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Kudos to Kamuru Usman for fighting Khamzat Chimaev on such short notice. He fought valiantly but lost a majority decision.
It seems long overdue for Chimaev to get a title shot, which means step right up Sean Strickland.
BetOnline opened odds for this potential fight and the sharps have mostly been in the champ’s corner.
The line opened at Chimaev -300 and Strickland +250. The line quickly moved to Chimaev -200, Strickland +170.
By Monday we were advised by BetOnline that more than 95% of the action within the first two hours came in on Strickland, driving the line all the way down to Chimaev -135, Strickland +115.
Then this happened....
Chimaev supporters chimed in, backing the undefeated Russian over and over again, and ultimately moving the odds back up to Chimaev -240 and Strickland +205 by midnight Saturday.
The dust has settled a bit and fallen around the middle. But once this fight is officially announced, we expect to see more money come in on the underdog, Strickland.
"First round, I think I broke my hand and finger," Chimaev said following Saturday's big fight. "I couldn't punch hard with right hand. My right hand is a big weapon. When you can't use it, it's hard to work.
"I will check my hand," Chimaev said. "If it's good, I'm gonna try to lift the weights and be ready for the next one."
The injury resulted in judges scoring Usman with the win in the second round but ultimately Chimaev walked off victorious with scores of 29-27, 29-27 and 28-28.
Sean Strickland vs Khamzat Chimaev
Sean Strickland +115
Khamzat Chimaev -135
Strickland had earlier called Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev a "bullshit fight".
Ahead of the fight he said, “Here’s the thing Usman is not in a camp, (Chimaev) has been bulking to middleweight, Usman took this fight for a paycheck,” Strickland said on his YouTube channel. “They (UFC) said, ‘Hey, Usman. Here’s a couple of million. Do you want to take this fight? We’ll give it to you.’ Usman said, ‘I can’t say no. I’m going to do it.’
“It’s a win-win for Usman. So, I think it doesn’t really count, because Chimaev has been training his d*ck off and bulking up for middleweight, and then you have Usman who’s been like, ‘I’m going to take this and get a paycheck.’ To me, this is kind of a bullsh*t fight. They just needed to fill a seat, and I got Chimaev.”
- Tyrone Black, Gambling911.com
