Conor McGregor opens up as slight betting underdog against Khabib Nurmagomedov

There are some decent Conor McGregor odds for the believers out there.

Conor McGregor was always going to be the underdog against Khabib Nurmagomedov. There's an obvious reason why - we've seen him lose before. The same cannot be said of the undisputed UFC lightweight champion. 26 men have tried and failed to hand Nurmagomedov his first loss. This has given the undefeated Dagestani an air of invincibility. McGregor, on the other hand, has three losses on his professional record against Artemij Ssitenkov, Joseph Duffy and Nate Diaz respectively. The latter came inside the Octagon in 2016. So, it's not all that surprising that McGregor has opened up as a slight betting underdog against 'The Eagle'. Paddy Power are offering odds of 8/11 on Nurmagomedov and EVENS on McGregor. These odds are pretty similar to the ones they're offering stateside. According to online bookmaker Bovada. McGregor sits at a +130 underdog while Nurmagomedov is the -160 favourite. Remember though, styles make fights. McGregor has that patented left hand that can render anyone unconscious. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/1025700720908099585

Another factor that contributed to McGregor's underdog status is time. It's been a minute since we've seen 'the Notorious' inside the Octagon. The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion has not competed in MMA knocking out Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November 2016. Of course, he suffered a TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather since then, but that came inside the boxing ring.

Since McGregor has last fought, we've seen Nurmagomedov rack up two more impressive wins. The undefeated Dagestani finished Michael Johnson via third-round kimura on UFC 205's preliminary card. He then went on to score unanimous decision victories over Edson Barboza and Al Iaquinta. He claimed the 155 lb strap against Iaquinta in UFC 223's main event.

McGregor and Nurmagomedov will finally settle their beef inside the Octagon at UFC 229 in Las Vegas on October 6.