyweight: Ed Herman (+130) vs. Nikita Krylov (-150)
- Welterweight: Ross Pearson (+180) vs. Jorge Masvidal (-220)
- Heavyweight: Anthony Hamilton (-105) vs. Damian Grabowski (-115)
- Flyweight: Wilson Reis (-300) vs. Hector Sandoval (+250)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
- Welterweight: Michael Graves (-210) vs. Bojan Veličković (+175)
- Flyweight: Ryan Benoit (+115) vs. Fredy Serrano (-135)
- Lightweight: César Arzamendia (+100) vs. Damien Brown (-120)