Raphael Assuncao sneaks in a punch on T.J. Dillashaw during UFC 200 action at T-Mobile Arena.
Saturday, July 9, 2016 | 2 a.m.
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Anderson Silva finds himself in an unfamiliar position at UFC 200 that goes beyond taking a fight with Daniel Cormier on less than two days notice.
He’s also an underdog for the first time in his UFC career — a big one at that. The odds give the man often regarded as the best fighter in UFC history less than a 20 percent chance to upset the current light heavyweight champion.
Silva is a plus-375 (risking $1 to win $3.75) underdog to Cormier’s price as a minus-470 (risking $4.70 to win $1) favorite. The price was even higher when the bout first materialized with Cormier laying minus-600.
Bettors gobbled up Silva at the high payout, and it’s hard to blame them considering his history. Silva won his first 16 bouts in the UFC as an average favorite of minus-620.
He’s gotten upset in his last three official fights — a win over Nick Diaz was overturned to a no contest for a failed drug test — but was still never less than a 2-to-1 favorite. He’s the biggest underdog on UFC 200, which begins at 3:30 this afternoon at T-Mobile Arena.
No one on the Sun’s picks panel went with Silva, making Cormier one of six fighters to draw unanimous support.
Check below for odds on every fight along with picks from ESPN Radio’s Steve Cofield (46-31), Las Vegas Sun’s Ray Brewer (45-32), KSNV’s Randy Howe (44-33) and Las Vegas Sun’s Case Keefer (41-36).
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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