Cris Cyborg opens as overwhelming UFC 222 betting favorite over Yana Kunitskaya

Oddsmakers aren’t giving Yana Kunitskaya much of a chance at UFC 222.

Kunitskaya, the former Invicta FC bantamweight champion, opened as an overwhelming betting underdog Thursday ahead of her makeshift main event against UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg on March 3 at UFC 222. Kunitskaya, a 28-year-old Russian fighter who is making her Octagon debut, opened as a 6-to-1 underdog against Cyborg, per Bovada oddsmakers, while the Brazilian opened as a monstrous 10-to-1 betting favorite to defeat Kunitskaya and retain her UFC title.

The short-notice fight was announced Wednesday as a means to save UFC 222, a pay-per-view that was thrust into disarray due to the withdrawal of UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway.

In addition, oddsmakers released tentative opening lines for another big fight that was teased on Wednesday: The sophomore Octagon appearance of CM Punk.

Punk, a former WWE superstar who was handily defeated in his UFC debut, opened as a 2-to-1 underdog in a potential June 9 matchup at UFC 225 against Mike Jackson.

Jackson, a part-time MMA journalist who lost to Punk opponent Mickey Gall in 2016, opened as a near 3-to-1 favorite to defeat Punk and send the former pro wrestler to 0-2 in his MMA career.

Opening betting lines for those two fights can be seen below.

Cris Cyborg vs. Yana Kunitskaya
Cris Cyborg: -1000 (1/10)
Yana Kunitskaya: +600 (6/1)

CM Punk vs. Mike Jackson
CM Punk: +200 (2/1)
Mike Jackson: -250 (2/5)