Las Vegas Sun
T.J. Dillashaw drops elbows on Renan Barao during their bantamweight title fight at UFC 173 on Saturday, May 24, 2014, at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Dillashaw won with a TKO in the fifth round.
Saturday, July 25, 2015 | 2 a.m.
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T.J. Dillashaw and Renan Barao will likely own yet another UFC betting record by the end of tonight.
Their first fight featured an upset that’s tied for the biggest in UFC history as Dillashaw closed as high as a plus-800 underdog — same as Matt Serra when he stunned Georges St. Pierre at UFC 69 in 2007 — before smashing Barao at UFC 173 last year. The main event meeting at tonight’s UFC on Fox 16 at the United Center in Chicago has the largest line flip imaginable for a rematch between two fighters.
Dillashaw is eight times more likely to win the second fight than he was going into the first, according to the betting odds. The champion is a decent-sized champion at a price of minus-210 (risking $2.10 to win $1) with Barao coming back at plus-180 (risking $1 to win $1.80).
It’s one of the most lopsided fights on the event, which is scheduled to begin on local network television at 3 p.m. For the second straight major UFC card, lopsided fights are virtually absent.
The biggest favorite on the card is minus-250, making for a lot of dissension among the Sun’s picks panel.
Check below for a breakdown and odds on every fight as well as picks from ESPN Radio’s Steve Cofield (57-32 year to date), KSNV’s Randy Howe (56-33), the Sun’s Case Keefer (54-35), the Sun’s Ray Brewer (53-36) and ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto (45-22).
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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