UFC 230 Betting Odds: Daniel Cormier Heavily Favored Over Derrick Lewis

Daniel Cormier (21-1-1) has opened as the heavy betting favorite over Derrick Lewis (21-5) in their heavyweight title fight next month at UFC 230.

With the Madison Square Garden card taking place Nov. 3 with no high-profile title fight, the UFC confirmed reports Tuesday that Cormier would face Lewis in the main event.

For Cormier, it will be his first heavyweight title defense since winning the strap against Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 in July, where he notably became just the second simultaneous two-weight champion in the promotion's history.

He was expected to face Brock Lesnar in a money fight next, albeit in early 2019.

However, with the UFC desperately in need of a main event, it looks like "DC" received a good offer to save the card, which serves as good timing especially after Dustin Poirier had to pull out a couple of hours later from his co-main event fight with Nate Diaz.

As for Lewis, it is a significant step up for him. "The Black Beast" emphatically knocked out Alexander Volkov at UFC 229 this past weekend to take his record to nine wins in his last 10 fights.

He also earned many fans during his viral post-fight interview and the UFC clearly seem to be striking while the iron is hot.

But despite his own admission that he was not ready for a title shot, Lewis will now be getting one, headlining Madison Square Garden in the process.

And oddsmakers also agree that he is not ready for a title shot as Bovada have Cormier as the heavy -800 favorite with Lewis being a +500 underdog. It's a stark contrast to Cormier being a -260 favorite over Lesnar or when he opened as the +140 underdog against Miocic.

There can be many reasons for this.

While Lewis is one of the biggest knockout artists in the division, he has shown many times he gasses out during his fights and was likely going to lose a unanimous decision to Volkov before getting the finish with just seconds remaining in the final round.

If cardio is an issue, it will be extremely problematic against Cormier whose game relies on relentless pressure, clinch work and wrestling. There's also the fact that Cormier showed he has knockout power in his natural division as well, given the way he finished Miocic.

However, anything is possible when it comes to mixed martial arts.

Elsewhere on the card, Luke Rockhold is a -150 favorite over the +110 underdog Chris Weidman for their highly-anticipated rematch.

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza is a -185 favorite over the +150 David Branch while middleweight prospect Israel Adesanya is a -335 favorite over the hard-hitting Derek Brunson who is +250.

Diaz was a +155 underdog against Poirier but with the latter pulling out due to an undisclosed injury, it is unclear if he will remain on the card. UFC president Dana White reportedly claimed he was "definitely" off the card, however, things can change in an instant.