The face of the UFC, Ronda Rousey, wasn’t the only one pummeled from the opening bell until her knockout in the second round at the hands of ex-boxing champ Holly Holm in Australia November 14.
Officials running Nevada sports books say they took it on the chin as sharp money overwhelmingly came in on Holm, causing the fight’s payout to drop from 14-1 on Holm to about 8-to-1 at many sports books by fight time.
At William Hill, about 96 percent of tickets wagered were on Holm, who knocked out Rousey with a head kick one minute into the second round. Other sports books likewise reported steep losses on the fight, including the South Point, which reported a $70,000 loss on the fight.
Fortunately for sports books, the betting action wasn’t heavy, with the total amount wagered equal to about a third of that bet on a typical NFL game.
The win made Holm the first professional athlete to win world titles in boxing and UFC, and it sets up a potentially lucrative rematch sometime in the near future, although no fight or date has been announced.
Still, that hasn’t stopped the Golden Nugget from making Rousey a heavy -400 favorite for the anticipated rematch. Those who want to wager on Holm can do so at a +320, which is much lower than the +1400 upon which many sports books took a hit when Holm clobbered Rousey.
Although the sports books took a loss on Holm’s win over Rousey, they still enjoyed a very profitable weekend, as many underdogs covered the spread in college and NFL football, including many that won outright.
Most notably, New Mexico, which was an up-to 31-point underdog to heavily favored host Boise State, won the game outright Saturday and became the first Division 1 football team to be at least a 17-point underdog in back-to-back weeks and win both games.
Many other underdogs also covered or won on Saturday, and they continued dominating on Sunday and Monday night. NFL underdogs covered 11 of 13 contests, including many winning outright, making it a very good football weekend for Nevada sports books, despite Rousey’s loss.
