McGregor remains the people’s favourite

[Hogg]

IT is not everyone’s cup of tea but the UFC is a juggernaut, and one of the biggest fights in its history is finally here.

Controversy magnet Conor McGregor will return to the Octagon on Sunday for the first time since November 2016 in his first fight of any type since his famous clash with Floyd Mayweather in August last year.

Standing in the way of a triumphant return for McGregor is his new archrival Khabib Nurmagomedov with the Russian to go into the fight as a $1.62 favourite.

Nurmagomedov has fought on 26 occasions and has never looked like getting beaten.

It also appears that he has not been affected by the usual McGregor mind games, which included a violent bus attack that landed McGregor in jail.

Nurmagomedov may be favourite, but no fighter in history has been more popular with Ladbrokes punters than McGregor and that has continued in the build-up to the bout.

McGregor accounts for over 80 per cent of the bets placed on the fight and public sentiment is clearly with him, but some big punters have jumped on the $1.62 available for a Nurmagomedov win in the past couple of days.

Ladbrokes have a special available for the fight, offering $3 for McGregor to win the fight in any one of the first three rounds.

Considering that 19 of McGregor’s 21 wins have come within three rounds, this represents some genuine value.

CRICKET
AUSTRALIA and Pakistan begin their two-Test series on Sunday afternoon and you would think Tim Paine will be leading a team with at least two spinners given the scorching heat of Dubai.

Nathan Lyon took eight wickets in the first innings of the practice match against Pakistan A and Jon Holland five wickets in the second.

Lyon represents Australia’s best chance of recording an upset win against Pakistan, who are currently $2 favourites.

Lyon to be the leading Australian wicket-taker in the first innings is the same odds as an Aussie win at $2.75, and betting on Lyon rather than Australia as a whole may prove to be the safer play.

NBL
THE NBL has made some serious strides in recent seasons and there is plenty of interest ahead of the start of the 2018-19 season next Thursday.

Andrew Bogut factor has played a key role in futures betting with Ladbrokes, with his Sydney Kings $2.75 to claim their first NBL Championship since 2005.

Last year’s champions Melbourne United are on the second line of betting at a quote of $3.50 and punters seem confident of a grand final Series between Sydney and Melbourne.

Perennial powerhouse Perth Wildcats and the New Zealand Breakers are at $8, followed by the Cairns Taipans at $10, the Adelaide 36ers at $11 and the Illawarra Hawks at $13.

The Brisbane Bullets have had a couple of tough seasons since rejoining the NBL, and have blown out to $21 after a horror run of injuries and indifferent pre-season results.

NFL
THE Los Angeles Rams — 4-0 for the first time in almost 20 years — are close to regaining the club’s one-time moniker as “the greatest show on turf”.

With a dominant defence and a thrilling offence, many NFL pundits are locking in the Rams as their Super Bowl 53 pick.

The Rams have been crunched into $4.75 to win the Super Bowl after starting the season at $10.

The other big movers have been the Kansas City Chiefs.

They are now into $7.50 and while their offence is as explosive as any, their defence is bad, which makes their philosophy very simple — you can score points on us, but we’ll just score more than you.

As we pass the quarter-way mark of the regular season, the pressure is mounting on a handful of franchises expected to do big things this season.

The loser of the clash between Pittsburgh and Atlanta will have just one win after five matches, while the replay of last season’s NFC Championship game between Philadelphia and Minnesota also has plenty riding on it.

A loss for the championship-winning Eagles would leave them 2-3, and defeat for the Vikings would have them even more precariously placed at 1-1-3.