Despite their prominence in the UFC rankings, Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier opened as underdogs in their bouts against Arman Tsarukyan and Benoit Saint-Denis, respectively.

UFC CEO Dana White announced the fights of the four fighters on Sunday, with Poirier and Saint-Denis joining the UFC 299 lineup on March 9 at Keysa Center in Miami. Meanwhile, Oliveira and Tsarukyan will meet at UFC 300 on April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and fight for the No. 1 contender spot to soon challenge UFC’s pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev for the belt.

Oliveira and Poirier are currently ranked as the No. 1 and No. 3 fighters in the lightweight division, and both are facing up-and-coming opponents in Tsarukyan and Saint-Denis. Yet, despite their records and ranking, the two UFC veterans are considered as the underdogs in the betting odds of their matches.

According to DraftKings, No. 1 Oliveira is currently the +140 underdog in the fight, while his opponent Tsarukyan is the -166 favorite.

“Do Bronx” is coming from his win over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289, which allowed him to come back to the winning column after Makhachev ended his nearly five-year winning streak record. The 27-year-old Tsarukyan is also coming from a recent TKO win that was also given by Dariush in December. “Ahalkalakets” previously faced the division champ as his debut opponent but lost. After this, the Armenian-Russian has made serious progress and is now boasting a three-fight winning streak.

On the other hand, the oddsmakers gave Poirier +124, making him the underdog against Saint-Denis, who is seen as the -148 favorite in the fight.

This might not be a huge surprise for some after Poirier suffered a massive KO loss to Justin Gaethje last July. After this, the fighter took months of break and will make his return in March. However, the oddsmakers are doubting his return will be a success, especially against the French opponent. Aside from his five-fight winning streak, Saint-Denis is seen as one of the most promising fighters in the UFC. At 28, “God of War” stands the chance to become the promotion’s next star, thanks to his solid submission, TKO, and KO wins in his last five fights.

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