In the welterweight main event, rivals Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley do battle at UFC on ESPN+ 36 Saturday at the UFC’s APEX Facility in Las Vegas. The prelims kick off at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by the main card set for 8 p.m. ET.
Covington (15-2) is the overwhelming favorite in this battle of former champs, and he makes no bones about his disdain for Woodley. He is quoted as saying “I’ve always hated the guy,” and Woodley (19-5-1) is on record saying that there would be no handshake with his counterpart. Let the fireworks begin!
Covington, nicknamed “Chaos”, has been chomping at the bit to get back into the octagon after a fifth-round KO/TKO loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 245 on Dec. 14, 2019, losing the strap in that championship bout. A win over a 38-year-old Woodley might not get him quite back on track for a title fight, but a loss would certainly be devastating toward that endeavor.
Woodley might not land the volume of punches that Covington does, but he does have pinpoint accuracy. He leads 49.27 to 37.30 in significant strike accuracy percentage. However, Woodley will be trying his hardest to avoid going to the canvas, or this one could be done early. Covington has an amazing 4.91 takedown average and a 51.79 takedown accuracy percentage.
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Colby Covington vs. Tyron Woodley betting odds
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:05 a.m. ET.
Tapping Covington (-334) on the 2-way line for the overall fight result isn’t good gambling, as you cannot risk more than three times your potential return. He is an amazing value on the 5-way line, however, as taking COVINGTON BY KO/TKO, DQ OR SUBMISSION (+333) is a fabulous value. Pinpointing COVINGTON BY SUBMISSION (+900) is also worth a small-unit play, as it’s just too tempting to pass up.
Normally I like to suggest a round or two for the fight finish, and here I’d like to suggest a three-round spread. Taking ROUND 2 (+800), ROUND 3 (+1000) and ROUND 4 (+1200) will also return substantial profit, even if you bet all three and one comes through. Consider UNDER 4.5 ROUNDS (+165), too, as that’s an amazing value if you expect this one to finish inside the distance. NO (+150) ON ‘WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE’ is also a good play.
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