UFC 143 Picks

February 1st, 2012admin

UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Venue: Mandalay Bay Events Center
Broadcast: Pay-per-view, FX and Facebook.com

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

• Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz (for interim welterweight title)
• Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum
• Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce
• Renan Barao vs. Scott Jorgensen
• Ed Herman vs. Clifford Starks

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX)

• Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier
• Jorge Lopez vs. Matt Riddle
• Alex Caceres vs. Edwin Figueroa
• Matt Brown vs. Chris Cope

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

• Dan Stittgen vs. Stephen Thompson
• Rafael Natal vs. Michael Kuiper

After a couple of freebies, UFC returns to payperview, and looks like betting on ufc 143 will take place at a bar, or wherever you normally watch this.

It is hard to bet against a fighter as hot as Carlos Condit, but betting on Nick Diaz has been a surebet for years now.  Unless he smoked a joint before the fight, Diaz doesn’t look like he will lose in a long time, or maybe until he meets GSP.  Carlos will not go down without a fight, he’ll take punishment, and won’t get knocked out.  But no way he is as good as Nick in the standup, and not even close on the ground if for some reason it ends up there.

Fabricio Werdum makes his way back to the UFC and will be welcomed in a big way.  Roy Nelson has fought with lacklusture his last few outings, and unless he proves otherwise no will be no spark in this fight as well.  Werdum is a solid fighter and probably still on a high from dispatching Fedor.  Though like the main event this will probably not end up in a stoppage either.

Josh Koscheck is still a very formidable fighter and a guy like Mike Pierce should just be a walk in the park for Koscheck.  Pierce has yet to beat anybody of relevance, and in fact has lost to any fighter that has relevance in the division.

Other than a title shot it is tough to see how Scott Jorgensen, currently one of the best in the division, is an underdog.  His opponent Renan Barao is the reason.  Undefeated in an unheard of 28 fights, 2012 will be the year that he will challenge for the belt.  This guy who’s striking was the weaker point is looking like a kickboxer now, and if he gets on top of you, game over.  Jorgensen is another guy you hate to bet against, but its the smarter bet this time around.

Don’t really know or remember Ed Herman’s opponent Clifford Starks, but since I don’t think Ed Herman is that good, it is worthy to take a look at this heavy underdog who was a wrestling teammate of former champ Cain Velasquez at Arizona State University.  Can get as high as +265 right now.

Preliminary Card UFC 143 Picks

Dustin Poirier over Max Holloway

Matt Riddle over Henry Martinez

Edwin Figueroa over Alex Caceres (Bruce Leroy)

Matt Brown over Chris Cope

Dan Stittgen over Stephen Thompson

Rafael Natal (Doesn’t this guy play tennis?) over Michael Kuiper

UFC 143 Fight Odds

• UFC 143 •
Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz	+175 -225	+160 -180	+170 -200	+ -	+160 -233
Fabricio Werdum vs. Roy Nelson	-150 +120	-140 +120	-135 +115	- +	-167 +120
Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce	-265 +205	-240 +200	-220 +180	+ -	-294 +200
Renan Barao vs. Scott Jorgensen	-225 +175	-220 +190	-230 +190	- +	-294 +200
Clifford Starks vs. Ed Herman	+230 -300	+245 -290	+255 -310	+ -	+235 -357
Bet On Bodog
Bet on Bovada (US only)

UFC on Fox 2 Picks

January 28th, 2012admin

UFC on FOX 2: Evans vs. Davis

Location: Chicago, Illinois
Venue: United Center
Broadcast: FOX, FUEL TV and Facebook

MAIN CARD (FOX)

• Phil Davis vs. Rashad Evans
• Michael Bisping vs. Chael Sonnen
• Demian Maia vs. Chris Weidman

PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV)

• Evan Dunham vs. Nik Lentz
• Michael Johnson vs. Shane Roller
• Jon Olav Einemo vs. Mike Russow
• George Roop vs. Cub Swanson
• Charles Oliveira vs. Eric Wisely
• Joey Beltran vs. Lavar Johnson

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

• Chris Camozzi vs. Dustin Jacoby

I hope everybody did well betting on UFC on FX, as here comes another round of FREE UFC events.  UFC on Fox 2 will be composed of 2 #1 contender fights for the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions to face the champions Jon Bones Jones and Anderson The Spider Silva.

Both Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis and Rashad Evans are wonderful wrestlers who will wrestle it out for the win here.  The difference though is Evans boxing which he has improved over the years.  Evans knows how to use his wrestling as an offensive weapon and should score more points on his way to a win.

Who do the fans cheer for in this fight between two of arguably the most hated mixed martial artists in the ufc; Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping.  Though Bisping has very good takedown defence, once he’s on the ground he isn’t the greatest and this is where Chael excels.  Sonnen will then use his ground and pound to earn points, and thus earn the victory.  Bisping has good standup but we have yet to see any of his knockout power where he’ll be able to TKO Sonnen with.

In his toughest challenge to date, Chris Weidman will take on the top BJJ practitioner in his weight class, and probably in mixed martial arts.  Though Maia’s bjj is top notch, he still hasn’t improved enough in the rest of his game to warrant a challenge.  A top wrestler such as Weidman will be able to control the fight, and his own BJJ isn’t so bad itself, trained by Matt Sera’s camp.

UFC Preliminary Fight Picks

Evan Dunham over Nik Lentz

Mike Russow over Jon Olav Einemo

Cub Swanson over George Roop

Joey Beltran over Lavar Johnson

Charles Oliveira over Eric Wisely

Shane Roller over Michael Johnson

Chris Camozzi over Dustin Jacoby

UFC on Fox 2 Fight Odds

• UFC Fox 2 •
Phil Davis vs. Rashad Evans	+170 -210	+175 -205	+170 -185	+163 -188	+160 -233
Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping	-400 +300	-435 +360	-430 +380	-450 +350	-588 +350
Chris Weidman vs. Demian Maia	-150 +120	-150 +130	-148 +138	+130 -160	-154 +110
Evan Dunham vs. Nik Lentz	-375 +285	-350 +290	-340 +310	-400 +300	-385 +285
Jon Olav Einemo vs. Mike Russow	+130 -160	+135 -155	+140 -150	+130 -160	+135 -189
Cub Swanson vs. George Roop	-120 -110	-105 -115	-110 EV	-125 +100	-133 +105
Joey Beltran vs. Lavar Johnson	-225 +175	-205 +175	-200 +185	-210 +175	-215 +175
Charles Oliveira vs. Eric Wisely	-500 +350	-450 +375	-460 +410	-500 +380	-588 +350
Michael Johnson vs. Shane Roller	+190 -240	+195 -225	+210 -230	+200 -250	+195 -286
Chris Camozzi vs. Dustin Jacoby	-170 +140	-150 +130	-165 +155	-170 +140	-207 +145
Bet On Bodog
Bet on Bovada (US only)

UFC 142 Picks

January 7th, 2012admin

UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes

Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Venue: HSBC Arena
Broadcast: Pay-per-view and FX

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

• Champ Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes (for featherweight title)
• Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson
• Mike Massenzio vs. Rousimar Palhares
• Carlo Prater vs. Erick Silva
• Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX)

• Sam Stout vs. Thiago Tavares
• Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ednaldo Oliveira
• Yuri Alcantara vs. Michihiro Omigawa
• Ricardo Funch vs. Mike Pyle
• Caio Magalhaes vs. Fabio Maldonado
• Felipe Arantes vs. Antonio “Pato” Carvalho

UFC 142, or better known as UFC in Rio 2, will be the UFC’s second major fight in Brazil. Also note that the SpikeTV contract has ended and the preliminaries will air on FX (Sportsnet in Canada, check local broadcasts in your area).

Though Chad Mendes has looked pretty good in his last few fights, you can’t go against the great Jose Aldo.  Aldo is simply too good all around, and can be dominant if he wants.  Now in his home country, there is now way he disappoints.

Anthony Johnson has finally said he has given up on welterweight and will concentrate only on middleweight.  This is good news for this division which is slowly building up its contenders.  Vitor though is a pro, and it is doubtful that he will be caught again with a surprise kick.  The speed might be too much for Johnson to handle, as he has never faced somebody this big and fast, and is usually the bigger and quicker one.

Rousimar Palhares should have a very easy win here over the relatively unknown and uneventful Mike Massenzio.

Should be a nice KO of the night candidate here in Erick Silva over Carlo Prater.

Edson Barboza will be looking for another fight of the night in his fight with Terry Etim.  Edson is much too crafty of a striker than the English boxer.

UFC 142 Fight Odds

• UFC 142 •
Chad Mendes vs. Jose Aldo	+205 -265	+200 -240	+205 -245	+205 -265	+200 -294
Anthony Johnson vs. Vitor Belfort	+105 -135	+115 -135	+115 -135	+105 -135	+120 -167
Mike Massenzio vs. Rousimar Palhares	- +	+385 -470	+380 -475	- +	+350 -588
Carlo Prater vs. Erick Silva	+ -	+395 -470	+385 -485	+ -	+350 -588
Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim	+ -	-250 +210	-255 +215	+ -	-312 +210

UFC 141 Picks

December 23rd, 2011admin

UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena
Broadcast: Pay-per-view, Spike TV and Facebook.com

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

• Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
• Donald Cerrone vs. Nate Diaz
• Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks
• Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
• Jim Hettes vs. Nam Phan

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

• Junior Assuncao vs. Ross Pearson
• Danny Castillo vs. Anthony Njokuani

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

• Dong Hyun Kim vs. Sean Pierson
• Efrain Escudero vs. Jacob Volkmann
• Luis Ramos vs. Matt Riddle
• Manny Gamburyan vs. Diego Nunes

Wow what a year for the UFC in 2011, and looks like they will end it off with a bang in 2011, on a Friday Night!

Also a reminder to all Americans, Bodog will no longer accept US Betters, current accounts will be transferred to an account on Bovada.  All new players can sign up for an account directly on Bovada.

Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem will battle it out for the #1 contendor status.  Has Brock fully recovered from his ailments and fit to battle it out against the best striker he has ever faced?  Probably not.  Overeem has too many weapons, way too much experience for Brock to handle.  If Brock can take him down it may be a different story, but his striking defence has never been the greatest, and the aggressive Alistair should be able to land some bombs to put Lesnar away.

Donald Cerrone is on quite a hot streak, a Nate Diaz will just be a loud obstacle on his way back to the top.  Nobody has fought as much as the cowboy in 2011, and not too many have been as dominating.  Though Nate will keep him distanced off with jabs, the leg kicks that Cerrone will throw throughout the fight will take its toll, and Diaz will be eating some ground and pounds until he taps.

Jon Fitch is probably the best fighter who earns the least respect in mixed martial arts.  That says everything about boring fighters.  His last 9 fights have gone to decision, and not exciting fights either.  Unfortunately with Hendricks being a top notch wrestler as well, look for Fitch to bore out a win here as well.

Alexander Gustafsson, the guy who retired Matt Hamill faces the old but tough Vladimir Matyushenko.  This should be a very exciting fight, but bet on a quick fight as Gustafsson should be able to catch the sloppy Vladimir with some kind of hold.

When Nam Phan faces Jim Hettes he will finally face somebody who will not just trade punches with him.  This will be an intriguing fight as the undefeated Judo Jim has won all his fights via submission.  In this striker versus grappler match an upset could happen here, as Nam was never to great against the grapplers.

UFC 141 Fight Odds

• UFC 141 •
Alistair Overeem vs. Brock Lesnar	-145 +115	-145 +125	-140 +120	-145 +115	-167 +120
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko	-325 +250	-335 +280	-350 +290	-325 +250	-325 +245
Donald Cerrone vs. Nate Diaz	-285 +225	-255 +215	-265 +225	-285 +225	-263 +180
Johny Hendricks vs. Jon Fitch	+175 -225	+190 -220	+190 -230	+175 -225	+200 -294
Jim Hettes vs. Nam Phan	+175 -225	- +	+195 -235	+175 -225	+190 -278
Junior Assuncao vs. Ross Pearson	+200 -260	+ -	+220 -260	+200 -260	+180 -263
Anthony Njokuani vs. Danny Castillo	+160 -200	+ -	+155 -175	+160 -200	- +
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Sean Pierson	-400 +300	+ -	-400 +310	-400 +300	- +
Efrain Escudero vs. Jacob Volkman	+205 -265	- -	+175 -225	+205 -265	- +
Luis Ramos vs. Matt Riddle	EV -130	+ -	EV -130	EV -130	- +
Diego Nunes vs. Manny Gamburyan	-325 +250	- +	-325 +250	-325 +250	- +

UFC 140 Picks

December 2nd, 2011admin

UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Venue: Air Canada Centre
Broadcast: Pay-per-view, Ion TV, Sportsnet (Canada), Facebook.com

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

• Champ Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida (for light-heavyweight title)
• Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Tito Ortiz
• Brian Ebersole vs. Claude Patrick
• Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung

PRELIMINARY CARD (ION TV)

• Igor Pokrajac vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
• Jared Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou
• Dennis Hallman vs. John Makdessi
• Yves Jabouin vs. Walel Watson

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

• Mark Bocek vs. Nik Lentz
• Rich Attonito vs. Jake Hecht
• John Cholish vs. Mitch Clarke

The biggest UFC event ever (UFC 129) took place in Toronto, and now the UFC is back to where Dana White calls the mma capital of the world.  This time no GSP, but instead the next brightest star of the UFC.

Jon Bones Jones is simply the most unstoppable force in the UFC right now.  He has barely broken a sweat, doesn’t appear to have been taken down, or taken a punch.  His only loss was his disqualification elbow versus Mark Hamill in a fight that he was dominating.  Lyoto Machida will be a big test for Bones, a patient fighter who might just sit back and counter all night.  Still should be no problem for Jones, he just has too much in his arsenal.  And if it will take him 25 minutes to win, then he will just do so.

Frank Mir vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Big Nog) rematch is happening because Big Nog was fighting injured the previous time.  After watch Nog come out of nowhere and knocking Schaub out, this will be an interesting fight.   I have the feeling that was a one time thing and he will once again ponder retirement after fighting Mir.

The other Nog, Lil Nog Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will be fighting the other guy very close to retirement Tito Ortiz.  Lil Nog is on a 2 fight losing streak fighting 2 tough guys while Tito has only won once in his last 7 fights, though that was against Ryan Bader who had previously beat Lil Nog.  Still you can’t go against Father Time, as this should finally be Tito’s swan song.

Claude Patrick has a streak that not too many people can match, he hasn’t lost in almost a decade!  Ebersole isn’t too shabby as well, not having lost since 2008 beating slightly better opponents than Patrick.  I’m sure most wanted to see the original fighter here in Rory MacDonald, but Patrick will put on a good show.  In a battle of the wrestler versus the jiu-jitsu practitioner I would go with the BJJ star here as he has the better chance of catching Brian in something.

In what could be the Fight of the Night, Mark Hominck meets the Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung.  The Korean Zombie isn’t really that great of a fighter relying more on his aggression more than his actually striking technique.  Hominick on the other hand is a masterful striker and will simply pick him apart.  He will be fighting with a heavy heart as this will be his first fight since his friend and long time coach Shawn Tompkins passed away suddenly.  Hopefully there will be a moment of silence for “The Coach” Shawn Tompkins during UFC 140.

UFC 140 Fight Odds

• UFC 140 •
Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida	+110 -140	+125 -145	+120 -140	+125 -163	-105 -133
Big Nog vs. Frank Mir	+195 -250	+190 -220	+195 -230	+188 -250	+167 -238
Lil Nog vs. Tito Ortiz	+115 -145	+120 -140	+110 -130	+125 -163	+115 -159