Strikeforce
Fedor Emelianenko opens as a 3-to-1 favorite over Dan Henderson for their July Strikeforce bout
May 15, 2011 - 8:10:02 PM

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson are expected to meet in late July on Showtime in a heavyweight bout from the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Oddsmakers have weighed in early on the fight and have released opening betting odds, and interestingly enough, "The Last Emperor" has opened as a considerable favorite.

Despite losses in his last two fights - by submission to Fabricio Werdum and a doctor's stoppage against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva - Emelianenko has been pegged a near 3-to-1 favorite in the fight at -280. Henderson, meanwhile, opens up at +210.

For those that may not know how the lines work, it means that at these odds, a $100 bet placed on Henderson will win $210, while one would need to plop down $280 on Emelianenko to get $100 in profit.

The initial odds sway in Emelianenko's direction for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that prior to his back-to-back losses he had gone unbeaten in a decade, making it hard to imagine a third straight defeat. In addition, Henderson has fought for the most part at middleweight and light heavyweight, and would typically be considered the smaller of the two.

However, the majority of Henderson's losses have come by decision, and while he's been submitted thrice in his career, it's been more than three years since that has happened, with the last submission loss coming against Anderson Silva in their title bout in March of 2008.

Penick's Analysis: I think there are a lot of people that will be putting money down on Henderson if this line stays similar to what it is right now. He's got a very good chance to win this fight, and is a notoriously tough fighter to put away himself. This is going to be every bit the test for Fedor any of his recent fights were considered, and there is a lot of value to go into a bet on Henderson with these lines where they're at right now.