Filed under: UFC, UFC on FOX
UFC on FOX is no ordinary event, so this is no ordinary odds breakdown. Normally we have a main card full of favorites and underdogs to sort through and pick away at. This time? It’s the main event, a lightweight contender bout, and then a lot of stuff that (at least by comparison) feels like filler designed to keep the fans in their seats until it’s time.
With the abbreviated TV offering just a few days away, it’s time to take a look at the action that really matters.
Cain Velasquez (-190) vs. Junior dos Santos (+155)
It hasn’t gotten a lot of attention so far, but before we get crazy can we talk about Velasquez’s injury layoff for a minute? Not only is a torn rotator cuff kind of serious, but it kept him out of the cage for almost 13 months. He hasn’t gone that long between fights since the first year of his career, so maybe we shouldn’t assume that it’ll be no big deal for him to jump right back into the cage against one of the world’s top heavyweights just like that. Ring rust is real, and it doesn’t help that one of Velasquez’s main sparring partners — former Olympic wrestling team captain Daniel Cormier — has been sidelined with a broken hand lately. You factor in the possibility that the champ might be feeling some pressure to brawl in order to give the FOX audience (and his boss) a show they’ll remember, and suddenly dos Santos starts to look like a very strong underdog pick, right? Maybe, but that is an awful lot of faith in a few intangibles. On paper, Velasquez’s speed and wrestling skills should make the difference. He ought to be able to get in close, negate dos Santos’ ability to box from the outside, and either put him down or rough him up in the clinch. It’s hard to feel terribly confident after the lay-off he’s had, but it’s also hard to pick against the champ at this point in his career. This is one fight where dos Santos will not be able to take his foot off the gas in the later rounds.
My pick: Velasquez. If you were smart, you jumped on this line back when it was -150. Then again, if you’re smart you don’t bet on fights this tough to call to begin with.
Clay Guida (+220) vs. Ben Henderson (-280)
I admit that I’d be salivating over this underdog line on Guida if not for one thing: Henderson’s last fight. Jim Miller was riding a seven-fight win streak and looked for all the world like the next major lightweight title challenger, and Henderson absolutely demolished him. If he can do that to Miller, who’s a solid all-around fighter, what can Guida threaten him with? It sounds as if Guida’s pinning his hopes on his wrestling and his non-stop motor here, and why not? It worked against Anthony Pettis, and if we want to start playing the transitive property game, we could point out that Pettis beat Henderson. At the same time, Henderson’s takedown defense keeps getting better, and he can be absolutely brutal when his striking game starts to click. Guida has outworked superior athletes before, but this is a tall order even for him.
My pick: Henderson. I still think it’s a closer fight than these odds would suggest, but it’s a tough style match-up for Guida.
Quick picks:
– Ricardo Lamas (-130) over Cub Swanson (even). I’m afraid Swanson’s best days may be behind him. Lamas is just good enough to get the job done.
– DaMarques Johnson (-280) over Clay Harvison (+220). Johnson’s getting a much easier bout after stepping up late to face Sadollah. Expect him to make the most of it.
– “Kid” Yamamoto (-370) over Darren Uyenoyama (+280). Kind of seems like the UFC might be tossing Yamamoto an easy one to keep him around for at least a little while longer. Oh well.
Crazy underdog pick of the night:
Pablo Garza (+220) over Dustin Poirier (-280). People may be getting a little too hot on Poirier just a tad too soon. There aren’t a lot of attractive underdog lines on this card, so this one will have to do.
The ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only’ Parlay: Velasquez + Henderson + Johnson + Yamamoto
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