On October 6, 2018 at UFC 229 we will finally get the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor fans have been arguing about for the past two years. The questions are valid ones for the bout and its potential ending. Khabib holds the lightweight belt and the advantage in grappling if you agree with the majority of odds makers and Conor has the edge in striking. Those are fair statements but most of McGregor’s bouts are preceded by insane amounts of trash talk and mental warfare that some claim work to his advantage.
At the UFC 229 press conference we got more promotion from the Irishman of his Proper Twelve brand of whiskey than we did hype or discussion of the fight. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration but it was a lot. During almost all of Conor’s tirades we saw Nurmagomedov sit there and look at him like he was watching a kid throw a tantrum. When he did speak he was interrupted by another outburst and somehow he remained stone cold and pretty much immune to the dismay of the Irishman. It was your typical circus attraction freakshow that we have grown to love and accept.
BUT…
…did it affect the odds and did Conor remain the underdog? Here are the latest lines from multiple sources…
Bovada
McGregor +125
Khabib -155
SportBet
McGregor +148
Khabib -162
SportsBook
McGregor +135
Khabib -165
Pinnacle
McGregor +143
Khabib -162
To answer that question no it didn’t. Khabib was and remains the odds on favorite but Mystic Mac has spoken and he predicted a finish in the first round because of his opponent’s “glass jaw”.
What do you think? Should McGregor be the underdog?