Henry Cejudo is favored by UFC betting sites to beat Dominick Cruz and retain the bantam championship at UFC 249, expected to take place on May 9, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States.
Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz UFC 249 Betting Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| DOMINICK CRUZ | +195 |
| HENRY CEJUDO | -235 |
Betting Cruz
The Dominator is, according to the best online sportsbooks, the underdog. Cruz is coming off a loss, the second in his career. He lost the bantam title to Cody Garbrandt by unanimous decision at UFC 207 on December 30, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Following a 3+ year layoff, Cruz was picked to replace José Aldo and face Cejudo. It wouldn’t be the first time Cruz returns from injury after a couple of years to reclaim his rightful place as bantam champion.
Cruz made his first comeback returned after almost 16 months to challenge titleholder T.J. Dillashaw in 2016. Dillashaw, who with his style and footwork dethroned Renan Barao, was matched up with Cruz, known for his movement and evasiveness.
Cruz kept Dillashaw on his toes throughout the fight. He bobbed and weaved and landed solid counters as Dillashaw came in. He even perfectly time a few brief takedowns that had judges swaying rounds in his favor. After five back-and-forth rounds, Cruz was awarded the split decision. Cruz went five rounds with relative ease, shaking off the rust like nothing. And speaking of Dillashaw, who has also lost to Cejudo, favors, unlike UFC betting sites, Cruz. “I actually think Cruz wins the fight. I think he wins a decision,” Dillashaw said. “Don’t think Cejudo is all he cracks himself up to be. He’s very good, don’t get me wrong. He’s a great athlete, he’s done some amazing things in the combat world. But I don’t think he’s to the level of what Cruz can show him. It’s gonna be difficult for Cejudo to deal with Cruz’s awkward movement.
Betting Cejudo
Triple C rebounded from his two first losses, incurred consecutively, with five straight wins. In the process, he won both the flyweight and the bantam championships. He vacated the former on December 19, 2019. And won the latter from Marlon Moraes, whom he TKO’d at UFC 238 on June 8, 2019 at 4:51 of the third round in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Cejudo tweeted that he doesn’t “know the difference between being in camp or Covid-19 quarantine”. I’m inclined that to believe that, him being a MMA fighter and the word being multisyllabic, he doesn’t even know the meaning of ‘quarantine’. This is, after all, the man who wanted to fight Valentina Shevchenko and become the first-ever intergender champ. However, he was referring to the physical transformation he has undergone in the past 12 weeks.
According to Neuro Force One, this is “the most well conditioned Henry Cejudo to date.” Cejudo’s lean body mass increased from 128.7 to 132.5. Meanwhile his body fat mass dropped from 25.4 to 18.1. As he completes camp and starts cutting weight for the event, Cejudo’s total body fat percentage will be at 12%, down from starting camp at 16.5%.
Our Pick: No one would mistake Cejudo for a case of brawn and brain. If anything he is now brawn and more brawn. Cruz, on the other hand, strikes me – not literally, thankfully – as a very smart fighter, as well as a very determined one. So I’m going to fade UFC betting sites and out my money on Cruz to win by decision after five full rounds. Cejudo has been known for evading legitimate competition, but I think he’s going to be in for a big surprise.
