Breaking down odds for possible McGregor-Mendes fight

— -- Although  Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo at UFC 189 had fans fired up, Aldo was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Chad Mendes replaces Aldo, pitting the No. 3 ranked McGregor against two-time former title challenger and No. 1 ranked Featherweight Mendes. The betting odds are as tight as the margin of error for both men.

Let's break down the opening odds and potential early pick on the fight.

Breaking down the odds

Oddsmaker Nick Kalikas of MMAOddsbreaker.com released the opening odds that have set the initial market price for the matchup. Mendes opened a minus-130 favorite, with the comeback on underdog McGregor at plus-100. The lines are practically a pick 'em, and nearly identical to the McGregor-Aldo odds before the injury was announced. The initial pairing saw McGregor as just a slight underdog, but the lines flipped soon after the rib injury was revealed. Currently, McGregor is a minus-140 favorite over Aldo, who is now plus-120.

The McGregor-Aldo matchup had so much buzz when it was first announced that oddsmakers released three separate early betting lines that factored in whether the fight would be held in Brazil, Ireland, or the U.S. Las Vegas won out on the location, and markets stabilized the betting lines with McGregor as a slight underdog for the first time in his UFC career.

But that obviously changed with the Aldo injury announcement, and now the biggest development is not just that McGregor may face a new opponent, but that the matchup is a completely different stylistic pairing. Instead of two skilled strikers facing off, a Mendes matchup means we are bound to see a striker-wrestler fight.

The performance stats