Saturday’s featured middleweight bout between Tom Lawlor and Francis Carmont was supposed to serve as a thrilling affair that would likely push Carmont into the upper echelon of the promotion’s division. It ended up being a snoozefest that …
Saturday’s featured middleweight bout between Tom Lawlor and Francis Carmont was supposed to serve as a thrilling affair that would likely push Carmont into the upper echelon of the promotion’s division. It ended up being a snoozefest that consisted of a whole lot of wall and stall.
Don’t get me wrong, I was strangely entertained by the fight, and that was probably a result of the intrigue surrounding this specific collision. Could Carmont put away a rugged, dangerous guy like Lawlor? Would Lawlor finally snag a major victory for the promotion?
The answer in both cases was no.
Carmont turned in a somewhat timid performance, and while he was able to exit the cage victorious, the fight probably didn’t do too much to gain him many new fans. Lawlor, meanwhile, came up just short of derailing the highly touted prospect.
Carmont’s takedown defense and reach kept him out of serious danger, and Lawlor’s ability to close the distance without sustaining too much damage kept him alive in the fight.
What ensued was a spicy wrestling match that took place, for the most part, from the upright position.
It wasn’t particularly exciting, and it failed to produce the answers so many sought heading into the fight.
We’re still completely unsure of how Francis will perform against a top-tier middleweight, and we’re still uncertain of just how far Lawlor can go in the division. In the grand scheme of things, one could actually label last night’s meeting as irrelevant.
We learned absolutely nothing from watching these two men fight. Carmont is still unbeaten inside the Octagon, but Lawlor certainly isn’t, and if he wants to remain employed by the largest MMA promotion in the world, he’s going to need to pick up a few big wins.
Now, I’m a Tom Lawlor fan. I love his goofiness, I love his fighting style and I love how he lives about 45 minutes from me. That said, I was nervous for him coming into Saturday’s fight against Francis Carmont at UFC 154. He was 2-3 in his last five, …
Now, I’m a Tom Lawlor fan. I love his goofiness, I love his fighting style and I love how he lives about 45 minutes from me. That said, I was nervous for him coming into Saturday’s fight against Francis Carmont at UFC 154.
He was 2-3 in his last five, and two of those losses came by submission. That plays perfectly into Carmont‘s hand. Carmont was 3-0 in the UFC with two of those wins coming by submission. While is is a striker more than a grappler, he owns a major size edge over Lawlor.
When the two started fighting, I got reminded of something. Lawlor has a lot more experience against high-level opponents than Carmont. Lawlor pressed Carmont to the cage and kept him there. Carmont had little answer but got a hometown gift-wrapped decision. So what did we learn?
Yup, the Refs are Making it One of THOSE Nights
Don’t you hate this stuff? I don’t know what, exactly, changed of late with the refs but they all seem to believe they’re in EliteXC’s cage, rather than the Octagon.
Lawlor is a wrestler, but was repeatedly discouraged from plying his trade by the ref and obviously ended up on the wrong end of a bad decision. The fight was by no means electrifying, but it is always frustrating to see a fighter get robbed of a win.
It hits me harder, given how I’m a Lawlor fan. It hits Lawlor hardest, though.
Dana White is Probably Getting Mad Now
This is one of the biggest cards of 2012 and one of the few that has not been rocked by injuries. In spite of that, we have seen back-to-back-to-back decisions now, none of them particularly great. White also has to be disappointed by the results.
Mark Hominick failed to get back on track, even fighting in his homeland. Rafael dos Anjos won convincingly, but Mark Bocek looked bad enough to make the win unimpressive but good enough to make everyone ask why dos Anjos couldn’t finish. Then, what was supposed to be a coming-out party for Carmont was foiled by a bad decision.
White has to be frustrated by how this has gone.
There’s a Long Way to Go for Carmont
Carmont got the win, and he obviously has the talent to become a force at middleweight. That said, Lawlor just exposed a major hole in his grappling game.
Lawlor is a fun fighter and a solid wrestler, but is by no means an elite force. Still, he was more than good enough to keep Carmont exactly where he wanted him from start to finish.
Carmont has been training at the Tristar gym, and with that comes GSP. He is going to need to seriously up his game if he wants to make good on all the hype surrounding him.
The Montreal Fans Know Bad Calls When They See It
The fans roared hard when Patrick Cote got himself a DQ win over AlessioSakara. I kind of joked about it in my last “What We Learned” article. That said, they showed no hometown favoritism when local boy Francis Carmont was declared the winner.
Again, the decision was downright wrong. Lawlor did not destroy Carmont, but he clearly established himself as the fighter that was in control—and Carmont had no answer to that.
This reminded me of way back when Michael Bisping was showered with boos by the London crowd when he was wrongly given the decision against Matt Hamill.
Guiding us through the proceedings is liveblogger-supreme Aaron MandelBen Goldstein!, who will be throwin’ down round-by-round results from the UFC 154 pay-per-view main card beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let your voices be heard loudly and proudly in the comments section.
Guiding us through the proceedings is liveblogger-supreme Aaron MandelBen Goldstein!, who will be throwin’ down round-by-round results from the UFC 154 pay-per-view main card beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let your voices be heard loudly and proudly in the comments section.
Yeah, Aaron pulled out due to some last-minute technical difficulties, so you’re stuck with Old Mom. And here I was, enjoying a pleasant Saturday evening of drinking local craft beer and putting together IKEA furniture. This better be good, guys.
Mark Hominick vs. Pablo Garza
Garza comes out to “Lights” by Ellie Goulding. Hominick comes out to “Kickstart My Heart” by Motley Crue. The dichotomy is both hilarious and awesome. Bruce Buffer greets the crowd with a friendly “Bone Swa, Mon’Reahhhh…”
Round 1: Hominick stalks forward and Garza tries to push him back with leg kicks and a knee. Hominick steps in and throws heavy. Garza trying to keep him at distance with his long scarecrow limbs, but Hommy lands anyway. You can tell that Hominick wants to make an example of this guy. But now Garza dashes in with a great knee to the body and follows it with a good leg kick. Garza throws the head kick. Hominick backs up with punches. Another nice leg kick from Garza. Garza goes low/high with the kicks. He changes levels with punches too, but Hominick counters him hard, backing Garza to the fence. They tie up and Hominick slams him to the mat. Garza goes for the armbar. He nearly sinks it but Hominick pulls out and starts slugging down from inside Garza’s guard. Garza gets up and flings a long knee into Hominick’s body. Garza throws a punch to the ribs. But Hominick lands a devastating punch to Garza’s body and he crumbles. Hominick tries to finish but Garza gets up and lands an uppercut that opens Hominick up. Garza pushes Hominick to the fence and unloads. Hominick escapes at the bell. Awesome round…I have to give it to Garza 10-9 for landing more and drawing blood.
Round 2: Hominick’s face is already puffed up. Garza throws a wild-ass jumping kick to start the round. He grabs Hominick around the waist and drags him down, rolling into Hominick’s guard. Garza working some GnP and lands a couple good shots to Hominick’s mug. Now some elbows. This isn’t going well for the Canadian. He gets some distance and fires down some longer punches now. Hominick trying to tie up an arm then a leg, looking for any kind of submission, but it’s not happening. Hominick looks be bleesing near both eyes now, as Garza continues the assault of punches and elbows from the top. And that’s the bell. 10-9, bordering on 10-8 for Garza.
Round 3: Garza opens with a high kick, then goes to the inside leg. Hominick comes out like he did in the first frame, stalking and throwing hard. Garza grabs Hominick again, but gets shucked off. Garza tries a takedown again and gets it. Garza slashes with elbows. Hominick tosses the legs up looking for an omoplata, but can’t get it. More elbows from Garza. Hominick thinks about going for the leg, then resumes his roadkill-impression. Hominick slaps Garza in the side of the head a few times, doing jack-shit. Garza slugs him hard in the face. Double-hand slaps from the bottom from Hominick? Ugh, dude. Hominick kicks Garza off, Garza knees him in the ribs when he gets up and takes Hominick right back down. Garza in Hominick’s half-guard, and tosses down some hammer-fists. Hominick with a hail-mary triangle-armbar, but Garza pulls out and the fight ends. The crowd boos Garza for beating the dog doo-doo out of their homeboy. This is going to be Garza’s win, and the fourth straight loss for Hominick.
Pablo Garza def. Mark Hominick via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 29-28).
Mark Bocek vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
Round 1: Bocek takes the center of the cage. Bocek ties Dos Anjos up and pushes him against the cage; Dos Anjos escapes. Leg kick Dos Anjos. Bocek shoots again, and they’re back to tangling on the fence. Bocek knees Dos Anjos in the thighs from the clinch. Dos Anjos returns a knee to the chest and pushes off. Dos Anjos with a superman punch that misses and an uppercut that lands hard. Bocek lands a head kick but slips to the mat. He pops up, tries for a thai clinch then drops low. Dos Anjos just refuses to be taken down tonight. He’s out, and they trade low kicks. Dos Anjos sticks the uppercut. Leg kick Dos Anjos. Bocek shoots in, puts Dos Anjos against the fence, drops to finish it, can’t. Dos Anjos rolls out and kicks Bocek in the leg. That’s the round. I hope Bocek goes to Plan B, because he’s not landing the takedowns and I don’t particularly want to watch two more rounds of this.
Round 2: After a brief punching exchange, Bocek low-kicks Rafael straight in the Dos Anjos, if you catch my drift. Yowzer. Anyway, Dos Anjos is back in with the quickness. Bocek shoots again and Dos Anjos reverses him. Dos Anjos on top, struggling for control. Bocek powers to his feet but Dos Anjos puts him back down. Bocek looks for an arm, and Dos Anjos straight up sits on the dude’s head in north-south position. (aka, The Arabian Goggles Position.) Bocek thankfully escapes, and eventually gets to his feet. Dos Anjos smells blood, and shoots hard for a takedown, nailing it. He goes to Bocek’s back and slugs down at Bocek’s temple. Bocek covers up. He grabs onto Dos Anjos’s leg and works his way upright. Dos Anjos lifts Bocek straight up and deposits him on the mat. Bocek stands up and gets punched in the face for his troubles. Bocek’s face is a bloody mess. Time for Plan C?
Round 3: Dos Anjos with the superman punch, still looking energetic. Bocek goes back to grabbing Dos Anjos against the fence and dropping for a takedown, but it’s still not working. Dos Anjos with a body slam to get the fight back to the mat. Bocek gets up and goes for a standing kimura, but Dos Anjos escapes. Straight right from Bocek. Jumping knee to the body from Dos Anjos. Bocek attacks with punches. They tie up against the fence. Dos Anjos with a knee to the ribs. Dos Anjos with a crane kick attempt, then a hard uppercut. Dos Anjos slips, gets up and stumbles around a bit, then they trade punches in a firefight to the bell. This is going to be another loss for Team Canada.
Rafael Dos Anjos def. Mark Bocek via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Francis Carmont vs. Tom Lawlor
Lawlor and his crew come out as…nerds, I guess? Not his best work.
Round 1: Lawlor the aggressor, coming forward and darting inside. They clinch on the fence. Carmont returns a knee. There’s another one. Dirty boxing from Filthy Tom. The ref breaks ‘em up when it becomes clear that they’ll spend all night on that fence. Carmont tries to set up a kimura when Lawlor shoots on him again. No dice. It’s back to the fence. They separate. Carmont uses his reach advantage, sticking his hand on Lawlor’s forehead to keep him at bay. Lawlor grabs a guillotine and jumps to the mat with it. Looks tight. Blood starts leaking out of somewhere on Carmont’s head, but he finally pulls out and postures up for some ground-and-pound payback. The bell saves Lawlor from getting punished.
Round 2: Carmont with some 52 Blocks-type hand-gesturing. Lawlor glides in with a straight left. Inside leg kick from Lawlor, then the outside. Carmont responds with a solid knee to the body. Lawlor pushes Carmont back against the fence. Lawlor lands the straight. Lawlor pushes him against the fence again. Carmont with a punch inside, and Lawlor drops for a takedown. He sticks it after some effort. Carmont gets up but eats a knee. Lawlor drags him down again. Carmont looks for the triangle but Lawlor escapes and scrambles for a guillotine attempt. Carmont escapes but the bell sounds before he can retaliate.
Round 3: They’re boxing. Carmont with a kick to the body. Carmont jumps forward with a knee, Lawlor grabs him and puts him against the fence. The crowd boos them, the ref breaks them. High kick from Carmont lands. Inside leg kick from Carmont. Lawlor pushing forward with punches. Carmont lands a right. He throws another high kick. Lawlor lands a counter-left. Kicks from Carmont to the leg and body. Left hook Lawlor, body kick Carmont. Foot stomps from Lawlor against the cage. They’re up after a brief moment on the mat, and that’s the fight. Not exactly a crowd-pleaser. The scores will be close.
Francis Carmont def. Tom Lawlor via split-decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29). The Montreal crowd actually boos the decision, even though the Canadian dude won it. Maybe they just hated the fight.
If you’re wondering where Nick Ring is tonight, read the update at the top of this post.
Johny Hendricks vs. Martin Kampmann
Round 1: Kampmann throws a high kick to open. He tries it again. Hendricks bolts in with his nasty left hand. A lightning fast left/right combo from Hendricks puts Kampmann into falling tree mode, and Hendricks only has time to punch Kampmann’s comatose head once before Big Dan pulls him off. My goodness that was nasty. Ladies and gentlemen, Johny Hendricks is the next in line at 170 pounds.
Johny Hendricks def. Martin Kampmann via KO 0:46 of round 1.
Georges St. Pierre vs. Carlos Condit
Alright, main event time. Who’s ready for five rounds of positional domination? The champ enters the cage and does cartwheels in both directions. SCARED YET, CARLOS?
Round 1: GSP jabs. Carlos with a leg kick. GSP is moving forward, punching, making Condit circle along the outside of the cage. Carlos throws a 1-2, fires a high teep that misses. Leg kick Georges, and a sharp jab. St. Pierre shoots for a leg and twists Condit to the mat. GSP softens him up with punches, carefully avoiding attacks from Condit’s guard. St. Pierre pulls Condit’s neck up to break his position. Condit tries to kick off but St. Pierre is glued on top of him, doing what he does best. Condit looking for an arm, can’t find it. More punches from the top from GSP. St. Pierre with shots to the ribs. Condit escapes to his feet. He’s cut, badly. The bell sounds and jets of blood pulse out of Condit’s forehead. The replay shows that St. Pierre did it with an elbow from the top. Easy 10-9 for the champ.
Round 2: Nice straight/uppercut/kick combo from Condit. They both whiff high kicks. St. Pierre leans in with a straight that connects. Carlos lands a left. Condit lands a 1-2 on GSP, then a hook after a knee attempt. St. Pierre answers with a right. Condit throws a knee kick. Condit goes body/head. St. Pierre shoots for a double leg and nails it. Big shot from the top. Condit’s face is gory. He slugs at GSP off his back, in vain. St. Pierre lands much more effective punches from the top. Condit dashes to his feet. As bloody as he is, he’s still game, getting in GSP’s range and firing punches. GSP punches back. Neither of these guys are playing it cautiously. Another round for the champ.
Round 3: Condit tags St. Pierre with a head kick and floors him! Condit desperately tries to finish, jackhammering punches and elbows down. GSP has quite the goose-egg on the right side of his head. GSP somehow gets to his feet. He’s unsteady, but goes back to attacking Condit, and slams him to the mat. That right there is a champion, folks. Hard elbows from St. Pierre. Condit stands up, grabs a kimura, but loses it as they tumble back to the mat. GSP settles into half-guard as Condit tries to find a way off his back. Nothing doing. St. Pierre stays on top until the bell.
Round 4: Condit goes low/high with kicks. Condit tries the head kick again but gets counter-punched directly after. St. Pierre dives for the takedown and gets it. We’re back in the champ’s world. Condit trying to snake his way out, and stays active punching GSP off his back. St. Pierre with punches whenever he can find an opening. Condit looking for a kneebar, can’t get it, and misses a follow-up triangle attempt. Carlos goes back to slugging GSP in the face from below. Condit tries to get up, GSP drags him down, Condit briefly reverses the position, GSP reverses the reversal. He takes Condit’s back as the fourth round ends.
Round 5: GSP with a brilliant superman jab/leg kick combo. Carlos is swinging at air. Then he lands a spinning back kick. St. Pierre nails another takedown, but Condit is quickly back on his feet. St. Pierre lands a right. Condit charges in and lands a right, then a left. Condit with a hook, then a knee kick. St. Pierre with a pair of jabs, a right hand, and finishes with a takedown. Two minutes left. St. Pierre is doing his best to hold the challenger in place. Condit rolls, St. Pierre takes his back, Condit defends and establishes guard again. St. Pierre gets a little more active in the last 40 seconds, firing down punches. Condit looks for a desperation armlock, switches to elbowing St. Pierre in the head when that doesn’t work. The fight ends, and they both look like they’ve been in a car wreck. It wasn’t always pretty, but Georges St. Pierre just answered all the doubters. The only things left are the scores, and one more obligatory cut to Anderson Silva.
Georges St. Pierre def. Carlos Condit via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45 x 2).
GSP says his knee didn’t bother him at all, and he wouldn’t have fought if it did. Joe Rogan asks him the million dollar question about a potential Anderson Silva fight, and the crowd boos. St. Pierre says he was only thinking about Condit; now, he’s going to take a vacation, think it over, and make the right decision for his career. Come on Andy, rush the cage and call him a punk or something! Ah well…the event ends without an awkward post-fight confrontation, but it’s great to see the greatest welterweight in MMA history working again.
That’s a wrap for tonight. Thanks, as always, for hanging out with us.
I’d like to consider myself a psychologist of sorts, the way that George Costanza considers himself an architect. Sure, my degree might have been acquired less at an accredited institute and more in my own imagination, but based on several interviews I’ve either read or watched in the past, I can professionally declare that Tom Lawlor is crazier than a sack of rabid weasels. The crazy ring entrances, the outfits, this isn’t a man trying to leave his stamp on the UFC, these are the early signs of schizophrenia. Trust me, I’ve diagnosed this sort of thing before.
And while I wouldn’t declare Lawlor sane enough to stand trial, let alone fight professionally for a living, I will gladly watch his decent into madness if it means more antics like the stuff he pulled at the UFC 154 open workouts, which will easily go down as the coolest open workout display since ever.
An unabashed fan of the WWE, Tom introduces his trio of sumo as the “Sumo Suave” to Ariel Helwani in the above video before squaring off with both gentlemen after the jump. Diapers were worn. Necks were bitten. Enjoy.
I’d like to consider myself a psychologist of sorts, the way that George Costanza considers himself an architect. Sure, my degree might have been acquired less at an accredited institute and more in my own imagination, but based on several interviews I’ve either read or watched in the past, I can professionally declare that Tom Lawlor is crazier than a sack of rabid weasels. The crazy ring entrances, the outfits, this isn’t a man trying to leave his stamp on the UFC, these are the early signs of schizophrenia. Trust me, I’ve diagnosed this sort of thing before.
And while I wouldn’t declare Lawlor sane enough to stand trial, let alone fight professionally for a living, I will gladly watch his decent into madness if it means more antics like the stuff he pulled at the UFC 154 open workouts, which will easily go down as the coolest open workout display since ever.
An unabashed fan of the WWE, Tom introduces his trio of sumo as the “Sumo Suave” to Ariel Helwani in the above video before squaring off with both gentlemen after the jump. Diapers were worn. Necks were bitten. Enjoy.
Speaking of psychopaths in Depends, make sure to swing by CagePotato tomorrow at 10 pm EST for our liveblog of all of the UFC 154 action.
Filthy Tom Lawlor did not disappoint today at the UFC 154 Open Workouts from the New City Gas bar and night club in Montreal.Lawlor is known for his mauling fighting style and his entertaining creativity at workouts and when he enters the cage.Tod…
Filthy Tom Lawlor did not disappoint today at the UFC 154 Open Workouts from the New City Gas bar and night club in Montreal.
Lawlor is known for his mauling fighting style and his entertaining creativity at workouts and when he enters the cage.
Today, he came out wearing the traditional Sumo diaper, and proceeded to put on a Sumo exhibition with his two training partners. One of them, former UFC fighter Seth Petruzelli was solely credited with the idea.
“Actually Seth Petruzelli was the inspiration for it, it was all his idea so if there is any bad backlash I want it directed solely at him,” Lawlor stated.
Despite being pushed and prodded a bit by the media, Lawlor would not tip his hand at what’s in store come his entrance on Saturday night.
“I’ll have some sort of a walkout, but I can’t tell anyone that now. I can’t give away the secrets, I can’t show the goods.”
He did tip his hat a bit, or did he?
“It won’t have anything to do with Canadians. Well most of it. Well, kind of, maybe it will. Nah it won’t have anything to do with Canadians.”
All jokes aside, Lawlor is set to take on French fighter Francis Carmont, who lives in Montreal and trains at the prestigious Tristar gym.
Lawlor has fought three Canadian fighters in his last four fights, knocking off two of them, Jason MacDonald and Patrick Cote.
Carmont is not a Canadian citizen, but the country has adopted him since he moved here to train a couple of years ago.
I asked Lawlor myself if he is trying to pick off our best one by one, and after a brief debate as to why Carmont is considered a Canuck, Lawlor confessed he asked for this one, but he has nothing against Canadians at all.
“Actually I did ask for this fight. There was a list of names I gave them and he was one of them, you know he’s on a really good win streak, it has nothing to do with him being Canadian. I love the Canadian fans, I love Canadian bacon, I love it all, I love Tim Horton’s more than anything.”
Lawlor‘s fighting style fits his nickname to a tee, as he stays in tight, smothers your offense and makes the fight as “filthy” as he can as his blueprint to victory.
He is an in your face fighter, and a well deserved step up in competition for Carmont.
If Lawlor can work Carmont like he worked the diaper in the workouts, Carmont will be in for a tough night.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca UFC. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.
(So there we were, about to face off at the UFC 154 press conference when Georges finally decided to POP THE QUESTION!! ERMAGERD!!)
A fortune cookie wise man once told me that the frustrating thing about questions is that they do not always have answers. This Saturday night, Zuffa’s globetrotting MMA organization returns to the province of Quebec — the birthplace of the UFC in Canada — to answer the burning question: Who is the undisputed king of the 170 lbs division? GSP may be the PPV king of the UFC, but during his 20 month layoff due to reconstructive knee surgery, Carlos Condit has quietly and somewhat controversially asserted himself as the welterweight division’s top dog.
With a current record of 3-2 over the past 5 UFC PPV’s, the GAE’s back is against the wall and in need of another profitable evening if it is to be still considered as the champion of the odds breakers, bloggers and “professional gamblers” of the mixed martial arts world (which it totally is). So follow us after the jump as we highlight select bouts from the undercard and all contests on the main card in an attempt to save those who laid 1600 bucks on a Franklin to beat Le ticket from the man in the black trench coat. All odds courtesy of BestFightOdds.com.
(So there we were, about to face off at the UFC 154 press conference when Georges finally decided to pop the question! ERMAGERD!!)
A fortune cookie wise man once told me that the frustrating thing about questions is that they do not always have answers. This Saturday night, Zuffa’s globetrotting MMA organization returns to the province of Quebec — the birthplace of the UFC in Canada — to answer the burning question: Who is the undisputed king of the 170 lbs division? GSP may be the PPV king of the UFC, but during his 20 month layoff due to reconstructive knee surgery, Carlos Condit has quietly and somewhat controversially asserted himself as the welterweight division’s top dog.
With a current record of 3-2 over the past 5 UFC PPV’s, the GAE’s back is against the wall and in need of another profitable evening if it is to be still considered as the champion of the odds breakers, bloggers and “professional gamblers” of the mixed martial arts world (which it totally is). So follow us after the jump as we highlight select bouts from the undercard and all contests on the main card in an attempt to save those who laid 1600 bucks on a Franklin to beat Le ticket from the man in the black trench coat. All odds courtesy of BestFightOdds.com.
While some would credit Riddle’s impressive submission victory at UFC 149 to his use of marijuana(Ed note: Seriously? If anyone honestly believes this, just let us know so we can hit you on the head with a tack hammer because YOU ARE A RETARD), Matt seems to understand what he needs to do to win fights these days. Maguire recently lost a unanimous decision to a bigger, stronger grappler in John Hathaway at UFC on FUEL 5, someone he is essentially paired up with again this weekend. I believe we see Riddle approach this fight with the same mentality as his previous two fights in the UFC, fighting with the W in mind. The price is fair and parlay-worthy as I see Riddle being able to fend off all of Maguire’s submissions while maintaining control of “The One” on the mat.
If I had to pick an underdog on this card it would be Mark Bocek, who is essentially fighting out of his own backyard and hovering around the +130 range. Dos Anjos has shown that he has issues with strong grapplers throughout his UFC career and despite being a BJJ black belt, I believe that Bocek is the stronger grappler of the two. Look for the Tri Star fighter to close the distance, force Rafael against the cage and look for the takedown for the majority of this fight. It may not be pretty, but Bocek has the ability to win here.
All of a sudden, Cote doesn’t look so bad when you consider what happened to Rich Franklin this past weekend. I believe Cote has the chin to stick it out with Sakara and either finish Alessio or at the very least profit from the hometown 29-28 on the cards if the fight goes the distance. Even near 30 cents on the dollar Cote will find his way into one of the parlays for old time sake.
Hominick is simply too tough a puzzle to figure out at this point in his career. With changes both professionally and personally over the past two years of his life, “The Machine” needs to prove that he is not a shell of the former 145 contender who actually won a round against Jose Aldo at UFC 129. My money will go towards the prop that this fight does not go the distance; Garza only going to the cards once in his last six fights and Hominick losing two of his last three fights by decision sets the scene for a finish here if Hominick hopes to right the ship and avoid a fourth straight loss. I believe Hominick wins inside the distance possibly by submission.
Those who follow the GAE know that I have a strong handle on these two fighters. Hovering around -250, Philippou is a solid betting favorite here, essentially showing in the past he will not be smothered and definitely not be out struck by his opponent. Nick came very close to being finished against McGee in his last outing and I believe Costa’s ever improving game shines in this fight, making it virtually impossible for the judges to give the fight to Ring on the cards if it gets there. Costa makes the parlay.
Carmont seems to be pretty much better than Lawlor everywhere in this fight. The price of -250 on Carmont is just right and since moving shop to Tri Star, the Frenchman is undefeated as a mixed martial artist. Lawlor has the ability to play spoiler by trapping Carmont in a submission, but I believe Carmont will simply be too strong for “Filthy” and find a way to a decision victory.
The Hitman as a small underdog is the play to make against the heavy handed wrestler here. While many believe Kampmann may have trouble with Johny’s power — especially in his left hand (see Daley vs. Kampmann) — Hendricks may have a tough time finding the mark with a technical savant like Martin. I think Kampmann stays on the outside, uses his footwork and wins by decision in this fight. I like the prop that this fight goes the distance and will lay my money there.
Carlos Condit has never lost a five rounder in his career, and is probably the most well rounded fighter GSP has faced in his career. What this fight will come down to is whether or not GSP is still capable of landing his signature explosive takedown after surgery and a long layoff. In the 5th round of his fight with Nick Diaz, Condit showed that he can be taken down and once on the mat can be controlled by a fighter who has strong grappling skills. Due to the layoff, there are simply too many factors at play to pick GSP to win this fight in a parlay, although I do believe GSP will take Condit down and grind out a decision victory.
Parlay 1
-Riddle-Philippou
Parlay 2
-Philippou-Cote-Carmont-Bocek
Props
-Bocek/Dos Anjos Fight goes the distance
-Ring/Philippou Fight does not go the distance
-Kampmann/Hendricks Fight goes the distance
Bet what you feel comfortable with, more on the parlays, less on the props. Please share your thoughts and let us know who you like and why.
Now, I’m a Tom 
