Conor McGregor Opens as Sizeable Betting Favorite Over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246

Shocker,,,

Cowboy Cerrone will be Conor McGregor's return fight. The obvious bout to make.

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Will do huge volume - can't wait.

McGregor up to -250 (opened -165 in October).

68% of the bets so far on the Irishman.

— Dave Mason (@DaveMasonBOL) November 29, 2019

For the exciting January main event of UFC 246, betting lines have opened, putting Conor McGregor as a significant favorite against Donald Cerrone.

On Friday, sportsbook BetOnline opened a fight line on the UFC 246 welterweight headliner between McGregor (21-4) and Cerrone (36-13, 1 NC). "Notorious" opened with a sizeable advantage as a -225 favorite, against Cerrone as a +190 underdog. Essentially, one would need to bet $225 on McGregor in order to win $100, while someone putting $100 on Cerrone would make them an additional $190 -- if that respective fighter won. Since the line opened, other sportsbooks have shifted from McGregor as a -210 favorite to upwards of -260, with Cerrone ranging from +170 to over +200.

McGregor last competed in 2018, where he suffered a submission loss at the hands of Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 that October. He has yet to win a fight in MMA or boxing dating back to his knockout of Eddie Alvarez over three years ago. McGregor has closed as the betting favorite in all but two occasions in his Octagon career -- against Nurmagomedov, and in a pick-'em where then-champ Jose Aldo held slightly more favorable odds. Despite tapping out to Nate Diaz in March 2016, McGregor still closed as the betting favorite in the rematch a few months later. A notorious finisher, his knockout rate sits at 86 percent, and he has only gone the distance twice in his 25-fight career.

"Cowboy" has lost his last two by knockout against Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson this year. Despite the losses, the Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting mainstay holds a plethora of records in the UFC, including most wins, finishes, post-fight bonuses and more. In his last seven bouts, Cerrone has closed as an underdog, winning four. The last time "Cowboy" closed as a betting favorite was against Darren Till in 2017, and Till knocked him out in the opening round. As a welterweight, Cerrone posts a record of 6-4, and has not competed in the division since tapping out Mike Perry in November 2018.

UFC 246 will take place on Jan. 18 at a to-be-determined venue in Las Vegas, although it is currently considered for the T-Mobile Arena. Also scheduled for the card include a lightweight tilt of Anthony Pettis vs. Diego Ferreira, as well as a flyweight battle between Maycee Barber and Roxanne Modafferi.