UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit betting breakdown

The UFC rings in the New Year with a massive card for UFC 195 in Las Vegas Saturday night. The event is headlined by a welterweight title fight between current title holder Robbie Lawler and top challenger Carlos Condit. We take a look at that championship bout and another main card matchup for UFC 195 with some MMA fight odds:

Robbie Lawler (-115) vs. Carlos Condit (-115)
As you can see by the odds, this matchup is nearly drum tight. These two were supposed to do battle at UFC 193 but Lawler suffered a thumb injury, forcing the UFC to push back the bout. The close odds reflects just how dangerous both men are, with neither one playing passive and both wanting to be aggressive and set the tempo. Lawler has won four straight bouts including winning the 170-pound title from Johny Hendricks (while also erasing his most recent loss) and then defending it against Rory McDonald this past summer.

Condit’s coming off a stoppage victory over Thiago Alves but has split wins and losses in his last four fights. He’s won half his fights via knockout but Lawler is an elusive opponent, and has only been finished once – a submission loss to Ronaldo Souza in 2011 – in the past five years. Condit comes in as the bigger of the two fighters, and will enjoy a two-inch reach advantage when they step into the octagon Saturday. However, Lawler was used to bigger opponents during his middleweight days and will counter that will his quickness and movement.

Stipe Miocic (-240) vs. Andrei Arlovski (+180)
The undercard of UFC 195 is headlined by a heavyweight eliminator bout that will go a long way in shaping the division. Arlovski continues his comeback tour, having won six straight bouts after teetering on the edge of obscurity in the sport. The 36-year-old veteran has picked apart some of his fellow 205-pound gatekeepers, most recently edging Frank Mir in a decision win back in September.

Miocic has also knocked off some of the notable names in the division, taking victories over Mark Hunt, Gabreil Gonzaga and Roy Nelson in recent bouts. His lone loss in the past five fights was a toe-to-toe war with Junior dos Santos, so you can’t discount Miocic much for that blemish. He dismantled Hunt this spring and possesses the most dangerous KO ability Arlovski has faced during his streak.