UFC 2025 Odds: Deck Stacked with These 4 Bouts
- With a four-week hiatus until the UFC returns to our screens, the 2025 schedule is starting to take shape.
- From Islam Makhachev, Israel Adesanya, Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland booked to compete, the UFC is starting 2025 with a bang!
- All of the following fights and odds will be available at BetUS Sportsbook.
Joaquin Buckley triumphed over Colby Covington this past weekend at UFC Tampa to end a beautiful year of UFC action in 2024. Sadly, this was the final main event on Dana White’s calendar until Jan. 11, 2025.
With four weeks of twiddling our thumbs each Saturday night without UFC violence alongside the task of packing on pounds throughout Christmas and New Year, there’s only one thing to do when looking to supplement our MMA desires – and that’s to look at the schedule ahead for online betting and get hyped for the 2025 main events that have been set in stone!
2025 is off to a bangin’ start 💥 pic.twitter.com/SYXBlC1dHr
— UFC (@ufc) December 15, 2024
Early Look at 4 Top UFC Bouts
1. UFC Vegas 101: Dern vs. Ribas II
Ok, I can already hear mockery in the distance. I get it. Of all the elite-level, highly entertaining rematches scheduled in the first two months of next year, nobody was yearning to see Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas 2.
However, this doesn’t take away from the fact that we have two of the women’s strawweight division’s most aggressive, spirited combatants going toe-to-toe for a squeeze into the top-five rankings, and to me, it’s a great matchup to ease us back into the UFC schedule following a long break.
Ribas is listed as the favorite at -160 in MMA Fight Night odds. Dern is +130.
Dern, 31, holds a 9-5 UFC record but has pretty much fought the best opponents available at 115 pounds since her debut in 2018. She’s been a top-ranked mainstay for the previous four years but has notably lost to three of the current top-five-ranked ladies.
Dern’s grappling prowess is second to none, and after defeating Ribas by unanimous decision in 2019, she’ll be confident in replicating a similar result with the added years of elite experience under her belt.
Ribas rocks Dern, then takes her down here in round 1! #UFCTampa pic.twitter.com/b7HyvayaBw
— UFC (@ufc) October 13, 2019
Ribas, 31, boasts a 7-4 UFC record but has notably struggled for consistency with a string of win-loss results on her resume. One of the key differences for Brazil’s smiling slugger is the level of competition, as she’s only fought two of the current top-15-ranked women’s strawweights and will be moving back down to a division where she once struggled to cut weight.
Whether you’re hyped for this main event or not is irrelevant because the main card and prelims have some bangers, including Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov and Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Carlston Harris, for UFC picks and parlays.
When is Dern vs. Ribas 2?
- Jan. 11, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. ET
Where is Dern vs. Ribas 2?
- UFC Apex, Las Vegas, Nevada
🚨 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Top-ten strawweight rematch set for #UFCTampa on Dec 14! #7 🇧🇷 Amanda Ribas takes on #8 🇧🇷 Mackenzie Dern (per. @AgFight).
Their first clash in 2019 saw Ribas claim a unanimous decision win. Can Dern even the score, or will Ribas triumph… pic.twitter.com/0BM97UxNpv
— Women’s MMA Rankings (@WMMARankings) August 19, 2024
2. UFC 311: Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan II
Minus the blistering knockout loss to Adriano Martins in 2015 that every Islam Makhachev fan wants to forget, there’s been one lightweight contender who made a great account of himself versus the Dagestani savage, and that’s Arman Tsarukyan.
That’s why UFC 311, live from the Golden State, is the perfect way for the UFC to kick-start its 2025 pay-per-view schedule! Makhachev is -325 to win the fight and +400 in UFC futures odds to be the UFC welterweight champion by the end of 2025.
Makhachev’s consistent pressure and takedowns saw him take a unanimous decision when he first met Tsarukyan in 2019. Still, for the latter, it was his promotional debut, and five years later, now with a championship up for grabs, it’s one of the most intriguing fights, pound-for-pound, that Dana White and Co. can make.
🙄 Islam Makhachev says that he underestimated Arman Tsarukyan back in 2019 when they fought in Moscow.
🎥 @espnmma pic.twitter.com/m7X9U1xU6P— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) December 17, 2024
With Makhachev’s nine-fight win streak – 14 overall in the UFC – including four successful 155-pound championship fights, and Tsarukyan winning nine of his last 10 bouts, involving fierce opposition such as Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush, in unison with a highly competitive clash in the first fight, this is a rematch we’ve been calling for. It has rapidly evolved into the most intriguing lightweight matchups the promotion could create.
If you’ve completely lost your senses and this doesn’t tickle your fancy, how about Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov, Jiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal Hill, Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder, or Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano? UFC 311 is an insanely good PPV, and I refuse to accept anyone else’s opinion otherwise!
Get your UFC betting odds ready; I know I am!
When is Makhacehv vs. Tsarukyan 2?
- Jan. 18, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. ET
Where is Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2?
- Intuit Dome, Los Angeles, California
🚨 BREAKING!
DANA WHITE ANNOUNCES SOME BANGERS FOR #UFC311
🏆 Islam Makhachev vs Arman Tsarukyan
🏆 Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) December 5, 2024
3. UFC Saudi Arabia: Adesanya vs Imavov
You already know an event involving Riyadh Season is going to be stacked because Turki Alalshikh wouldn’t accept anything less. That’s precisely what we’re getting with UFC Saudi Arabia on the first day of February 2025 as we watch Israel Adesanya compete in his first non-title fight since 2019!
That’s right, The Last Stylebender has fought in nothing other than pay-per-view main events and championship fights for five straight years, but he’s rewinding the clock to put on a show for the Saudis and to potentially remind fans of the hunger and drive that brought him to the dance.
Imavov vs Adesanya #1 contender fight
Clash of the kickboxers, Who says no? pic.twitter.com/ykBjEAw0A1
— Kenny Okoye🇳🇬 (@TruthfulUfcFan) September 29, 2024
His opponent? None other than the formidable, rising middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov. The Russian striker representing France returns from three consecutive top-ranked wins at 185 pounds, and despite losing to Strickland in early 2023, success over Adesanya would catapult him right back into title contention.
Imavov is +600 in MMA prop lines to be the UFC middleweight championship by the end of next year.
This fight is a kickboxing fan’s wet dream. I’m almost certain we aren’t going to see a takedown or rear-naked choke in sight, as we have two high-level strikers stepping into the cage to put on a show!
For good measure, UFC matchmakers have added a long list of UFC stars to the Saudi card (of course), including Shara “Bullet” Magomedov, Michael “Venom” Page, Ikram Aliskerov, Sergei Pavlovic and many, many more!
When is Adesanya vs. Imavov?
- Feb. 1, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. ET
Where is Adesanya vs. Imavov?
- Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Adesanya vs Imavov and Magomedov vs Page is LIVE February 1st from Riyadh! #UFCRiyadh #RiyadhSeason @RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/1NHjEbtax1
— danawhite (@danawhite) December 14, 2024
4. UFC 312: Du Plessis vs. Strickland II
The UFC’s second PPV main event of 2025 was announced last week, and much like UFC 311, it’s a highly requested rematch that we fans deserve!
Our beloved, trash-talking former middleweight champ, Sean Strickland, will have the opportunity to rectify his first title defense defeat when he enters familiar surroundings, standing across the octagon from Dricus Du Plessis, who snatched the championship away from him early last year.
Dricus Du Plessis will defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia, Jon Anik announced during the #UFC310 broadcast. pic.twitter.com/CTsJnJMVEi
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 8, 2024
DDP choked out Adesanya, and Strickland has defeated Paulo Costa since their first run-in, but there’s no denying the scorecards from the first battle could’ve gone either way. If Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan isn’t your favorite rematch of 2025 so far, this one has to be!
Oddsmakers offered pick em’-lines during the first fight and given the current UFC 312 betting odds for the rematch, not much has changed in terms of expectations. Of course, Du Plessis enters as a slight favorite due to his receiving the nod in their January 2024 clash, but it will likely deliver another incredibly close war… Who you got?
In other UFC news, Weili Zhang fights Tatiana Suarez in the co-main event. Do I need to say more?
When is Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2?
- Feb. 8, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. ET
Where is Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2?
- Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia
TWO TITLE FIGHTS SET FOR UFC312‼️ pic.twitter.com/vElbbo9adX
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) December 8, 2024
Questions of the Day
What’s the first UFC title fight of 2025?
In a rematch six years in the making, Islam Makhachev will defend his lightweight championship versus Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311, the first pay-per-view of 2025!
