UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor Odds and Predictions

This weekend, UFC 205 will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York, and it’s expected to be one of the most watched events in UFC’s history. UFC 205 is the organization’s first time ever in New York City, coming eight months after New York state lifted a 1997 ban on MMA fights.

UFC 205 will feature has three championship bouts, with a main card bout between Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez, who hold the featherweight and lightweight titles respectively. Welterweight champ Tyron Woodley will defends his belt against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson; and women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk will defends her title against the also undefeated Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Check out Sports Interactions’ UFC 205 odds on our MMA betting page. Also, be sure to check out our detailed preview and predictions for the UFC 205 Prelims card.

Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor

Records: Alvarez 28-4-0 McGregor Record: 20-3-0
Division: Lightweight
UFC odds: McGregor -150 Alvarez +120
Prediction: McGregor by TKO

This won’t be the first time Conor McGregor tries to be the first fighter to simultaneously hold two UFC titles, and now, the featherweight champ will challenge for the lightweight title when he meets Eddie Alvarez in the Octagon. These two have been riling up the fanbase by chirping at eachother for weeks on social media, with McGregor saying things like Alvarez’s “wife and children won’t recognize him again” when he’s done with him , which should be added to the growing list of classic Conor McGregor quotes.
As far as the fight itself goes, McGregor is the odds favorite, as an extremely fast and powerful striker. Eddie Alvarez is an around good fighter with respectable wrestling and boxing skills, but he tends to take a lot of hits, and against a powerhouse like McGregor, a lot of hits spells a knockout victory for the “The Notorious.”

Have a look at our in-depth preview and odds analysis for the Alvarez vs. McGregor fight at UFC205.

Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson

Records: Woodley 16-3-0 Thompson 13-1-0
Division: Welterweight
UFC odds: Tyron Woodley +150 Stephen Thompson -190
Prediction: Thompson

Tyron Woodley is coming at this title bout having just finished off Robbie Lawler in half a round. This fight won’t be as easy for him. He’ll have his first match as the welterweight champion with a matchup against on of the most dangerous fighters in the division. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson is coming in hot from a seven-fight winning streak, destroying both Johny Hendricks and Rory MacDonald earlier this year. He plans on capping his career-year with a brand new welterweight title belt, and the odds on this fight agree with him.

Chris Weidman vs. Yoel Romero

Records: Weidman 13-1-0 Romero 11-1-0
Division: Middleweight
UFC odds: Yoel Romero +135 Chris Weidman -175
Prediction: Romero by Decision

This matchup is going to come down to speed, and even though Chris Weidman is the odds favorite in the bout, I’m going to call it for underdog Yoel Romero, who is just that much faster on his feet than the famously slow-moving Weidman. Romero is an Olympic medal-winning wrestler and a powerful striker, so if he can keep his endurance up and outlast Weidman, he should be able to take this one the distance and get himself a decision win.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz

Records: Jedrzejczyk 12-0-0 Kowalkiewicz 10-0-0
Division: Strawweight
UFC odds: Karolina Kowalkiewicz +280 Joanna Jedrzejczyk -400
Prediction: Jedrzejczyk KO

This should be one of the best fights of the night, as two undefeated kickboxers face off in the battle of the Polish champions. Joanna Jedrzejczyk is a devastating kickboxer with highly technical offensive skills. Her opponent Karolina Kowalkiewicz is also a formidable kickboxer, but offensively is slightly less powerful than Jedrzejczyk, which explains her underdog status in this fight.

Kelvin Gastelum vs. Donald Cerrone

Records: Gastelum 13-2-0 Cerrone 31-7-0 (1 NC)
Division: Welterweight
UFC odds: Kelvin Gastelum +135 Donald Cerrone -175
Prediction: Gastelum by TKO

This could definitely be one of the most fun fights on the card, and is one of the harder fights to call. Gastelum is a great wrestle-boxer who seems to be getting faster with age. He often has trouble making weight, suggesting some issues with consistency. Cerrone is a good match up for him, since he’s a powerful kickboxer who moved from lightweight up to welterweight and saw some great results with that shift. Gastelum’s speed may prove to be the deciding factor here, and Cerrone leaves himself open to take a lot of hits, which Gastelum will take full advantage of.

Miesha Tate vs. Raquel Pennington

Records: Tate 18-6-0 Pennington 8-6-0
Division: Women’s Bantamweight
UFC odds: Raquel Pennington +145 Miesha Tate -185
Prediction: Tate by

Miesha Tate is an all-around fantastic fighter in her division and in this matchup, if you look at their records, is the far more experienced of the two. She’s one of the best wrestlers in her division, and if she can keep Pennington on the ground, she should be a lock for those odds. Also, she’ll be on a tear from her short-lived reign after defeating Holly Holm, when she was handily defeated by Amanda Nunes at UFC 200. Raquel Pennington comes to this fight with a three win streak in her pocket, only losing 1 of her last 5 fights to Holly Holm.