Demetrious Johnson | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

Gambling Addiction Enabler: ‘UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson’ Edition

As the dust settles from UFC 135, some of us out there must be itching to bet on fights that will not make us look like fools if we are wrong. Lucky for us, redemption lies around the corner, because this Saturday UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson goes down, and the odds are a hell of a lot closer than what we’re used to. Check out the fight odds below, then see if you can stomach our suggestions.

Main Card (courtesy of Best Fight Odds)
Dominick Cruz (-440) vs. Demetrious Johnson (+350)
Anthony Johnson (-180) vs. Charlie Brenneman (+158)
Matt Wiman (-210) vs. Mac Danzig (+175)
Pat Barry (-185) vs. Stefan Struve (+160)

Undercard (Courtesy of MMAValor)
Yves Edwards (-120) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (-120)
Michael Johnson (-240) vs. Paul Sass (+180)
Mike Easton (-130) vs. Jeff Hougland (even)
Shane Roller (-130) vs. T.J. Grant (even)
Josh Neer (-120) vs. Keith Wisniewski (-120)
Joseph Sandoval (-150) vs. Walel Watson (+120)

The Main Event: There is no denying the speed and agility of Dominick Cruz’s striking game, but look, judges love takedowns, and if there’s one thing “Mighty Mouse” can do, it’s take the fight to the ground. The champ has a penchant for letting his fights go the distance, and that only increases the likelihood that we will see an upset here, whether deserved or not. I wasn’t convinced; however, by Johnson’s victory over Miguel Torres. He showed excellent submission defense against Torres’ onslaught of attempts, but not much else that proves he can handle someone of “The Dominator’s” caliber. That said, a small bet with those odds won’t bankrupt you if there’s no return.

The Good ‘Dog: Considering most of the undercard fights are a pick ‘em at this point, I’d say your best bet is Charlie Brenneman, who’s recent routing of Rick Story showed that once he gets you down, you stay down. There’s no denying he can’t handle Johnson on the feet, but wrestling based fighters like Josh Koscheck and even the much smaller Rich Clementi were able to take “Rumble” down, so a bet on Brenneman seems pretty solid.

Some of you may be picking Struve for the upset due to Barry’s complete lack of ground game, but the real question here is whether or not Struve will be smart enough to take the fight to the ground. You’d think after his devastating knockout loss to Travis Browne he’d be in a hurry to do so, but if Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson haven’t taught him that lesson already, I don’t know if it can be taught.

Steer Clear: Both Matt Wiman and Mac Danzig have been struggling with consistency as of late. Danzig’s only win of relevance since winning the Ultimate Fighter 6 was his most recent knockout of recent UFC castaway Joe Stevenson. Wiman, on the other hand, has notched a couple impressive victories over Cole Miller and Thiago Tavares but is coming off a close decision loss to Dennis Siver back at UFC 132. Their first fight doesn’t add a ton to the mix, as it was Yves Lavigne’s screw up that ended it in the first place. I’d expect Wiman to take it, but I’m just gunna stay outta this one.

Official CagePotato Parlay: Barry + Brenneman + Edwards + Johnson.
20 bucks will get you a return of $186.46.

-Danga

Pat Barry Downplays Stefan Struve’s Reach Advantage

Filed under: UFCPat Barry is the shortest heavyweight in the UFC, and on Saturday night he’s preparing to step into the Octagon with the UFC’s tallest fighter, Stefan Struve.

But the 5-foot-11 Barry says he has no reason to fear the reach advantage o…

Filed under: UFC

Pat Barry is the shortest heavyweight in the UFC, and on Saturday night he’s preparing to step into the Octagon with the UFC’s tallest fighter, Stefan Struve.

But the 5-foot-11 Barry says he has no reason to fear the reach advantage of the 6-foot-11 Struve, saying that he has long since grown accustomed to fighting taller fighters, and noting that shorter men have found a way to beat Struve in the past.

“I don’t think it’ll be that big of a deal in this fight,” Barry said of the reach difference. “Everybody Stefan comes across, fights and trains with is shorter than he is. Everybody that I come across, fight and train with is taller than I am. So this fight is going to be everything normal. How often does Stefan Struve come across someone taller than him? Not very often. And I haven’t come across many heavyweights shorter than I am. So I think this is going to be pretty normal. I’m accustomed to guys being taller than I am and Stefan is accustomed to guys shorter than he is.”

Still, Barry said he made a point of finding a tall sparring partner who could help him out in preparation for the Struve fight.

“I found a guy I call the black Struve,” Barry said. “Maurice Green, who’s 6-foot-9, he’s a guy who came in for three weeks, a wrestler turned kickboxer out of Chicago. He was a guy I brought in in order to find my range and work my distance. And then we’d have Marty Morgan, who’s 6-foot-3, stand on a stool while I threw punches and kicks at him.”

Struve said he hopes he can prove Barry wrong and demonstrate that reach is a big deal in MMA. But he also acknowledged that he has made tactical mistakes in the past and allowed short fighters to get in close to him, most notably in Struve’s most recent fight, a knockout loss to Travis Browne.

“I’m a lot taller than he is and I plan on using the reach, stand on the outside and pick him apart,” Struve said. “The last fight I made a stupid mistake, I was coming in and he was coming in with his punch. I should have used my reach better, but I’ve been working with that with new coaches and I’ve improved a lot with that. I’m always working on getting better on the outside and trying to use my reach as I should. “

At 5-foot-8, Dominick Cruz, the UFC bantamweight champion who will fight in Saturday’s main event, is also accustomed to having a reach advantage in his fights. Cruz noted that Struve has a major reach advantage over Barry, and that Cruz himself will have a significant reach advantage against his opponent Saturday, the 5-foot-3 Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.

“Reach is a big deal as long as you know how to use it,” Cruz said. “A short fighter has to know how to fight like a short fighter, a tall fighter has to know how to fight like a tall fighter. It’s very easy for a tall fighter to get sucked into the inside game. The only reason reach is worth anything is if you know how to use it and stay on the outside, force the other guy to telegraph kicks, telegraph punches, telegraph shots. I definitely think reach is a big advantage and something that can be used very effectively.”

For Struve, the question is whether he can take that reach advantage he always has, and use it effectively — as he too often hasn’t. Barry is hoping the reach advantage turns out to be a non-factor.

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The MMA Hour With Cruz, Johnson, Brenneman, Vila, Hamman and Roundtable

Filed under: UFC, MMA Fighting Exclusive, Bellator, News

The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday. Here’s what we have planned for our 101st episode.

* MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiappetta, MMAConvert.com’s Jim Genia and TapouT’s Mike Straka will return for another edition of the MMA Media Roundtable. We’ll discuss the fallout from UFC 135, UFC on Versus 6 and much more.

* Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson will stop by to discuss their bantamweight title fight on Saturday night.

* Charlie Brenneman will talk about his fight against Anthony Johnson at UFC on Versus 6.

* Alexis Vila will look back at his vicious knockout win over Joe Warren at Bellator 51.

* And Jared Hamman will talk about his move down to 185 pounds and his new wine label.

Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193, 212-254-0237 or 212-254-0714.

*** You can also stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.

Watch the show live below beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.

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Filed under: UFC, MMA Fighting Exclusive, Bellator, News

The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday. Here’s what we have planned for our 101st episode.

* Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson will stop by to discuss their bantamweight title fight on Saturday night.

* Charlie Brenneman will talk about his fight against Anthony Johnson at UFC on Versus 6.

* Alexis Vila will look back at his vicious knockout win over Joe Warren at Bellator 51.

* And Jared Hamman will talk about his move down to 185 pounds and his new wine label.

Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193, 212-254-0237 or 212-254-0714.

*** You can also stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.

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MMA Top 10 Bantamweights: Benavidez Stuck at No. 2

Filed under: UFC, Rankings, BantamweightsJoseph Benavidez doesn’t get enough respect.

Benavidez is probably the best flyweight in MMA, but he so far hasn’t had the opportunity to prove that because the UFC doesn’t have a flyweight class. So the tiny B…

Filed under: UFC, Rankings, Bantamweights

Joseph Benavidez doesn’t get enough respect.

Benavidez is probably the best flyweight in MMA, but he so far hasn’t had the opportunity to prove that because the UFC doesn’t have a flyweight class. So the tiny Benavidez is fighting bigger guys at 135 pounds, and he’s doing a remarkable job of it, beating every single opponent he’s faced except the bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz.

That makes Benavidez the No. 2 bantamweight in MMA, and yet the No. 2 bantamweight in MMA doesn’t even get to fight on TV: His victory over Eddie Wineland at UFC on Versus 5 was shown only on Facebook, not on Versus. If Benavidez were the flyweight champion, he’d be fighting on the top of the card. Instead he’s fighting on Facebook.

And since Benavidez has already had his chances at Cruz and lost, he’s going to remain stuck as the No. 2 fighter in a weight class the UFC doesn’t do much to promote. At least until the flyweight class opens up.

Top 10 Bantamweights in MMA
(Number in parentheses is the fighter’s rank in the last bantamweight list.)

1. Dominick Cruz (1): Cruz’s upcoming bantamweight title defense against Demetrious Johnson will be shown on Versus, not on pay-per-view, a further illustration of how the bantamweight class hasn’t really been fully integrated into the UFC. But it’s a great deal for fans to get a pay-per-view-worthy fight for free.

2. Joseph Benavidez (4): When he’s not fighting Cruz, he dominates: Benavidez is 15-2 in his career, with the two losses coming to Cruz and the 15 wins featuring eight submissions, three TKOs and four unanimous decisions, none of which was close.

3. Brian Bowles (2): The former WEC bantamweight champion, whose only loss came to Cruz, will almost certainly get the next shot at the bantamweight belt if he can beat Urijah Faber at UFC 139 in November.

4. Urijah Faber (3): Even though he just lost to Cruz in his last fight, beating Bowles might be enough for Faber to get another shot at the bantamweight title. In a largely overlooked weight class, Faber is still the most popular fighter, and he’s the only bantamweight the UFC would put in a pay-per-view main event.

5. Demetrious Johnson (5): Can Johnson beat Cruz? It’s an awfully tall order. Johnson has good takedowns and is a good wrestler, but Cruz rarely allows his opponents to get close enough to him to take him down. The oddsmakers have installed Johnson as a +300 or higher underdog, which means Johnson beating Cruz would be almost as big an upset as Yushin Okami beating Anderson Silva.

6. Scott Jorgensen (6): Jorgensen draws Jeff Curran at UFC 137, in a fight that Jorgensen should win handily. Curran has had a long and impressive MMA career, but it’s been five years since Curran beat anyone notable.

7. Miguel Torres (7): Torres was the best bantamweight in the world a few years ago, but he needs some time to regroup after having lost three of his last five. At age 30 it’s not too late for Torres to get back into bantamweight title contention, but younger, faster opponents like Benavidez and Johnson have exposed some flaws in Torres’ game.

8. Brad Pickett (8): The British Pickett gets to fight in front of his home crowd at UFC 138, when he takes on Renan Barao in Birmingham, England. Pickett has won 10 of his last 11 fights but has been sidelined all of this year with an injury.

9. Renan Barão (10): Barao lost his first pro fight and has gone an incredible 26-0 since then, including a unanimous decision victory over Cole Escovedo at UFC 130. He hasn’t faced anyone nearly as good as Pickett during that streak, however, so he’s getting ready for his toughest test yet.

10. Eddie Wineland (9): Wineland is coming off back-to-back decision losses, but he looked good enough in losing to Faber and Benavidez that he deserves to remain in the Top 10. Barely.

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Hump Day Headlines with Stephanie Ann Cook

UFC on Versus 5 to stream entire preliminary card on Facebook this Sunday, August 14th. UFC on Versus 6 headlined by Bantamweight title fight: Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson full card finalized. Ryan Couture back.

UFC on Versus 5 to stream entire preliminary card on Facebook this Sunday, August 14th.

UFC on Versus 6 headlined by Bantamweight title fight: Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson full card finalized.

Ryan Couture back in action at Strikeforce Challengers 19 on September 23rd. Couture is currently (2-1) in MMA pro career.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson sends video message to his fans, “Don’t worry. I got this.”

Stefan Struve makes his own training for Pat Barry video.

Pro-Elite promotion close to broadcast deal with CBS.

MMA Top 10 Bantamweights: Mighty Mouse Makes a Move

Filed under: UFC, Rankings, BantamweightsDemetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is the next big thing in the bantamweight division in mixed martial arts. Or maybe the next little thing.

Johnson is small even by bantamweight standards (if the UFC ever adds …

Filed under: UFC, Rankings, Bantamweights

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is the next big thing in the bantamweight division in mixed martial arts. Or maybe the next little thing.

Johnson is small even by bantamweight standards (if the UFC ever adds a 125-pound flyweight class, he’ll probably join it), but he showed once again in his UFC 130 victory over Miguel Torres that he has strong enough wrestling that he can take down bigger opponents, keep them down, and grind out decisions. And Johnson is so quick moving in and out that he has managed to avoid the “boring” label that’s too often fastened to fighters who rely on their wrestling like that.

There’s no telling how far the 24-year-old Johnson can go, but he’s already come a long way: See just how high he is on the bantamweight board below.

(Number in parentheses is the fighter’s rank in the last bantamweight list.)

1. Dominick Cruz (1): The champion is now less than a month away from his long-awaited rematch with Urijah Faber at UFC 132. In that fight, Faber retained the WEC featherweight title and handed Cruz the only loss of his career. This time Cruz is the champion, and the favorite.

2. Urijah Faber (2): Faber beat Cruz handily last time, but the big question is whether he’s as good a fighter now as he was then. The 32-year-old Faber has looked like he’s slowing down in the last couple of years, while the 25-year-old Cruz is still improving. It’s a tough fight to call.

3. Joseph Benavidez (3): His fight with Eddie Wineland in August in Milwaukee will be a good challenge for Benavidez, who is 14-2 in his MMA career, with both losses coming by decision against Cruz.

4. Brian Bowles (4): The Cruz-Faber main event isn’t the only big bantamweight fight at UFC 132: Bowles fights Takeya Mizugaki on the undercard. A Bowles win could set him up for the next shot at the Cruz-Faber winner.

5. Demetrious Johnson (NR): The UFC really ought to give Johnson a pay raise. Earning $6,000 to show and a $6,000 bonus for winning just isn’t enough for a fighter who’s in the Top 5 of his weight class. Johnson isn’t a big draw now, but he looks like a future title contender, and a long-term contract extension would seem to make sense for both the UFC and Johnson.

6. Scott Jorgensen (6): Jorgensen showed off some very impressive ground and pound against Ken Stone at the Ultimate Fighter Finale, with a brutal right hand to Stone’s chin from inside Stone’s guard, knocking him cold. Jorgensen was outclassed by Cruz when they fought for the bantamweight title in December, and I wouldn’t give him much of a chance in a rematch, but he’s a threat to anyone else in the division.

7. Miguel Torres (5): It’s tough to see the way Torres has fallen: He’s lost three of his last five after starting his career 37-1. Torres still has plenty of good fights left in him, but it’s probably not realistic to think he’ll ever get the bantamweight title back.

8. Brad Pickett (NR): Pickett was supposed to fight Torres at UFC 130, but an injury forced him out of the fight and Johnson took his spot. Pickett beat Johnson in April of 2010, and you could make an argument that he deserves to be ranked higher than Johnson because of that, but I have Johnson ahead of Pickett based on how much Johnson looks like he’s improved in the last 14 months.

9. Eddie Wineland (8): Wineland lost to Faber in March but gave him a much tougher fight than most people expected, and now he’s got a big fight with Benavidez in August. Wineland has been around a long time (he was the first WEC featherweight champion), and sometimes that makes people forget that he’s only 26 years old and is still getting better.

10. Renan Barão (9): Barao’s unanimous decision victory over Cole Escovedo at UFC 130 runs his incredible streak to 26 straight wins (with one no contest mixed in). It’s time to see how Barao does against Top 10 competition.

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