
- Donald Cerrone has reopened as a smaller betting favorite against Joe Lauzon.
- Cerrone opened at -300 last April but after their UFC 274 bout was rescheduled, Cowboy is now just a -170 to win the fight.
- Cerrone and Lauzon have been rebooked to fight at UFC on ESPN 37 in Austin, Texas on June 18th.
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone has opened as the betting favorite against Joe Lauzon in their rescheduled bout at UFC on ESPN 37 on June 18th.
Cowboy hit the betting boards at a reopened price of -170 with Lauzon coming back at +145 odds:
UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Emmett:
Donald Cerrone (-170)
Joe Lauzon (+145)https://t.co/Q3ua3nC9E0 @Cowboycerrone— BestFightOdds (@BestFightOdds) May 24, 2022
Cerrone originally opened as a massive -300 betting favorite to beat Lauzon at the top UFC sportsbooks. But his betting odds continued to shrink until fight week. With five days to go before their original UFC 274 schedule, Cerrone’s odds were down to -164 and Lauzon up to +144 after opening at +250. The fight ended up getting scrapped just hours before the event after Cerrone suffered a non-COVID-19 illness and the UFC later decided to reschedule the highly-anticipated matchup between the veteran fighters.
Alex Morono Finishes Donald Cerrone in First Round
ON THE BUTTON! 🎯
Alex Morono finishes Donald Cerrone in the first round! 🙌#UFCVegas26 pic.twitter.com/SUoKgIgLwi
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) May 9, 2021
Cerrone is winless in his last six bouts with one no-contest during that span. In his most recent UFC appearance at UFC Vegas 26, Cowboy suffered a first-round defeat at the hands of Alex Morono. The loss came one fight after Cerrone’s majority draw against Niko Price at UFC Vegas 11 was overturned into a no-contest following a failed drug test by Price.
The 39-year-old Cerrone will be fighting for the 38th time inside the UFC Octagon which will put him in a tie with Andrei Arlovski for second-most bouts in UFC history. Cowboy also shares the record for most wins in the UFC (23) with Arlovski and Jim Miller. A former lightweight title contender, Cowboy has a record of 36-16 with 10 knockouts and 17 submission wins.
Since 2018, Cerrone hasn’t seen the minus money sign attached to his name. Cowboy has been the betting underdog in each of his last 11 Octagon appearances and he only has four wins during that stretch. If he will stand by his previous announcement, this will be the second to the last fight of Cowboy’s career.
First Round Lauzon!
One of MMA’s mythical beasts returned tonight: First-Round Lauzon! Jonathan Pearce stood no chance. #UFCBoston pic.twitter.com/UNgj89PZRc
— Kyle Johnson (@VonPreux) October 19, 2019
Lauzon has not fought since a first-round knockout win over Jonathan Pearce in the 2019 installment of UFC Boston. The 37-year-old Brockton, Massachusetts has fought only twice in the last 4+ years and is just 2-4 in his last six bouts. Prior to beating Pearce, Lauzon’s previous win came on January 15, 2017.
Like Cerrone, Lauzon was one of the UFC’s most popular fighters during his prime. His 15 post-fight bonuses are tied with Nate Diaz for second-most in UFC history while his six Submission of the Night honors is the most by any fighter in UFC history. He has a record of 28-15 with 9 knockouts and 17 wins via submission.
Lauzon was the +170 underdog when he knocked out Pearce and the even-money bottom dog when he stopped Diego Sanchez at UFC 200 so he isn’t new to having the plus money sign written next to his name. But like Cowboy, Father Time has caught up with Lauzon and this could be his swansong bout in the UFC.