Author: MMA Betting

UFC Light Heavyweight Bout: Ryan Bader vs. Ovince St.Preux

Odds:  ( -165 Bader / +135 St. Preux )

Betting Pick:  Bader

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In the main event of UFC Fight Night 47, heavy-handed wrestler Ryan Bader will square off against well-rounded veteran Ovince St. Preux in a featured Light Heavyweight matchup. These are two of the UFC’s top 10 contenders at 205 pounds, and a win here would go a long way toward putting one of them firmly in the middle of the title contention picture. St. Preux is riding an impressive five-fight winning streak, but Bader is a step up from the guys he’s been beating. Bader has been a player at the top of the division for a while, and a third straight win against a top ten opponent might be just what he needs to transform himself into a legitimate title contender.

Ovince St. Preux is a versatile, athletic veteran who can end fights with hard, accurate strikes or with submissions from a variety of positions. He has good hand speed and great footwork, and his aggressive style make him a formidable opponent. Against Bader, he will probably be the quicker and more technical striker, but he will be at a disadvantage in terms of one-punch knockout power and control in the clinch. Similarly, he is a much more dangerous submission grappler than Bader is, but he will probably struggle to find advantageous positions on the ground against Bader’s wrestling.

Ryan Bader is one of the UFC’s most proficient Light Heavyweight wrestlers, and he backs it up with bruising striking on the feet and dominant ground and pound. He’s not as quick or technical as St. Preux, but he has much more one-punch power and is great at using the clinch to control and neutralize opponents while setting up his dirty boxing. Against St. Preux he doesn’t want to let this turn into a boxing match, because I think he will get consistently beaten to the punch. Similarly, he doesn’t want to spend too much of the fight sitting in top position, because St. Preux has a variety of sweeps and submissions off his back.

This is a tough fight to call. St. Preux has more ways to finish and more technique overall, but Bader is a bruiser who is very good at neutralizing opponents. Ultimately, I think Bader’s wrestling will make the difference. He can clinch to stop some of St. Preux’s boxing and he will control when and how the fight goes to the ground. I don’t expect a finish either way, but I expect Bader to exert enough control to take the unanimous decision win.

Prediction:  Ryan Bader by Unanimous Decision.

To Add a little excitement on fight night, you can bet on this fight at Bovada.Iv Odds. Check out my review of Bovada here…

Event:  UFC Fight Night 48

Date:  Saturday, August 23, 2014

Venue:  CotaiArena in Macau, China

Broadcast: Live on UFC Fight Pass

Odds:  UFC Fight Night 48 Betting Odds

Main Card:

Michael Bisping vs. Cung Le

Dong Hyun Kim vs. Tyron Woodley

Zhang Lipeng vs. Brendan O’Reilly

Ning Guangyou vs. Jianping Yang

Preliminary card:

Danny Mitchell vs. Wang Sai

Alberto Mina vs. Sheldon Westcott

Roland Delorme vs. Yuta Sasaki

Wang Anying vs. Colby Covington

Milana Dudieva vs. Elizabeth Phillips

Royston Wee vs. Yao Zhikui

Event:  UFC Fight Night 47

Date:  Saturday, August 16, 2014

Venue:  Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine

Broadcast: Live on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2

Odds:  UFC Fight Night 47 Betting Odds

Main Card:

Ryan Bader vs. Ovince St. Preux ( 5 Round Main Event)

Gray Maynard vs. Ross Pearson

Tim Boetsch vs. Brad Tavares

Seth Baczynski vs. Alan Jouban

Shawn Jordan vs. Jack May

Thiago Tavares vs. Robbie Peralta

Preliminary card:

Jussier Formiga vs. Zach Makovsky

Sara McMann vs. Lauren Murphy

Sam Alvey vs. Tom Watson

Frankie Saenz vs. Nolan Ticman

UFC Welterweight Bout:  Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Brown

Odds:  ( -380 lawler / +290 Brown )

Betting Pick:  Lawler

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In the main event of UFC on FOX 12, two of the UFC’s most explosive Welterweight strikers do battle as “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler squares off against Matt “The Immortal” Brown. Both of these guys can throw a punch, take a punch, and keep moving forward through all sorts of punishment, so this has all the makings of a barn-burner. Lawler has years of experience fighting excellent competition, but Brown is one of the UFC’s toughest fighters and is a threat to beat anyone in the world on any given night.

Matt “The Immortal” Brown is one of the toughest human beings you will ever see. He’s a solid boxer with good wrestling and a great chin, but what makes him so impressive is his ability to not just absorb punishment, but completely ignore it, while constantly moving forward and trying to do damage. Not only is Brown unafraid to brawl, a sloppy slugfest is exactly the fight he wants. He has plenty of technique, but is more than willing to abandon it to stand in front of someone and let his hands go with abandon. He isn’t just a wild dog, though. He is smart even in his aggression, mixing in takedowns and an aggressive top game when he needs to in order to wear his opponents down.

“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler has been one of the premier Welterweight strikers in the world for almost a decade. He isn’t the most versatile fighter ever and his ground game leaves a bit to be desired, but there is no question that every punch he throws has fight-ending potential. Lawler is a rare mix of technical boxing skill and one-punch knockout power, which makes him an extremely dangerous fellow to stand in front of. Against Brown, he is going to have to watch out for takedowns, because he isn’t going to accomplish anything trying to fight off his back. In a standup, fight, though, Lawler is a force to be reckoned with, and Brown will most likely oblige him.

Standing in front of Robbie Lawler and trading shots is a recipe for disaster, and unfortunately for Matt Brown, standing in front of guys and trading shots is what he does best. As the old saying goes, Brown is packing a knife but is more than willing to engage in a gunfight. He doesn’t have the same kind of one-punch power that Lawler does, and it’s going to prove his undoing. Except Lawler to take the T/KO victory in an exciting, back and forth bout.

Prediction:  “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler by second round T/KO.

To Add a little excitement on fight night, you can bet on this fight at Bovada.Iv Odds. Check out my review of Bovada here…