Israel Adesanya opens as small favorite in potential rematch against Sean Strickland

Israel Adesanya has opened as a small favorite in a potential rematch with Sean Strickland.

Adesanya and Strickland headlined UFC 293 in Australia and heading into the fight, ‘The Last Stylebender’ was a massive betting favorite. However, in the first round, Strickland dropped Adesanya and had him hurt at the end of the round. Strickland ended up cruising to a clear-cut decision to pull off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history to become the new middleweight champion.

Immediately, after the event, UFC President Dana White said his plan was to have an immediate rematch, as did Israel Adesanya’s head coach Eugene Bareman.

“Obviously, I expected a completely different main event. Whether Izzy won or Strickland won, nobody saw that coming,” White said after UFC 293 about an Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland rematch. “That Izzy would come in flat and slow and whatever’s going on with him, I don’t think anybody expected to see that… I think you do the rematch. Absolutely. The rematch is interesting.”

RELATED: Dricus Du Plessis reacts to Sean Strickland’s upset win at UFC 293.

With the UFC on board to have an immediate rematch, BetOnline released opening odds for the rematch and Israel Adesanya is still the betting favorite against Sean Strickland.

Opening Odds:

Israel Adesanya -120
Sean Strickland +100

With Israel Adesanya opening as a -120 favorite, you would need to bet $120 on him to win $100 if you like ‘The Last Stylebender’ to reclaim his belt. If you like Sean Strickland to win the rematch, a $100 bet would net you $100 in profit should he get the win once again.

The odds are widely different from the first fight as Adesanya closed around a -650 favorite while Strickland was a +450 underdog. To no surprise, how Strickland won and made it one-sided made the odds much closer for the rematch, but some are surprised Adesanya still is the betting favorite.