UFC 210 Betting Preview: Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson Odds, Analysis

For the second straight pay-per-view event, the challenger is favored against the champion in a title bout, this time at Saturdays UFC 210 in Buffalo, New York.In fact, No. 1 light heavyweight contender Anthony Rumble Johnson closed as a betting favorite the last time he faced Daniel Cormier for the 205-pound championship at UFC 187 nearly two years ago, and that looks to be the case again on the UFC 210 betting lines at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.Johnson (22-5) lost to Cormier (18-1) for the title vacated by former champ Jon Bones Jones via third-round rear-naked choke in their first meeting, falling prey to a superior grappling game.Cormier, a former Olympic wrestler, made sure the deadly striker Johnson would not keep their matchup on their feet, where his opponent would have a significant edge. Instead, he took Johnson down repeatedly and ultimately submitted him to win the championship, which he has defended only once since then.Meanwhile, Rumble could not have been more impressive in his last three fights, earning Performance of the Night bonuses following early knockouts of Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader and most recently Glover Teixeira at UFC 202 last August 20.He closed as -125 chalk (bet $125 to win $100) in the first bout against Cormier and sits around the same number for this weekend with the champ an underdog for the third time in his UFC career.Cormier was originally supposed to meet Johnson in a rematch at UFC 206 last December 10, but a groin injury forced him to withdraw. His last win came versus former middleweight champ Anderson Spider Silva at UFC 200 last July 9 as a replacement after Jones failed a drug test and could not compete in their rematch for the title.In the co-main event, another former middleweight champ will take on the fastest rising contender at 185 in fifth-ranked Gegard Mousasi (41-6-2). Fourth-ranked Chris Weidman (13-2) has dropped his last two fights while Mousasi has won four in a row.Weidman is coming off a third-round knockout loss to No. 1 contender Yoel Romero at UFC 205 last November 12, and he is listed as an underdog on the UFC odds for the first time since upsetting Silva in back-to-back bouts at UFC 162 and 168 in 2013.Mousasi is a slight favorite at -120 and hopes to move into title contention with another victory.
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