Along with my crazy neighbors, the Ultimate Fighting Championship normally reserves their best fireworks for every 4th of July Weekend. This year however, the UFC appears to only be bringing out the sparklers with UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber II. &nb…
Along with my crazy neighbors, the Ultimate Fighting Championship normally reserves their best fireworks for every 4th of July Weekend. This year however, the UFC appears to only be bringing out the sparklers with UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber II. From top to bottom the card is not bad but it isn’t what the fans have come to expect from matchmaker Joe Silva.
The main event consists of a rematch between Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. The UFC is taking somewhat of a risk billing this matchup as the “moment we have all been waiting for” on this holiday.
Sure, Cruz and Faber have had tremendous success in the WEC but they have a combined one fight between them in the Octagon. The casual fan is not aware of Dominick Cruz despite his 17-1 pro record.
The rest of the main card consists of a middleweight fight between Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben that’s been booked about three years too late. A changing of the guard match between Tito Ortiz and Ryan Bader has “unanimous decision” written all over it. Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim could become a matchup of the best you’ve never heard of for the casual observer. Rounding out the main card is Lightweights Dennis Siver and Matt Wiman
I am not telling you how to spend your money. With it being the 4th of July Weekend you might order UFC 132 and have some friends over to enjoy the action. But if you revisit the last five UFC Independence Day cards you will turn off that cable box and grab the car keys to catch the fight at your local bar instead.
(That week off made Dana look 10 years younger. PicProps: MMAMania)
Just a friendly reminder that you can check out the UFC 132 weigh-ins right here starting at 7:00 pm ET.
This could be the last time we see “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” flexing in his underwear — unless of course you’re one of his Twitter followers (am I right, ReX?). Let’s place our wagers now who will get into a heated nose-bumping match and who won’t make weight.
Expect the staredown of the decade between Leben and Silva.
Check out the stream after the jump.
(That week off made Dana look 10 years younger. PicProps: MMAMania)
Just a friendly reminder that you can check out the UFC 132 weigh-ins right here starting at 7:00 pm ET.
This could be the last time we see “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” flexing in his underwear — unless of course you’re one of his Twitter followers (am I right, ReX?). Let’s place our wagers now who will get into a heated nose-bumping match and who won’t make weight.
Expect the staredown of the decade between Leben and Silva.
LAS VEGAS — As I relaxed in the sportsbook at the MGM Grand earlier this afternoon, patiently awaiting my complimentary domestic beer and listening to the sounds of tourists gawking at caged lions nearby, I found myself mesmerized by the one prop bet …
LAS VEGAS — As I relaxed in the sportsbook at the MGM Grand earlier this afternoon, patiently awaiting my complimentary domestic beer and listening to the sounds of tourists gawking at caged lions nearby, I found myself mesmerized by the one prop bet the MGM was offering on UFC 132.
If you think the Cruz-Faber main event won’t go the distance, it turns out that you can profit to the tune of $180 for every $100 wagered (that’s what +180 means, smart guy). If you think it will go the distance, you have to put down $220 to make $100 (also known as -220). I’m not ashamed to admit that I must have spent fifteen minutes looking at those odds and trying to talk myself into believing that this fight won’t go the full five, even though I know it probably will.
See, that’s how Vegas gets you. You know there’s a reason for the long odds on some options, but you want to believe. You want to believe in longshots and Tito Ortiz comebacks. In free Cirque du Soleil tickets and especially lucky slot machines. And yet, they didn’t build these monstrous casinos because so many people win. In the end, that free domestic is probably the best deal you’re going to find.
But enough deep thinking. Let’s take a look at how some of Vegas’ sharpest minds see the action going down at UFC 132.
Here’s a fight that’s all about speed. Cruz has it in spades, and Faber seems to be losing just a little more of it with each passing year. That’s not to say he’s some slow, broke-down old man, of course. Faber is still one heck of an athlete and an incredibly versatile fighter. But his biggest asset against a hummingbird like Cruz is going to be his mind. Not only is he a veteran who can adapt as the fight goes on, he’s also just so mentally strong that you know you’re not going to break him. Cruz has to stay busy and pepper him with those unpredictable combos of his, whereas Faber needs to get in close and slow this fight down in the clinch and on the mat. The fact that oddsmakers favor Cruz — but just slightly — tells you what they think of cage savvy against indefatigable quickness. My pick: Cruz. I’ll save it for the parlay, but I think he’ll put Faber on the defensive with his speed and keep him there for five rounds.
The first time I saw this line, I felt sure there had to be some mistake. Did some vandal come along and swap the plus and the minus? Were the bookmakers aware that it is in fact Silva who has been out for the last year and a half, and not Leben? I just don’t get it. I suppose if they square up and throw bombs, you could argue that it’s anybody’s fight. But even then, Silva doesn’t have the chin he once did. And even though Leben got KO’d by Stann, it still took some doing. The way to beat Leben is with straight, crisp punching and enough foot speed to stay away from his left. Silva isn’t known for any of that, especially in recent years. I can see why fans still go for him as a nostalgia pick, but the Pride days are over and time has marched grimly on. My pick: Leben. I’m not the type of guy to advise you to bet the house, take out a second mortgage, and then bet that too — but if I were that type of guy…
This is probably the most competitive and most overlooked fight on the card. Kim is a big welterweight who can absolutely smother you on the mat, but Condit just has that raw, tear-your-head-off aggression. The problem is, you come charging in with blind hooks against Kim and you’re going to get taken down. I expect Kim to control the first part of the bout with his patient, methodical grappling, but Condit is never all the way out of the fight until the final bell. His best chance to catch Kim is when the takedown attempts have slowed and he’s entered full-scale desperation mode. Then, his finishing power could make all the difference. If it goes to the judges though, it’s Kim’s night. My pick: Condit, but this one’s too close. It’s a great way to toss your money out the window, and it has the potential to screw up an otherwise perfect parlay. I’m leaving it alone.
Okay, so you’ve been a huge Tito fan since 1999, and you’d like nothing more than to cash in on your Huntington Beach hero now that everyone else is writing him off. I get that — really, I do. But let me ask you this: how, exactly, do you see Ortiz winning this fight? He’s not going to stand there and outstrike the heavy-handed Bader because, well, when’s the last time he did that to anyone decent? And he’s probably not going to take the guy down and keep him on his back for three rounds because a) Bader knows a thing or two about wrestling, and b) Ortiz is not Jon Jones. So then what? It’s not as if an Ortiz victory is out of the question, but he has so few realistic ways to win. Sorry, but it isn’t 1999 anymore, and Bader isn’t Jerry Bohlander. My pick: Bader. You won’t make any money off him, but at least you won’t lose it by taking a big risk on Ortiz.
Style-wise, you’d think Wiman might have the edge on Siver. But there’s just something about that stocky, scrappy German that makes it impossible to really count him out. Few people gave him much of a chance against Sotiropoulos, but look how that turned out. His takedown defense is solid and he can always hurt you on the feet. If you’re unfortunate enough to be on the business end of one of those spinning backkicks, you probably won’t breathe right for a week. My pick: Siver. I’ll put it in the parlay, but I can’t go against Siver in any reasonable match-up.
Quick picks:
Anthony Njokuani (-150) over Andre Winner (+120). The man with the last name that everyone pronounces differently is too fast and too dynamic on the feet for Winner to handle. Melvin Guillard (-280) over Shane Roller (+220). You won’t profit much off this one, but Guillard — at least when he has his act together, as I believe he does now — is a handful for anyone.
The ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only’ Parlay: Cruz + Leben + Bader + Njokuani + Guillard.
Bleacher Report’s Dale De Souza:Even if it meant saving MMA, Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber could not possibly find it in themselves to like one another.Ever since Cruz signed his name over Faber’s face at a 2007 signing (and subsequently paid for it…
Bleacher Report’s Dale De Souza:
Even if it meant saving MMA, Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber could not possibly find it in themselves to like one another.
Ever since Cruz signed his name over Faber’s face at a 2007 signing (and subsequently paid for it at WEC 26), the heat has been on between the two, with Cruz beating Faber’s Team Alpha Male teammate Joseph Benavidez twice as well as another close training partner of Faber’s in Scott Jorgensen.
The trail has led to a rematch with Faber in a bout that is very easy for one to break down, as it once again breaks down to Faber’s wrestling and grappling against Cruz’s striking with cardio being the X-factor in this bout.
Expect this one to be a close fight that may look a little bit like Faber’s fight at times, but expect the champ to pull a few show-stealing moves that ultimately help nab him some of the closer rounds from Faber.
Two judges will give at least one round to Faber, while one judge will look at this fight and ultimately give Cruz all five rounds despite Faber doing well enough to take at least one or two rounds.
Once the unanimous decision is announced and Cruz retains his belt, the cries will commence for a final bout between The Dominator and The California Kid—the score will be evened on Saturday, but it will be far from settled.
The MGM Grand Garden Arena will be buzzing as Cruz and Faber take their feud into the ring for what should be a surprisingly entertaining card. The UFC 132 is desperate for a main event that will get people talking.When you look at a legendary fighter …
The MGM Grand Garden Arena will be buzzing as Cruz and Faber take their feud into the ring for what should be a surprisingly entertaining card.
The UFC 132 is desperate for a main event that will get people talking.
When you look at a legendary fighter like Faber, with a fighter in his prime like Cruz, there is no doubt the potential is high, but Cruz certainly looks to have the advantage from the outset here.
As far as Cruz and Faber are concerned, there is a lot of intrigue on this card.
Cruz is one of the best standup fighters in the world and his aggressive style has served him well in the 135 weight class. Part of his success has been the angles that he takes. Many fighters have north-to-south styles. Cruz has made his money being an east-to-west guy. This allows him to attack with a barrage of blows while getting hit as little as possible.
However, when you are talking about Faber, you are talking about one of the best fighters in the world. Counting him out of a fight is often hard to do.
However, part of the reason the odds seemed stacked against him have to do with growth of Cruz’s skill set. Faber is going to have to be as good as possible. It’s cliché to say that he is going to have to bring this fight to the ground, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not true.
To stand toe-to-toe will be at a disadvantage for Faber, as Cruz has developed his style to absorb the best upright attack that he’ll see from Faber.
Of course, you do have to wonder how their animosity towards one another will play. Cruz isn’t a fan of Faber and doesn’t expect this to be a high-level fight. Those are strong words about a guy who has been one of the better fighters for a long time.
Pride can be a very tricky thing, but it likely isn’t enough to overcome the immense attack from Cruz.
UFC 132 goes down Saturday, and it features a highly anticipated title fight between UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz (17-1) and former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber (25-4). It will be a redemption fight for Cruz, who lost a 2007 …
UFC 132 goes down Saturday, and it features a highly anticipated title fight between UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz (17-1) and former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber (25-4). It will be a redemption fight for Cruz, who lost a 2007 bout to Faber. It is the only loss on his record.
Also on the card, middleweight brawlers Chris Leben and Wanderlei Silva prepare to slug it out while former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz meets The Ultimate Fighter winner Ryan Bader. Bader is coming off of his first defeat as a professional to Jon Jones while Ortiz hasn’t won a fight since 2006.
Other main-card fights include Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim and Matt Wiman vs. Dennis Siver.
These are some of the best quotes leading up to the fights.
LAS VEGAS — As I relaxed in the sportsbook at the MGM Grand earlier this afternoon, patiently awaiting my complimentary domestic beer and listening to the sounds of tourists gawking at caged lions nearby, I found myself mesmerized by the one prop bet the MGM was offering on 
The MGM Grand Garden Arena will be buzzing as Cruz and Faber take their feud into the ring for what should be a surprisingly entertaining card.