UFC 288 odds: Former champ Charles Oliveira opens as betting underdog to Beneil Dariush

It has been confirmed that the May 6th UFC 288 PPV main card is being blessed with a phenomenal matchup between the promotion’s former lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira, and the owner of a spectacular eight-fight winning streak, Beneil Dariush. And now we have some betting odds.

The bookies have the UFC’s #4 ranked 155-pounder opening up as the betting favorite over the recently dethroned champ. Beneil is currently available with an initial offering of -140, and dropping $100 on that line could possibly see a complete payout of $171.43. As for Charles, he is starting out his betting life with a small underdog value of +120. Throwing a hundo on Chucky Olives stands to see a total return of $220 if he is successful.

Oliveira isn’t getting the respect of the oddsmakers here, but that’s nothing new. Over the course of his career, specifically since 2020, ‘Do Bronx’ has entered the Octagon as the betting underdog on more than one occasion. Time and time again, he found a way to win and help all of those dog players cash in. The times that he was favored, it wasn’t by very much at all. I’m not saying that Charles should be favored here, Dariush is a hungry lion, but if these odds were flipped I wouldn’t be surprised at all. This matchup seems to be about as 50/50 as it gets.

Is Beneil Dariush Tony Ferguson? He’s the new Tony, right? Running up a tally of eight straight is an extra special feat at lightweight, especially the way Dariush has done it. He ran through the likes of Drew Dober, Frank Camacho, Drakkar Klose, and Scott Holtzman with wicked finishes. Then, he posted up a trio of decisions over Diego Ferreira, Tony Ferguson, and Mateusz Gamrot. It took Oliveira eight dubs to make it to a title fight, so what are the odds that Beneil gets a crack at gold if he beats Charles? Slimmer than Conor McGregor at 145-pounds.