Stipe Miocic
Stipe Miocic, pictured celebrating his victory over Fabricio Werdum in Curitiba, Brazil on May 15, 2016, is the betting favorite in his UFC 211 fight. Reuters

UFC 211 is the biggest MMA event of 2017 thus far, and it’s set to take place Saturday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Stipe Miocic will defend his UFC heavyweight championship in the main event, and the betting odds for the entire card indicate that most of the fights could go either way.

Miocic is favored to retain his belt with -140 odds against Junior dos Santos. Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Jorge Masvidal, Frankie Edgar and Krzysztof Jotko are also favorites to win fights on the main card, via Bovada.lv.

Miocic could be in for his toughest challenge since he won the title almost exactly a year ago. He’s had four straight victories, and his last loss came at the hands of dos Santos on Dec. 13, 2014. It was one of the best heavyweight fights in UFC history as the two men went to war for 25 minutes.

The rematch, however, is not expected to go the distance. The fight has been given -350 odds to end prematurely and just +240 odds to last all five rounds. Dos Santos was knocked out by Alistair Overeem after beating Miocic, and the champ has had three consecutive first-round knockout victories. Miocic stopped Overeem in four minutes and 27 seconds in his only title defense.

The champion is favored in the other UFC 211 title fight. Jedrzejczyk is looking to remain undefeated as the UFC women’s strawweight champion, and she’s given -190 odds to do so.

Jessica Andrade is a +155 underdog, and she’s expected to be one of Jedrzejczyk’s toughest competitors yet. With Ronda Rousey likely gone from the sport, Jedrzejczyk has become the most dominant woman in UFC. She’s 13-0 in her professional MMA career, successfully defending her championship four straight times.

Jedrzejczyk hasn’t had a knockout since she defeated Jessica Penne on June 20, 2015, winning three straight bouts by unanimous decision. Andrade’s last fight went the distance, and Saturday’s fight has -170 odds to complete all five rounds.

The welterweight bout on the UFC 211 card might end up being the fight of the night. Demian Maia is a potential contender to Tyron Woodley’s 170-pound belt, but he finds himself as the underdog Saturday night. He has even odds against Masvidal, who has been named a -130 favorite.

Masvidal has three straight wins, including a knockout of Donald Cerrone earlier this year. Maia has six straight wins, with his most recent coming against Carlos Condit in August. The fight isn’t expected to go the distance, though there are +110 odds for it to last all three rounds.

Edgar is a -140 favorite against Yair Rodriguez in a featherweight bout. Since moving up to the 145-pound weight class, Edgar has only been defeated by Jose Aldo, against whom he’s lost twice. Rodriguez is undefeated since signing with UFC and he’s a +110 underdog.

The fifth and final fight on the pay-per-view features middleweights Dave Branch and Krzysztof Jotko. Jotko is the biggest favorite on the main card with -160 odds. Branch is a +130 underdog.

On the prelims, against Dustin Poirier is a -130 favorite against Eddie Alvarez, who has even odds.

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