UFC 155 | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

Dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2: Where Is the Buzz for UFC 155?

UFC 155 is set for Saturday, Dec. 29. The event is loaded with talent from top to bottom, boasts what looks to be a plethora of competitive matches and features a main event to be contested between the two best heavyweights in the world for the right t…

If you’re wondering where I’m going with this, my point is simply this: UFC 155 is a very meaningful event, undoubtedly one of the most important and potentially exciting from 2012.

Only you wouldn’t get that sense from the lack of attention the show has garnered from mainstream media, or MMA pundits and fans. In fact, UFC 155 has received so little fanfare that it seems half the world is still in a holiday food coma.

That’s my theory, and while it’s an ill-advised attempt at humor, it might not be that far from the truth.

This time of year sees a whole lot of people celebrate Christmas, Hanuka and New Year’s, and there is enough going on among those events’ celebrations to hold the entirety of an individual’s attention.

Perhaps that is why Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem brought in just 535,000 PPV buys on New Year’s Eve 2011. Not a terrible number, but not one of Lesnar‘s best.

Before that, a 2011 New Year’s Day showdown between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard garnered just 260,00 PPV buys. And Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva saw just 300,000 people fork over PPV money the previous year.

So maybe it’s as simple as that. Maybe there are a lot of people out there that just don’t have the time to add a UFC event to their already loaded schedule. It seems like a mundane explanation, but there seems to be a substantial correlation between disappointing buyrates and end-of-the-year UFC cards.

While there are many who relish the thought a card like UFC 155 at any time of the year, MMA seems to get lost in the December/January shuffle for many others.

The UFC perennially stacks these cards with ample talent, yet continually, it fails to draw in PPV numbers reflective of the product it puts out.

That’s a trend.

And that these cards fall either between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, or on New Year’s Day, can’t just be happenstance.

Instead, that points to a reason.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 155: Cain Velasquez Gets Shot at Redemption After Last Year’s Torn ACL

Sixty-four seconds.That’s how long the first match between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos lasted. That’s how long Velasquez was able to last.Immediately, the critiques poured in. Velasquez was too reckless, too offensive and too easily hit. He he…

Sixty-four seconds.

That’s how long the first match between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos lasted. That’s how long Velasquez was able to last.

Immediately, the critiques poured in. Velasquez was too reckless, too offensive and too easily hit. He heard the criticism, and Velasquez didn’t disagree. He told Ben Fowlkes of MMAJunkie.com soon after the fight, “There’s a certain way to be aggressive out there. You can’t just run at somebody.”

Velasquez has the strategy aspect of the fight down this time. He’s going to fight smarter, and he’s going to last longer.

More importantly, though, Velasquez has his health.

In the last fight, Velasquez was fighting on a torn ACL. He and his handlers tried to downplay the injury’s impact, but Velasquez was clearly affected. After all, who wouldn’t be? A torn ACL is one of the most serious injuries one can face, and few athletes could even compete with one.

As valiant as Velasquez was in trying to fight, he never really had a chance with such a brutal injury. Examine the tape, what little there is of it, and you’ll see a fighter who couldn’t plant his foot, kick properly or move from side to side. Even the best fighter would lose when handicapped like that.

Now, Velasquez is healthy, able and ready for redemption.

The popular consensus is that Velasquez will need to keep this fight on the ground to beat Dos Santos, something he was unable to do on his bum knee in the last fight. There are no guarantees, of course, but Velasquez should do a better job in this regard at least.

Worth mentioning is that Dos Santos was not 100 percent in the last fight either. This time, though, both fighters are healthy and ready for a long, grueling fight. That promises an exciting, knock-down, drag-it-out fight. At the very least, it can’t be worse than the last one.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 155 Predictions: Final Preliminary Card Predictions for UFC 155

With UFC 155 just a day away, it’s time for the final round of predictions. At least for Saturday night’s seven preliminary bouts it is, and those predictions is precisely what you’ll find here.From Facebook to FX, UFC 155 will play host to a hand…

From Facebook to FX, UFC 155 will play host to a handful of exciting and competitive matchups that shall serve as an appetizer to the night’s main dish of Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez II.

The undercard mostly features contests from the lighter weight classes, though a heavyweight tussle is on the agenda to balance things out.

Post your thoughts about the UFC 155 prelims in the comments section below.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 155 Predictions: Main-Card Fighters Who Will Win by Knockout or Submission

UFC 155, headlined by Junior Dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez II, will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this Saturday.The sport of mixed martial arts continues to burgeon, especially with the younger crowd, and with that growth comes extra respect…

UFC 155, headlined by Junior Dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez II, will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this Saturday.

The sport of mixed martial arts continues to burgeon, especially with the younger crowd, and with that growth comes extra respect.

The more people watch, the more they recognize and appreciate the technical aspects of the sport. This isn’t just a bunch of oversized goons kicking the crap out of each other. There’s an art to it, a subtlety.

That being said, nothing gets the crowd going quite like a vicious knockout or match-ending tap-out. That’s just the way it is.

Here are three guys that will set Saturday night on fire with knockouts or submission:

Junior Dos Santos

Opponent: Cain Velasquez

Dos Santos vs. Velasquez part deux, the battle for the UFC heavyweight title, will close the night. It’ll also end the same way as part one.

There was nothing junior about the way Dos Santos treated Velasquez in the first fight. With his mythical punching power, he was able to fell his opponent at the 1:04 mark of Round 1

Cain Velasquez has earned his rematch, though. Especially considering the way he dominated Antonio Silva back in March.

Look for Velasquez to try his hardest to get Dos Santos on the floor. He’ll use the best tai moves to get him there, but Dos Santos and his underrated grappling skills should be able to cast him aside.

After that, it becomes a matter of when, not if, Dos Santos drops Cain for the second time. My money is in the early second round.

Dos Santos. TKO. Boom.

Joe Lauzon

Opponent: Jim Miller

Lauzon and Miller are two of the scrappiest lightweights in the sport. They’ll fight what’s sure to be one of the more entertaining bouts of the night.

Miller is reeling from a bad loss to Nate Diaz. He’s always all business when he enters the cage, but he could overreach in this one.

A wrestler by trade, he’ll be tempted to bring Lauzon onto the floor. Which is probably a bad idea.

Look for Lauzon to excel on the ground, eventually defeating Miller by submission.

Chris Leben

Opponent: Derek Brunson

The waxes and wanes of Chris “The Crippler” Leben‘s career are well-documented. Not only aren’t we sure if he’ll win the fight, we’re not sure he’ll even show up.

But the talent disparity here—should Leben fight up to his potential, that is—it too steep to ignore. Brunson has charisma and modicums of skill, but not the kind Leben possesses.

Whenever the MMA world is ready to cast “The Crippler” aside, he seems to rise from the ashes by doing something remarkable.

That trend won’t change here: Leben by TKO.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 155: Which Fighter Has the Most to Gain?

The phrase “You’re not even supposed to be here!” could apply to one fighter in particular. He’s in a position with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Indeed Derek Brunson really isn’t supposed to be here. He shouldn’t be fighting a guy like Chris…

The phrase “You’re not even supposed to be here!” could apply to one fighter in particular. He’s in a position with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Indeed Derek Brunson really isn’t supposed to be here. He shouldn’t be fighting a guy like Chris Leben in his Octagon debut. Especially given the fact he’s coming off two-straight losses, including a KO loss to grappling wizard Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

It’s not that Brunson doesn’t have the skills. He’s more than up to the task of taking on anyone and had it not been for a contract issue, likely would’ve been competing on The Ultimate Fighter 17. Now Brunson gets the chance to bypass the craziness of a reality show and jump straight into the Octagon.

His UFC debut won’t be an easy one as Leben is a guy who’s been with the UFC since the original Ultimate Fighter. He has dangerous KO power in either hand and is a very good jiu-jitsu player despite only being a blue belt.

That combination presents more than enough of a challenge for Brunson to overcome in his UFC debut. Add in the fact Brunson is stepping in on extremely short notice and it could be a rough night for the former Strikeforce fighter.

Luckily for Brunson his opponent has some issues of his own. Leben‘s mental state is always an x-factor when coming into a fight and his past history with drugs and alcohol are well documented. He’s also coming off an extreme layoff after being out of action for over a year.

Still, Leben is regarded as one of the better middleweights in the UFC and is being universally picked to defeat Brunson. The former Strikeforce fighter is in the true underdog position as nobody expects him to do much of anything against “The Crippler.”

It is for that reason that Brunson has the most to gain at UFC 155. Sure there are guys competing for titles and jostling each other for position in the rankings, but given the fact Brunson is expected to do nothing more than lose to Leben, Brunson could shock the MMA world by defeating “The Crippler.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 155 Start Time: When and Where to Watch UFC 155

Saturday night, the UFC returns for their fourth event of December, and boy, is it a doozie! With heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos taking on former champion Cain Velasquez in the main event, the stakes couldn’t be any higher.Also competing …

Also competing on the card are popular notables Chris Leben, Joe Lauzon and surging contenders like Tim Boetsch and Alan Belcher who are looking to lay claim on a middleweight title shot.

Unfortunately, if you don’t know how to tune in to the event, you’ll be unable to catch the action.

Never fear! That’s what we are here for.

Facebook Prelims

Once again, the UFC will return to its Facebook fan page to kick off an event. Featuring three bouts full of notables, UFC 155 might just be the best social networking offering to date.

Tune in to the official UFC Facebook page at 6:30 p.m. EST to see the following fights:

Todd Duffee vs. Phil de Fries
Leonard Garcia vs. Max Holloway
John Moraga vs. Chris Cariaso

FX Prelims

The UFC has been known for delivering excellent fights for free, and the FX portion of UFC 155 is no exception. With surging contenders and big-named knockout artists in competition, the FX portion of the card is can’t-miss action.

Tune in to FX at 8 p.m. EST to see the following fights:

Melvin Guillard vs. Jamie Varner
Brad Pickett vs. Eddie Wineland
Erik Perez vs. Byron Bloodworth
Michael Johnson vs. Myles Jury

Pay-Per-View

The PPV madness begins at 10 p.m. EST with five main card fights that are designed to generate in-cage excitement.

Fights include:

Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez II
Jim Miller vs. Joe Lauzon
Tim Boetsch vs. Costa Philippou
Yushin Okami vs. Alan Belcher II
Chris Leben vs. Derek Brunson

There are many options for viewing the fights. The PPV is available from major cable and satellite providers, as well as on UFC.com.

Some less conventional viewing methods include watching on the UFC’s Facebook page through Facebook Credits or ordering through the UFC app on Xbox Live.

Looking for a less costly option? Many sports bars like Buffalo Wild Wings, Hooters or Applebee’s host the fights for their customers. For the price of a quesadilla appetizer and a beer, you get to watch a $54.99 PPV.

Attending the event live?

According to the arena website, Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena doors open at 2:45 p.m. local time, and the PPV main card kicks off at 7 p.m.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com