UFC 205 breakdown, betting odds and picks

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Updated Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016 | 1:09 p.m.

It’s nothing new for the UFC to stack one of its biggest cards with multiple title fights.

The unordinary part is that multiple champions are expected to lose their belts according to the betting odds. There’s less than a 20 percent chance implied by the odds that both lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and welterweight champion Tyron Woodley defend their titles in the top two fights of UFC 205 tonight in New York.

Women’s strawweight Joanna Jedrzejczyk is the only champion expected to retain her title by the betting market, as she’s nearly a 4-to-1 favorite over Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

Conor McGregor is favored to win a championship in a second weight class, though the price isn’t as prohibitive as it once was. McGregor opened as a minus-185 (risking $1.85 to win $1) favorite but it’s dwindled to minus-135.

Alvarez comes back at plus-115 (risking $1 to win $1.15) in his first title defense. That’s still better than the plus-170 attached to Woodley, who’s also attempting his first defense. Challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson has grown to a minus-200 favorite after opening at minus-150.

Find out who the Sun’s picks panel likes in the championship bouts along with the rest of the card, which begins at 4 p.m. local time with the pay-per-view slated for a 7 p.m. start, below along with odds and breakdowns. Las Vegas Sun’s Ray Brewer (78-45 year to date), KSNV’s Randy Howe (77-46), ESPN Radio's Steve Cofield (77-46) and Las Vegas Sun’s Case Keefer (65-58) have provided their picks.

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