Jon Anik: Yair Rodriguez 'has a better chance' than oddsmakers suggest against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 290

Jon Anik thinks oddsmakers are counting out Yair Rodriguez too much at UFC 290.

Interim featherweight champion Rodriguez (16-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) will attempt to unify the title with undisputed champ Alexander Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) in Saturday’s headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

According to BetMGM, Rodriguez is a +325 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on the challenger would win $325 profit. Volkanovski is a -450 favorite, meaning a $450 bet would be needed on the champion to return $100 profit. Anik doesn’t think the odds are a fair reflection of the fight.

“The betting line in terms of Yair Rodriguez and Alexander Volkanovski, it’s predictive in nature because essentially it tells you by the nature of the money line what the probability is of a guy like Yair Rodriguez would win the fight,” Anik told MMA Junkie Radio. “And I just feel like he has a better chance than he is being given by the oddsmakers, by the sharps out there.

“I know they’re just trying to draw two-way action, but Yair Rodriguez is one of one and a very uniquely hard guy to prepare for. A lot of people suggest that maybe Josh Emmett is a harder matchup for Alexander Volkanovski than Yair Rodriguez. I’m excited to see what Yair Rodriguez can do with the opportunity, and you can be sure he has Volkanovski’s attention.”

The steep odds are due ini part to Volkanovski’s dominance at featherweight. “The Great” never has lost at 145 pounds in the UFC and has four title defenses against Max Holloway (twice), Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.