Las Vegas Sun

Currently: 70° | Complete forecast |

UFC 195 breakdown, betting odds and picks

Underdogs are on a run in the octagon

UFC 195 Workouts at MGM

Steve Marcus

Heavyweight fighter Andrei Arlovski, right, poses with Ricardo Gonzalez of El Paso at the MGM Grand Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. UFC 195 takes place Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The UFC enters the New Year riding a wave of upsets.

The last two events of 2015 each featured underdogs prevailing in seven of 12 total fights, including a stunning 7-2 record in main-card bouts. UFC 195, which starts at 3:30 this afternoon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, will determine whether the volatility carries into 2016.

No upset will occur in the main event, however, because there’s no favorite. A welterweight championship bout between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit sits as a straight pick’em at local sports books.

The champion Lawler opened as a small minus-145 (risking $1.45 to win $1) favorite, but money has come in on Condit to make the bout a true 50/50 proposition. The most significant upset would therefore have to come in the co-main event where former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski is offered at a plus-190 (risking $1.90 to win $1) with Stipe Miocic coming back at minus-225.

Only one of four prognosticators on the Sun’s picks panel went with Arlovski, but it was the winner of last year’s competition. KSNV’s Randy Howe notched the best record picking every major fight card in 2015, going 102-61 to break a two-year winning streak from ESPN Radio’s Steve Cofield.

The records will reset starting with UFC 195.

Check below for a breakdown, odds and picks on every fight from Howe, Cofield plus Las Vegas Sun’s Ray Brewer and Case Keefer.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy