Tag: General MMA betting

UFC Welterweight Title Bout:  Geroges St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks

Odds:  ( -260 St-Pierre / +200 Hendricks )

Betting Pick:  St-Pierre

Bet on this fight at Bovada

In the main event of UFC 167, UFC Welterweight champion and pound-for-pound king Georges “Rush” St. Pierre will put his title on the line against surging contender Johny Hendricks. St. Pierre has dominated the UFC Welterweight division for years with his dominant wrestling and top control, but Hendricks has blazed his way to a title shot with solid wrestling of his own and devastating punching power. If St. Pierre wants to avoid a repeat of the nightmare he experienced against Matt Serra, he’s going to need to show off some of the dynamic striking he used to rely on more.

Johny Hendricks has put himself into title contention with a combination of close, grinding wins and spectacular knockouts. Hendricks is a tough, durable fighter with solid wrestling and good takedown defense. What separates him from the pack at Welterweight, though, is his devastating power punching. St. Pierre is by far the sport’s most dominant wrestler, and Hendricks is going to have to be on point stuffing his takedowns, but St. Pierre has been notoriously shy about getting punched since his loss to Serra, and if Hendricks can stuff a few takedowns and make St. Pierre pay with strikes, he will be in a great position to win this fight.

Following Anderson Silva’s recent loss to Chris Weidman, Georges St. Pierre has cemented himself atop the MMA pound-for-pound list. With one minor aberration aside, St. Pierre has ruled the Welterweight division with an iron fist for years. There is nothing that St. Pierre can’t do at a top level, but he has become increasingly reliant on grinding out wins with unstoppable takedowns and positional control. It is not always the most exciting thing to watch, but it is undeniably effective. No one has found an answer for St. Pierre’s wrestling yet, and he has destroyed other wrestlers, top strikers, and world-class grapplers with equal efficiency. Against Hendricks, who has good takedown defense and one-punch knockout power, St. Pierre will need to be careful in extended engages on the feet. He also needs to time his takedown attempts well, because if he gets stuffed and hit on the way out, he might find himself in trouble.

Johny Hendricks is definitely a top Welterweight and quite possibly a future UFC champion, but picking against St. Pierre is a fool’s bet. Until someone can keep St. Pierre from taking them down literally at will, he is not going to lose a fight if he fights for control. St. Pierre has utterly outwrestled multiple wrestlers as effective as Hendricks, and I don’t see Hendricks being able to keep this fight standing long enough to be effective. St. Pierre will ground and pound him through five long rounds en route to a unanimous decision.

Prediction:  Georges St-Pierre by Unanimous Decision.

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

On Saturday, November 9, 2013, UFC Fight Night 32 will air live from the Goiania Arena in GOiania, Goias, Brazil. In the main event, two former titlists will square off as Vitor Belfort faces Dan “Hollywood” Henderson. Both of these guys have devastating striking power, although their striking technique is quite different. WIll Belfort control the pace with his crisp, quick, accurate strikes? Or will Henderson wear Belfort down with wrestling and clinch work to set up one of his patented haymakers?

Main Card:

Vitor Belfort vs. Dan Henderson

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Belfort          (-210)
  
• Henderson  (+170)
  

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Belfort           (-260)
  
• Henderson   (+200)
  

Cezar Ferreira vs. Daniel Sarafian

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Ferreira   (-150)
  
• Sarafian  (+120)
  

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Ferreira   
• Sarafian

Rafael Cavalcante vs. Igor Pokrajac

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Cavalcante  (-260)
  
• Pokrajac      (+200)
  

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Cavalcante
• Pokrajac

Paulo Thiago vs. Brandon Thatch

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Thiago  (+220)
  
• Thatch  (-280)
  

Ryan LaFlare vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio

Bovada.Iv Odds

• LaFlare           (-160)
  
• Ponzinibbio   (+130)
  

Jeremy Stephens vs. Rony Jason

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Stephens  (+160)
  
• Jason        (-200)
  

Preliminary Card:
Godofredo Pepey vs. Sam Sicilia

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Pepey
• Sicilia

Johnny Eduardo vs. Lucas Martins

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Eduardo
• Martins

Omari Akhmedov vs. Thiago Perpetuo

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Akhmedov
• Perpetuo

Thiago Tavares vs. Justin Salas

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Tavares
• Salas

Daron Cruickshank vs. Adriano Martins

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Cruickshank
• Martins

Jose Maria Tome vs. Dustin Ortiz

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Tome
• Otiz

In the semi-main event, Brazilian Middleweights Cezar Ferreira and Daniel Sarafian will look to earn a big UFC win in front of their countrymen. Also featured on the card are Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante against Igor Pokrajac and a Welterweight showdown between Paulo Thiago and Brandon Thatch.

Make sure to Check back with us closer to fight night as I will have updated UFC Fight Night 32 Odds plus Fight Predictions.  And to add a little excitement to your fight night, you can bet on this fight at Bovada.Iv Odds

UFC Middleweight Bout:  Tim Kennedy vs. Rafael Natal

Odds:  ( -400 Kennedy / +300 Natal )

Betting Pick:  Kennedy

Bet on this fight at Bovada

In the main event of UFC Fight Night 31, the third installment of the Fight for the Troops series, armed services veteran Tim Kennedy will look to do his fellow soldiers proud as he squares off against slick Brazilian grappler Rafael Natal. Both of these guys tend to do their best work on the ground, so this makes for an interesting style matchup. Kennedy is a dominant wrestler with good submissions and solid hands, while Natal is arguably the superior submission grappler but lacks Kennedy’s wrestling prowess.

Since making his UFC debut in September of 2010, Rafael “Sapo” Natal has put together a very impressive record with two losses, one draw, and five victories. He isn’t an immediate player in the UFC Middleweight title scene, but he is a dangerous opponent who provides a tough test for anyone in the division because of his slick, technical ground game. Against Kennedy, he just has to avoid being overconfident in his grappling. If Kennedy gets dominant positions, he is more than good enough to hold Natal off and capitalize on his superior position to score points.Natal has to find a way to dictate how the ground phase of this fight plays out or he is going to wind up on the wrong end of a decision.

Long-time Strikeforce veteran Tim Kennedy is looking to follow up an impressive Octagon debut against Roger Gracie with a third consecutive win. Kennedy is a tough, wily veteran who will probably never be a title contender, but is more than equipped to derail the title contention of other fighters. Kennedy has a very versatile style with no glaring holes, but his best tools are his wrestling and ground game. Kennedy was a major player outside of the UFC for a long time, so a chance to prove that he can compete on the biggest stage is likely to motivate him. Fighting in front of his fellow veterans will probably help, too. The key for Kennedy in this fight is to maintain his composure and play to his own strengths. He doesn’t want to get reckless trying to put on a show. If he concentrates on wrestling, boxing, and controlling position, he has what it takes to win this fight.

These two guys have similar styles, but ultimately I just feel like Kennedy is slightly better where it counts. Both guys rely on their ground games, but Kennedy is much more adept at gaining quality positions on the ground and more skilled at holding on to his advantages. This should be a competitive fight, but I think Kennedy should do enough to earn the unanimous decision victory.

Prediction:  Tim Kennedy by Unanimous Decision.

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

UFC Heavyweight Title Bout:  Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos

Odds:  ( -205 Velasquez / +165 Dos Santos )

Betting Pick:  Velasquez

Bet on this fight at Bovada

In the main event of the evening, Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will square off against former champion Junior “Cigano” dos Santos in a decisive rubber match. The first time these two met, dos Santos captured Velasquez’s title in a one-sided first-round drubbing. The rematch, however, played out totally different, with Velasquez dominating all five rounds of actions by outstriking and outwrestling dos Santos. Many pundits blame Velsasquez’s underwhelming first performance on injuries. Now, he has the chance to prove once and for all that the only loss of his professional career was a fluke and that he is the UFC’s top Heavyweight.

Junior “Cigano” dos Santos is undeniably one of the Heavyweight division’s most prolific and effective strikers. He has devastating punching power and very solid technique both from range and up close in the clinch. He’s already proven once that he has the power and striking prowess to knock Velasquez out. Now, he has to show that he has an answer for Velasquez’s superior physicality and wrestling, not to mention the mental fortitude to stay in the fight when Cain tests his strengths. Overall, dos Santos is a far better striker than Velasquez, but that doesn’t mean that the heavy-handed Velasquez can’t put him in some uncomfortable situations on the feet. Dos Santos has to fight smart and establish his own gameplan early, because Velasquez is known for his hyper-aggressive style, which doesn’t give opponents room to breathe. If dos Santos can just get off to a good start and force Cain into a more defensive mindframe, he will hae gone a long way toward putting himself in position to regain the UFC Heavyweight title.

Cain Velasquez already showed that his first loss to dos Santos was something of a fluke, now he gets his chance to prove once and for all that he is the UFC’s top Heavyweight. Velasquez is a dangerous opponent for anyone, because he combines very powerful punching with dominant wrestling and a go-for-the-throat fighting style which is difficult for opponents to deal with. Obviously, he is going to have to protect his chin, which, although solid, dos Santos already showed he is capable of exploiting. Velasquez can do his own damage on the feet, though, and if he can get his takedown and clinch games working early, he might create some openings for himself to surprise dos Santos in the striking exchanges. The main point for Velasquez, though, is not to get into a brawl with dos Santos. He has to fight with controlled aggression, keeping the pressure on but not creating any easy openings for dos Santos.

Ultimately, I think this fight will prove that their first meeting was a somewhat fluky result which was in large part due to Velasquez’s injuries. Like many other pundits, I picked dos Santos to win the rematch, but Velasquez proved that, when healthy, he can not only physically control and outwrestle dos Santos, he can actually give him trouble in the striking exchanges as well. Velasquez is a smart fighter with a great camp, and I think he will come into this fight with a solid gameplan, trying to mix it up and keep dos Santos on his heels with constant pressure and takedown attempts. dos Santos is a tough guy, so this should go the distance, but I expect Velasquez to win every round en route to a successful title defense. Velasquez by unanimous decision.

Prediction:  Cain Velasquez by Unanimous Decision.

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