Get a detailed breakdown of the betting lines for UFC Fight Night 103, which is set to hit Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Ariz., this weekend (Sun., Jan. 15, 2017), including best bets, underdogs, favorites, and much more!
Almost 16 years since his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) debut, former Welterweight and Lightweight champion, B.J. Penn, returns to the cage once again this Sunday evening (Jan. 15, 2017), taking on Mexican super-prospect Yair Rodriguez in the Featherweight main event of UFC Fight Night 103 inside Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
In other FOX Sports 1-televised action, Joe Lauzon will lock horns with Marcin Held in the co-feature, while Ben Saunders vs. Court McGee and Sergio Pettis vs. John Moraga round out the main card.
We’ve got a fresh 12 months ahead of us — clean slate! All that’s left to do now is take the first step.
What Went Wrong?
Well, we made it over the finish line with three consecutive slight win weeks. Still, 2016 was a gambling disaster, but small victories are promising and I will vow to learn from the assorted setbacks moving forward.
What went wrong at UFC 207? Well, Cody Garbrandt fought way smarter than I thought him capable of, among many, many others. He made Dominick Cruz chase him, moved his head well, threw fluid combinations rather than the flurries I’ve come to expect from him, and overall just looked tremendous. I was wrong and I’ll own up to it.
Now, let’s begin anew, shall we?
UFC Fight Night 103 Odds For The Undercard:
Frankie Saenz (-145) vs. Augusto Mendes (+125)
Oleksiy Oliynyk (-145) vs. Viktor Pesta (+125)
Tony Martin (-280) vs. Alex White (+240)
Drakkar Klose (-235) vs. Devin Powell (+195)
Nina Ansaroff (-140) vs. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger (+120)
Walt Harris (-135) vs. Chase Sherman (+115)
Joachim Christensen (-235) vs. Bojan Mihaljovic (+195)
Cyril Asker (-120) vs. Dmitry Smolyakov (EVEN)
Thoughts: The New Year kicks off with a decisive “meh” on the gambling front. I do think we can squeeze out some value from Frankie Saenz, Tony Martin and Drakkar Klose, though.
Augusto Mendes’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu accomplishments are utterly tremendous, his grappling pedigree matched only by Rani Yahya in the division. Unlike Yahya and fellow submission menace Demian Maia, however, “Tanquinho” has yet to gear his MMA game toward maximizing that advantage. He still has the traditional “awkward striking into awkward takedowns” style that Maia tried partway through his Middleweight run.
Losing to two terrific Bantamweight fighters isn’t enough for me to discard Saenz so easily. His wrestling wins him the decision; therefore, a moderate bet makes sense.
Martin strikes me as the safest bet on the card. Yeah, he’s 1-3 in UFC, but those three were Rashid Magomedov, Beneil Dariush and Leonardo Santos. White is nowhere near the defensive grappler those three are and will give up quite a bit of size, as he’s moving up from Featherweight against one of the biggest Lightweights around.
He’s your anchor for the event.
Dana White may have picked Devin Powell himself, but Klose is the prospect to watch in this match up. Powell recently “won” a split decision in World Series of Fighting (WSOF) that by all accounts should not have gone his way and his defensive wrestling is sorely lacking. Klose has superior power and superior wrestling, which should carry him to a dominant victory.
Finally, I think a little bit on Walt Harris makes sense. Sherman’s basically a more mechanical and less experienced version of “The Big Ticket” and lacks the wrestling that’s so plagued Harris in the past.
UFC Fight Night 103 Odds For The Main Card:
Yair Rodriguez (-485) vs. B.J. Penn (+385)
Joe Lauzon (-140) vs. Marcin Held (+120)
Ben Saunders (-115) vs. Court McGee (-105)
Sergio Pettis (-135) vs. John Moraga (+115)
Thoughts: Joe Lauzon seems like a decent investment. Even though he technically lost to Jim Miller his last time out, his wrestling looked better than ever and his traditional cardio issues were nowhere to be seen. Held is a damn good fighter, make no mistake, but he can be a bit of a frontrunner and Lauzon is gritty and powerful enough to knock the fight out of him right quick. Tap “Creepy Joe” for some creepy dough.
UFC Fight Night 103 Best Bets:
- Single bet — Frankie Saenz: Bet $29 to make $20
- Parlay — Tony Martin and Drakkar Klose: Bet $68 to make $40
- Single bet — Joe Lauzon: Bet $35 to make $25
Eh, UFC Fight Night 103 is something to do on a three-day weekend once the NFL playoffs wind down. See you Sunday, Maniacs!
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver live UFC Fight Night 103 results on fight night, which is as good a place as any to talk about all the action inside the Octagon, as well as what you’ve got riding on the sportsbook.
Initial Investment For 2016: $200 (+$400 infusion)
Final Tally: $293.39