BetOnline: McGregor Favored to Win Second Belt at UFC 205

(SPONSORED CONTENT) -- Up until this year, New York was the only state in the U.S. where mixed martial are competitions were deemed illegal. But a bill passed in the state assembly in March legalizing sanctioned MMA events and on Thursday, Sept. 1, the law officially took effect. The state Athletic Commission did enact a set of regulations for combat sports. The big one was insurance rules that require promoters to have a $50,000 insurance policy for each fighter to cover injuries and $1 million policy to cover hospital care if a fighter suffers a life-threatening brain injury.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship had been pushing to have a fight in the media capital of the world for years and Madison Square Garden is known as the "World's Most Famous Arena." And the Garden will host a star-studded UFC 205 card on Saturday night headlined by a lightweight title fight between current champion Eddie Alvarez and featherweight title-holder Conor McGregor as McGregor looks to become the first UFC fighter to hold two belts at once. McGregor opened as a -145 favorite on BetOnline's MMA odds but has been bet down to -155. Alvarez opened at +125, got as low as +105 and is currently +135.

McGregor was to fight on the historic UFC 200 card in Las Vegas, but he refused to leave training and promote his bout against Nate Diaz, who had upset McGregor at UFC 196. But eventually McGregor and UFC boss Dana White buried the hatchet and McGregor got his vengeance against Diaz at UFC 202 in a majority decision in what was one of the most memorable UFC fights ever. McGregor (20-3) scored three knockdowns of Diaz in the first two rounds and then held on. That non-title fight was at 170 pounds, 25 about McGregor's lightweight class. McGregor, who was a -125 favorite for that bout, said he was open to trilogy fight with Diaz but only at 155 pounds (lightweight). BJ Penn and Randy Couture as the only fighters in UFC history to win titles in multiple weight classes but they didn't hold the belts simultaneously.

Alvarez (28-4) was a +215 underdog at UFC Fight Night 90 against lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos but upset Dos Anjos with a first-round TKO to win the belt. Alvarez used one counter right punch to wobble dos Anjos midway through the round and built off that. The referee jumped in at 3 minutes, 49 seconds. Alvarez entered the fight 2-1 in the UFC since making his debut in 2014 with split decision wins over Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis. Dos Anjos was making his first appearance in the Octagon since having to pull out of a title defense against McGregor at UFC 196 due to a broken left foot. Diaz took his spot on 11 days of notice and beat McGregor by second-round submission. The over/under for this fight is 1.5 rounds, with the over a -185 favorite.

There are two other belts on the line at Madison Square Garden. Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley puts his title on the line against five-time kickboxing world champion Stephen Thompson. Woodley (16-3) won the title by knocking out Robbie Lawler in the first round at UFC 201. Thompson (13-1) has won seven fights in a row, including impressive victories over Johny Hendricks and Rory MacDonald. Thompson is the -200 favorite with Woodley at +170 and the over/under at 2.5 rounds. The over is a slight favorite.

Finally, Joanna Jedrzejczyk (12-0) puts her women's strawweight title on the line against Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-0) in a matchup of Polish rivals. Those two did fight as amateurs four years ago, with Jedrzejczyk winning by first-round submission. Jedrzejczyk is priced at -385 on BetOnline MMA odds with Kowalkiewicz at +320.