With UFC 265 in the books after a weekend of excitement, the next event on the company’s schedule is coming up in less than two weeks. UFC Vegas 34 will take place on Saturday, August 21 and will be held — once again — at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. While the card is still shaping up its final form, the night will be headlined by a middleweight bout between former Alaska Fighting Heavyweight Champion Jared Cannonier and The Ultimate Fighter 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum.
The fight was originally supposed to be Cannonier against Paulo Costa, however, the latter pulled out of the fight back in June due to alleged payment disagreements. Nevertheless, Gastelum stepped in to fill the void and now fans have a great fight to look forward to in the near future.
As usual, Bovada has released its UFC Vegas 34 odds, which gives fans a better idea as to who’s expected to walk out of Cannonier-Gastelum as the winner. Continue reading to see who the sportsbook is favoring.
UFC Vegas 34 Odds: Jared Cannonier vs Kelvin Gastelum
Odds via Bovada as of Tuesday, August 10
- Record: Jared Cannonier (13-5-0) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (16-7-0)
- Middleweight Ranking: Cannonier (No. 3), Gastelum (N/A)
- Moneyline: Cannonier (-150) vs. Gastelum (+125)
- Total: N/A
- Method of Victory: N/A
Full odds and UFC Vegas 34 markets will be available on Bovada.lv closer to the event.
Cannonier Enters Vegas as the Favorite
At -150 odds, Cannonier will enter Las Vegas in less than two weeks as the slight -150 in his fight against Gastelum. Cannonier is as versatile as they come, as proven by how he’s fought in four different divisions over the last 10 years. Most recently, he made his middleweight debut back in November 2018 by defeating David Branch via TKO at UFC 230. From there, Cannonier continued his momentum, knocking out both UFC legend Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson before either fight could get to Round 2.
Unfortunately, Cannonier’s middleweight streak came to an end when he lost to Robert Whittaker, by decision, at UFC 254 in October 2020. Now, it’ll be a true test to see if he can bounce back from the loss at UFC Vegas 34.
One area where Cannonier does have the advantage is when it comes to striking. He’s averaging 3.70 significant strikes landed per minute on 52% accuracy, which will come in handy when it comes to swaying the fight in his favor. Nevertheless, his best bet will be to outlast Gastelum, who’s lost four of his last five fights by decision. In fact, six of Gastelum’s seven career losses have been by decision, which might be the best route for Cannonier to take. Considering how only five of his 18 professional MMA fights have gone the distance, it’ll be interesting to see what Cannonier’s stamina looks like at UFC Vegas 34.
UFC Vegas 34: Can Gastelum Pull Off the Upset?
It’s no secret around the MMA world that Kelvin Gastelum has been on a bit of a skid over the last few years. Ever since losing to Israel Adesanya in an interim UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 236 in 2019, Gastelum has lost three of the four subsequent bouts since then. Most recently, he also lost to Whittaker, by decision, at UFC Vegas 24 back in April. Needless to say, he could certainly use the momentum that a win would bring.
Gastelum has proven that he can win in a variety of ways throughout his career. Of his 16 career victories, six have come by KO/TKO, another six by decision and four by submission. Considering how Cannonier has been knocked out before and he’s lost two of his last six fights by submission, an upset victory by Gastelum isn’t out of the question. Still, it’s tough to trust him on his recent losing skid and Cannonier has the reach advantage, which could ultimately neutralize Gastelum’s love for the grappling/ground game.
Regardless, only time will tell which fighter will walk out of UFC Vegas 34 as the victor.
