UFC Pittsburgh betting odds: Rockhold heavily favored in return vs. Branch

The UFC Pittsburgh betting odds have dropped, as the UFC’s former middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold (-525), returns to action for the first time since his first round KO loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 199, to take on the former WSOF two-division champion, David Branch (+415). The co-main event for the evening will witness the ever-violent Mike Perry (-470) take on short notice replacement, and UFC newcomer, Alex Reyes (+375).

There are quite a few moderate betting favorites going into UFC Fight Night 116, as 5 of the scheduled 10 bouts involve the favorite being found at a line of -440 or larger;

Luke Rockhold -525

Mike Perry -470

Gregor Gillespie -450

Kamaru Usman -800

Justin Ledet -440

Two pick’em fights are on deck for this Saturday night, as Hector Lombard (-115/+100) can be found at both plus and minus odds against Anthony Smith (120), and Tony Martin (-110/+105) plays both sides of the betting field versus Olivier Aubin-Mercier (-120). Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch main card will air live on FS1 at 10:00 P.M. ET with the prelims starting at 8:00 P.M. ET on FS2. Due to UFC Pittsburgh including only 10 fights, there will not be any Exclusive Fight Pass Prelims.

Check out the UFC Fight Night 116 betting odds, courtesy of OddsShark.com:

Movement courtesy of BestFightOdds.com:

Hector Lombard vs. Anthony Smith: Middleweight

Anthony Smith started his UFC Pittsburgh betting life as the underdog, at +120, to Hector Lombard’s opening line of -160, before the betting public remembered that Lombard hasn’t won a fight since 2014, and put their wagers on Smith. The resulting bets shifted Smith’s line from an initial +120, to a favorite line of -120, with Lombard now walking the line at both plus and minus odds from -115 up to +100.

Kamaru Usman vs. Sergio Moraes: Welterweight

Kamaru Usman opened up as a moderate favorite at -440, and constant wagers have steadily sent “The Nigerian Nightmare” to his current monstrous moneyline of -800. Sergio Moraes, who opened up with a hearty dog tag of +314, has not recieved much attention, as evident by his line being bumped all of the way up to +550.

Suggestions:

Tony Martin vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier: Lightweight

Both Martin (-110/+105) and Aubin-Mercier (-120) have proven to be stout grapplers, albeit from different disciplines, but the difference here might be what happens on the feet. Martin looked awfully comfy on his feet vs. Johnny Case in his last outing, and although OAM is becoming more fluid as we saw with him against drew Dober, don’t be surprised to see Martin have the edge in the boxing department. OAM has yet to win a professional fight outside of Canada (0-1), and it might stay that way for now. Tony Martin @+105 is legit.

For an in-depth breakdown of each UFC Fight Night 116 bout, check out The MMA Vivisection with Bloody Elbow’s own Zane Simon and Connor Ruebusch. Stay glued to Bloody Elbow for all of your event coverage including play-by-play, results, highlights, and more! Happy hunting!