Author: admin

Check out the betting odds for Saturday’s UFC Rochester card, where Rafael dos Anjos vs. Kevin Lee are in a pick’em fight for the main event.

It’s just about time for today’s UFC Rochester card! Bloody Elbow has the betting odds.

The top of the billing will see the promotion’s #7 ranked 155-pounder Kevin Lee taking on the UFC’s former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos…but at welterweight. RDA was off to a great start at 170-pounds, winning three-straight before running into the likes of Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman. Lee has been alternating wins and losses since stepping up to the elite levels of lightweight, and will now be trying his hand up a division. Both fighters are available at the same favored moneyline of -110. Considering how untrustworthy both athletes have been as of late, pick’em lines seems about right.

The over/under for this main event matchup has been set at 4.5 rounds. The ‘Over’ owns the favored line here at -137. The ‘Under’ is available at an underdog mark of +122. The bookies are forecasting that RDA vs. Kevin Lee will be reaching the scorecards. ‘Fight goes to decision’ is now a -130 favorite, having first opened up at -165. ‘Fight doesn’t go to decision’ opened up as a +125 underdog, but the betting public has dropped that line down to +100.

In the co-main event, the UFC’s #12 ranked middleweight Antonio Carlos Junior is favored over the streaking yet unranked Ian Heinisch. ‘Shoe Face’ is sporting a -170 moneyline, with a +160 comeback on Heinisch.

The over/under for this clash of 185-pounders has been set at 1.5 rounds. The ‘over’ is sitting with a favored line of -152. The ‘under’ can be had for an underdog value of +137. Unlike the UFC Rochester main event, the oddsmakers predict that the co-main is going to end early. ‘Fight doesn’t go to decision’ is strongly favored at -205, and ‘Fight goes to decision’ in the underdog role at +165.

The betting lines have the Brazilian favored to finish the American. ‘Junior wins inside distance’ can be scooped for -146, with ‘Heinisch wins inside distance’ available at +316. ‘Shoe face’ is a BJJ guru and Heinisch is still untested with his only loss coming by way of sub, so naturally ‘Junior wins by submission’ is available at +140. ‘Any other result’ can be found at a favored line of -180. The Brazilian is known for his grappling, not his striking. ‘Heinisch wins by TKO/KO’ can be had for +340, with ‘Any other result’ largely favored at -510.

The UFC Rochester main card will air live on ESPN+ at 8:00 P.M. ET. The prelims will be starting at 5:00 P.M. ET in the same location.

Check out the UFC Rochester betting odds, courtesy of OddsShark.com:

Main card:

Prelims:

For an in-depth breakdown of each UFC Rochester rumble, check out The MMA Vivisection with Bloody Elbow’s own Zane Simon, Connor Ruebusch, and special guest Jimmy Smith. Be sure to subscribe to our Bloody Elbow Presents YouTube channel to stay up to date with all of our podcast content. Stay glued to Bloody Elbow for all of your event coverage including play-by-play, results, highlights, and more! Happy hunting!

Felicia Spencer and Megan Anderson share a common cause despite being matched up against each other at UFC Rochester.

Felicia Spencer and Megan Anderson will stand across the Octagon at UFC Rochester, but they are fighting for a common goal.

Spencer (6-0) will make her UFC debut on Saturday as the undefeated Invicta FC featherweight champion, a title her opponent Anderson has also held. Spencer told Bloody Elbow they have more in common than some may think.

“I feel a healthy amount of pressure. I feel very comfortable at the same time. I don’t feel anxiety or bad feelings towards myself. I feel like there is pressure on both of us to perform well,” she expressed. “Right now, we’re not just fighting for ourselves, we’re fighting for our division. A good showing is really important to show it’s not just about one-trick ponies in the featherweight division. There are women that deserve to be here. This is definitely my time to make a statement.”

Many fighters would prefer a slow burn up the UFC ladder, but Spencer has immediately been tossed into the featherweight deep-end with one of the division’s top contenders.

“When they signed me I had a feeling they were going to give me someone else. Megan was the obvious choice, but the UFC told me they were signing other featherweights. This kind of feels like we’re at the top right now. There is not much beyond this fight as far as rankings go,” she shared. “I wonder about when I’ll fight again and how often I’ll be fighting sometimes.”

Spencer is well aware of Anderon’s striking acumen, but the Canadian UFC debutante believes she has more tools in her tool belt. “I think I’m more dynamic and well-rounded. I have more options. Megan is a good striker,” she explained. “That is her bread and butter. I’ll be able to take the fight where I want it and when I want it.”

Spencer has often praised Invicta President Shannon Knapp, crediting her with playing a major role in her career thus far.

“I think people who know the sport would recognize and give her the props. I think it’s just part of her personality, maybe she doesn’t self-promote much,” she expressed. “Without her passion for it, there would be no Invicta. Even if it did kick-off without her, it wouldn’t carried through to now pushing 40 events. Having the opportunity to do my whole pro career with Invicta and have her believe in me enough to give me a co-main event slot last year and put me in a title fight and have a main-event slot. Those things are 100 percent the reason I’m here. I definitely owe it all to the opportunities she gave me.”

Public perception on women’s MMA has definitely improved over the years. Nonetheless, Spencer is still often dismissed as a pretty face by those outside of the bubble.

“One of the first times, from long ago, involved one a female security guard at a local amateur event. I was in the corner, I was one of the coaches for my team. I tried to go backstage with them and they said, ‘no girlfriends allowed backstage.’ My team vouched for me and said ‘she’s a coach and she’s a fighter.’ The security guard was an older lady and she looked at me and said, ‘Oh, you must get beat up a lot.’ Everyone had their jaws on the floor. We all laughed about it. Those kind of comments are funny,” she laughed. “It still happens to this day. ‘Can you show me your credentials because there are no girlfriends allowed backstage’ type of thing. It is what it is, it comes with the territory. It doesn’t really bother me.”

Spencer makes her UFC debut against Anderson at UFC Rochester on Saturday, May 18.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight talents Rafael dos Anjos and Kevin Lee will square off TONIGHT (May 18, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 152 from inside Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York.

“RDA” abandoned the Lightweight division to instant success, quickly climbing into the top five on the strength of three quality victories. Unfortunately, that’s when dos Anjos ran directly into two of the top wrestlers in the sport, losing consecutive decisions to both Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman that effectively booted him from title contention.

In a somewhat similar position, Lee rose quite quickly to the top of the Lightweight division before losing two of his last three bouts to elite competition. Unlike his opponent, however, Lee is only 26 years old, meaning his best years are likely still ahead of him. This is Lee’s first bout at 170 pounds, which will hopefully improve some of the conditioning issues Lee has dealt with in the past.

Let’s take a closer look at the keys to victory for each man:

Rafael dos Anjos

Record: 28-11
Key Wins: Robbie Lawler (UFC on FOX 26), Neil Magny (UFC 215), Tarec Saffiedine (UFC Fight Night 111), Anthony Pettis (UFC 185), Ben Henderson (UFC Fight Night 49), Donald Cerrone (UFC on FOX 17, UFC Fight Night 27)
Key Losses: Kamaru Usman (TUF 28 Finale), Colby Covington (UFC 225), Eddie Alvarez (UFC Fight Night 90), Tony Ferguson (UFC Fight Night 98), Khabib Nurmagomedov (UFC on FOX 11)
Keys to Victory: Win or lose, “RDA” has fought nothing but excellent competition for the better part of 10 years now. The Brazilian is a pressure fighter, a man who excels when swarming his opponent with combinations along the fence, dumping them to the mat, and generally being a bully.

In his last two fights, dos Anjos has been faced with powerful wrestlers who want to put him on his back. In both fights, dos Anjos was too willing to back up — he’s simply bad at it, as dos Anjos tends too back straight up into the fence rather than take angles, which gives up easy takedowns and control to his foes.

Kevin Lee is going to attempt to replicate the Covington and Usman performances. Since we’ve clearly established that dos Anjos is not able to fight from back foot well, it’s time to abandon the hope that “RDA” will start angling off and avoiding the fence. Instead, dos Anjos has to walk forward like he’s facing any other foe and put combinations on Lee. While it’s true that aggressive offense does create openings for the takedown too, at least then dos Anjos’ back wouldn’t be to the fence while trying to defend.

---

Kevin Lee

Record: 17-4
Key Wins: Edson Barboza (UFC Fight Night 128), Michael Chiesa (UFC Fight Night 112), Francisco Trinaldo (UFC Fight Night 106), Michele Prazeres (UFC Fight Night 60)
Key Losses: Al Iaquinta (UFC on FOX 31, UFC 169), Tony Ferguson (UFC 216), Leonardo Santos (UFC 194)
Keys to Victory: Lee’s path to victory is no secret. “The Motown Phenom” has some extraordinary physical gifts, namely his crazy long arms that make wrapped up an opponent’s hips and throwing him through the air an absurdly simple task. Once in top position, Lee is brutal.

Last time out, Lee’s in-fight decisions were a bit confusing. Early on, Lee’s double leg is nearly unstoppable, but he inexplicably spent the entire first round striking, not using his best weapon and narrowly losing the round as a result. Lee did eventually turn to his wrestling — and it worked spectacularly — but he did tire late in the fight, allowing Iaquinta to pick up a couple more rounds in the second half of the fight.

If Lee would’ve shot for his double leg in the first round, the decision very well could’ve swung the other way.

Lee cannot afford to make the same mistake against dos Anjos, because the Brazilian will punish him far more aggressively than “Raging Al.” Lee needs to set the tone with an early takedown and break dos Anjos’ confidence in moving forward. If that happens, Lee will be in control, which makes it far easier to maintain a high pace for 25 minutes.

---

Bottom Line: Of these two former Lightweights, only one can contend at 170 pounds.

Dos Anjos’ back is to the wall. Two losses is always a rough stretch to overcome, but at least those two defeats came to the top two fighters in the division currently. As it stands, dos Anjos is still ranked within the top five, still just a couple strong wins of his own away from getting back into the mix. If he comes up short to Lee, however, it’s really the end of the Brazilian’s time as a Welterweight contender.

Lee’s situation is a bit more flexible, given this is his first fight at Welterweight. If he wins, he’s instantly introduced to the 170-pound title mix, ready to take on another top contender and potentially fight for a title shot sooner than later. If not, Lee still has the option to drop back down to Lightweight, where he’s currently ranked as No. 7.

Tonight at UFC Fight Night 152, Rafael dos Anjos and Kevin Lee will duel in the main event. Which man will have his hand raised?