For a fight that’s supposed to be a lopsided blowout in Floyd Mayweather’s favor, Conor McGregor sure is getting a lot of love on the betting front. The fight originally opened at a staggering -2500 Mayweather vs +1100 McGregor (meaning you’d have to bet $2500 to win $100 off a Floyd win, while $100 would get you $1100 if Conor won), but the sheer volume of money coming in on McGregor warped the odds to where they stand today at -475 Mayweater to +375 McGregor. That makes McGregor less of an underdog than Marcos Maidana, Miguel Cotto, and Victor Ortiz.
As of today, there have been 277 bets on Floyd Mayweather @MGMRaceSports. There have been over 6,000 bets on Conor McGregor.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) August 21, 2017
But let’s be clear: the establishment still isn’t giving McGregor much of a chance. They’re just being forced to change the odds to make sure they don’t get absolutely crushed should Conor actually win. A good line (as far as the sportsbook goes) is one that draws the right balance of bets on both sides so the losers on one side cover the pay out for the winners on the other.
But with so much action on McGregor, bookies are getting nervous that there won’t be enough money from the other side should the UFC double champ pull off an upset.
“This could be the worst loss in the history of MGM Resorts,” Jay Rood, vice president of MGM’s sportsbook told ESPN.
While the money has been coming in fast and furious for McGregor, there’s a belief that a lot of the more serious bettors are waiting for Mayweather odds to sweeten up even more before dropping big bucks. We’ve already seen one example of this, where Vegas tycoons the Maloof brothers bet $880,000 on Floyd. In a perfect world, those last minute bets on a ‘sure thing’ like Mayweather should balance everything out.
But if McGregor money just keeps on coming in at the same high volume, you better believe there’s going to be some very nervous sportsbooks watching the fight hoping Conor hasn’t figured out how to beat Floyd.
