Author: admin

TUF champions have a habit of transforming into real killers once they get the funding and recognition to excel in this sport, and Pearson is certainly on that track. Armed with an iron jaw, murderous inside boxing combinations, and a gas tank for days, it’ll take a very specific opponent to put a halt on his ascent in the division. Cole Miller, while a decent fighter in his own right, comes into this bout with possibly the worst skill-set one can have for dealing with Pearson, and may be the biggest dog on this card. Miller suffers from a suspect chin, a lack of real power in his strikes, and insufficient wrestling to get this fight on the mat, making for either a long night, or an abrupt end to this bout.

Pearson has the chin and standing defense to walk through anything Miller throws, and once he starts getting his timing down, it’ll be mere moments before the English bulldozer gets inside on Miller and lights him up. While the odds aren’t fantastic, taking Pearson at -260 makes for a great anchor bet for the night.

Rich Attonito – Mike Hammersmith +155 on SportBet)

An interesting fight featuring a TUF 11 fighter who was sidelined with injury, taking on a mid-level contender looking to move up. Attonito had a successful, although odd bout with Kyacey Uscola on TUF where he won via DQ, yet broke his hand and was forced out of the competition. Under the circumstances, he was given a chance to work his way into the UFC ranks, and did so in impressive fashion against no one’s favorite cast member Jamie Yager with a come-from-behind TKO victory. Rafael Natal, on the other hand, has worked his way through the regional circuits of Brazil and America, coming to the public eye on the Moosin PPV where he soundly defeated UFC veteran Travis Lutter with a harsh KO victory.

Generally when dealing with TUF fighters, you have to give them the benefit of the doubt in their training, as they tend to flourish once given a few sponsors and the opportunity for top-level training. With that in mind, this is a real toss-up fight, as both men are defensively weak standing, while having KO power, meaning this could end at any time. Surprisingly, Attonito has come in as a huge underdog in this fight at +155 and makes for the best dog bet on the card, in my opinion.

 
Anthony Waldburger – MMAMoneyLine (-200 on Bodog)

From where I sit, Anthony Waldburger and David Mitchell have many similarities.  Waldburger has 10 submission wins, Mitchell has 9 submission wins.  Waldburger has experience with serious competition like Pat Healy, Ricardo Funch, Pete Spratt, Josh Neer, and Brian Foster.  Mitchell has fought tough mixed martial artists like Tim McKenzie, Poppies Martinez, and War Machine.  Waldburger’s biggest weakness has been his chin, having 4 knockout losses.  However, Mitchell has no KO wins on his record.

In a fight like this, you have to look at the odds.  Mitchell is inexplicably a moderate favorite, while Waldburger is a +170 ‘dog.  A bet on Waldburger is simple betting mathematics:  he wins this fight about 50% of the time while the sports books are giving him a 37% chance.  Taking advantage on edges like this can be more important that really thinking Waldburger will win more than he loses.

 

MMAMoneyLine Official Picks:

Marquardt/TKO/3

Escudero/UD

Tibau/SD

Pearson/TKO/2

Edwards/KO/1

Hamman/UD

Drwal/TKO/2

Natal/SUB/2

Waldburger/SUB/1

Foster/TKO/3

 

MMAMoneyLine Official Wagers (1 unit = 2% of bankroll):

Escudero 1 u. at -160 on Bodog

Waldburger – 1 u. at +170 on Sportsbook

Drwal – 1 u. at -170 on BetUS