Tag: UFC betting

UFC Middleweight bout:  Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le

Odds: (+115 Silva / -145 Le )

Betting Pick: Le

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In a featured Middleweight bout, Strikeforce legend Cung Le makes his UFC debut against fading PRIDE legend Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer”Silva. These guys are both icons of the sport, and in their primes this would have been a legendary match up. Silva is on the decline, but he is still a dangerous and aggressive striker who will take the fight directly to Le, so this is going to be a very exciting fight.

Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva was once one of the most feared Light Heavyweights on the planet. Time and attrition have caught up to him, and he has lost some of the destructive physicality he enjoyed in his prime, but he is still a technically proficient striker with good punching power, a great clinch game, and very fast hands. He actually has some pretty good jiu-jitsu as well, but he basically never looks to take fights to the ground and Le will probably be content to stand and bang with him. This fight will be like all of Silva’s fights. He will wade forward and let his hands fly, trying to overwhelm Le. If it works he will destroy him, if not he will get knocked out.

Cung Le is a long-time Strikeforce veteran who is appearing in the UFC for the first time. Despite his years in the sport, Le has not fought very much and has fought a very low level of competition relative to Silva or most other top fighters. Just because he hasn’t been very active or fought top guys, though, doesn’t mean that he is not a legitimate threat. Le is a savage kick boxer with great hands, a lot of power, and some of the most violent kicks in the sport. He has finished more than one opponent with absolutely brutal kicks to the body, and his leg kicks are debilitating. He also has fairly solid take downs, although his ground game isn’t much to speak of.

This has all the makings of an entertaining bout. Le’s striking is powerful and surgical, and Silva is the perfect opponent for him in that he will keep walking forward until he can’t do it anymore. At Silva’s prime I think he would have ripped Le apart, but in his current state and at185 pounds I don’t think Silva has the power or the physical strength to overwhelm Le fast enough to prevent himself from getting battered. Both of these guys like to stand and trade,and at this point Le is the more accurate and powerful striker. Eventually, Le’s power and ability to work the legs and body will wear Silva down, and Le will capitalize for the T/KO victory.

Prediction:  Cung Le via second round T/KO.

To add  a little more excitement on fight night, you can bet on this fight at Bodog.com Odds. Check out my review of Bodog here…

UFC Featherweight bout:  Urijah Faber vs. Brian Bowles

Odds: (-275 Faber /+215 Bowles )

Betting Pick: Bowles

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The semi-main event is a big showdown between former WEC champions, as former Featherweight champ “The California Kid” Urijah Faber will take on ex-Bantamweight king Brian Bowles. This is a big match up between two of the top figures in the 135 pound title picture, and the winner will be putting himself in a great position for another crack at Dominick Cruz’s belt. Both of these guys are versatile, dynamic fighters with skills on their feet and on the ground, so this should be an exciting and competitive bout,especially with so much on the line.

Brian Bowles is one of the most dangerous Bantamweight fighters in the world, with his only professional loss coming to current divisional king Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz. Bowles is an extremely complete fighter with heavy hands, great technical boxing, solid take downs, and dangerous submissions. He is fast, athletic, and versatile, which makes him difficult to defend against and makes him adept at exploiting any mistake. Most importantly, Bowles is a prolific finisher, having only gone the distance once. He can finish fights from any position at anytime, and he has spectacular technique so he doesn’t give his opponents many openings.

“The California Kid” Urijah Faber, the former WEC Featherweight champion, is in a similar position to Bowles. He is clearly one of the top Bantamweights in the world, but he has already lost to the champion. This is an important fight for him, because you know that he wants a rubber match with Cruz and another shot at becoming a two-division titlist. Faber is a great fighter with an extremely complete game. He has fast, crisp boxing with decent power, solid wrestling, and great submissions.

This is a very compelling match up between two legitimate title contenders. These guys have similar skill sets and similar fighting styles, and both guys are very aggressive, so this should be an exciting fight. Ultimately I think Bowles is a pretty attractive upset pick here. I think he has more punching power than Faber and better jiu-jitsu as well. This is going to be a close fight, and I think Bowles’ offensive tools are going to stifle Faber enough that Bowles can outpoint him for the decision win.

Prediction: Brian Bowles via Decision.

To add  a little more excitement on fight night, you can bet on this fight at Bodog.com Odds. Check out my review of Bodog here…

Current UFC 140 Betting Odds – On Saturday, December 10, 2011, UFC makes their return to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario for UFC 140. In the headlining bout, former Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will look to reclaim his belt against current champ Jon “Bones” Jones. Jones has absolutely crushed everyone he has ever faced, and has made every step up in competition look easy, but Machida’s slick counter striking style and superior footwork will give him an obstacle he hasn’t had to deal with yet. Many fighters and pundits feel like if anyone can topple Jones at this stage, it is Machida, but it remains to be seen whether “The Dragon” can stop Bones’ offensive assault.

Main Card:

Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida

Bodog.com Odds

• Jones
• Machida

Betonline.com Odds

• Jones         (-425)
• Machida   (+350)

Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Bodog.com Odds

• Mir
• Nogueira

Betonline.com Odds

• Mir
• Nogueira

Claude Patrick vs. Brian Ebersole

Bodog.com Odds

• Patrick
• Ebersole

Betonline.com Odds

• Patrick
• Ebersole

Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Bodog.com Odds

• Ortiz
• Nogueira

Betonline.com Odds

• Ortiz
• Nogueira

Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung

Bodog.com Odds

• Hominick
• Sung Jung

Betonline.com Odds

• Hominick
• Sung Jung

Preliminary Card:

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac

Bodog.com Odds

• Soszynski
• Pokrajac

John Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman

Bodog.com Odds

• Makdessi
• Hallman

Claude Patrick vs. Rich Attonito

Bodog.com Odds

• Patrick
• Attonito

Yves Jabouin vs. Walel Watson

Bodog.com Odds

• Jabouin
• Watson

Jared Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou

Bodog.com Odds

• Hammna
• Philippou

Mark Bocek vs. Nik Lentz

Bodog.com Odds

• Bocek
• Lentz

Mitch Clarke vs. John Cholish

Bodog.com Odds

• Clarke
• Cholish

In the semi-main event, two of the Heavyweight division’s most prolific grapplers will finally meet in a long-anticipated dream match, as former UFC Heavyweight champions Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will do battle. Both of these guys can stand and trade, and both have superlative submissions, so this should be a great clash of two guys with similar styles. The rest of the card will feature the younger of the Nogueira brothers taking on future Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz, a 145 pound matchup between Mark Hominick and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, and a showdown between Rory MacDonald and Brian Ebersole.

Make sure to Check back with us closer to fight night as I will have updated UFC 140 Odds plus Fight Predictions.  And to add a little excitement to your fight night, you can bet on this fight at Bodog.com Odds.

UFC Lightweight bout:  Clay Guida vs. Benson Henderson

Odds: (+220 Guida /-280 Henderson )

Betting Pick: Henderson

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In the semi-main event, two exciting young Lightweight wrestlers will try to establish themselves as title contenders as WEC veteran Ben “Smooth” Henderson faces aggressive wrestler Clay “The Carpenter” Guida. Both of these guys are aggressive, extremely athletic wrestlers with very similar styles. This is going to be a fast-paced and physical match, and whichever guy can control position when it goes to the ground will be in a great position to win.

Clay “The Carpenter” Guida is one of UFC’s most recognizable stars. With his wild mane of hair and his hyper-aggressive fighting style, Guida has gained quite a following. Guida is an excellent wrestler with underrated submissions and amazing cardio who can keep up a relentless pace foras long as a fight goes. On the ground,he has solid submissions and can do a lot of damage with ground and pound. His standup is fairly rudimentary and not very powerful, and there aren’t many guys that he is going to consistently outbox. Against Henderson, who has great submissions from top position and is a superior striker, it is vitally important that Guida press the issue and try to secure takedowns as early and often as possible.

Ben “Smooth” Henderson was one of WEC’s top lightweights,and has continued his success in the UFC. Aside from a setback against Anthony Pettis, Henderson has looked spectacular, using athleticism, wrestling, great submissions, and solid technical boxing to secure himself a spot as one of the world’s top 155pounders. What makes Henderson so dangerous is that he has no real holes in his game and his freakish physical abilities. Against Guida he will be the more versatile fighter, and will probably enjoy a significant advantage in the striking technique department. As long as he doesn’t give up any big mistakes and tries to nullify Guida’s takedown attempts, Henderson has the tools to win this fight.

I think this fight is going to be all Henderson. These guys have very similar styles, but Henderson is the stronger and faster of the two and has better hands. I don’t think Guida will be able to consistently take Henderson down or keep him there, and if he telegraphs his takedowns he will be setting up one of Henderson’s lethal guillotine chokes. I just think Henderson is the superior fighter and will outpoint Guida for a unanimous decision.

Prediction: Ben Henderson via Unanimous Decision.

To add  a little more excitement on fight night, you can bet on this fight at Bodog.com Odds. Check out my review of Bodog here…

UFC Middleweight bout:  Chris Leben vs. Mark Munoz

Odds: (+205 Leben / -265 Munoz )

Betting Pick: Munoz

Bet on this fight at Bodog.com

In the main event of the evening, tough-as-nails brawler Chris “The Crippler” Leben will face a stern test in heavy-handed wrestler Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz. Leben is not always the most consistent performer, but he always shows up to fight and he always puts on a show. Munoz isn’t quite as edge of your seat exciting as Leben, but he is extremely consistent and effective, mixing up his heavy power punches with his dominant wrestling very well. Leben does have some submission skills, as he showed by triangle choking Yoshihiro Akiyama, but he is not known as a ground fighter and may have trouble dealing with a guy as large and skilled as Munoz on top of him. On the other side of that coin, Munoz has never had to deal with anyone as tenacious and determined as Leben, who seems to thrive on taking a beating, wading through it, and giving back as good as he is giving. This is an interesting style matchup and should make for a very entertaining main event.

Chris “The Crippler” Leben was undeniably the villain on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter. His mood swings, childish pranks, and verbal assaults on other cast mates made him easily the most hated fighter on the show. Over the years since, though, Leben has grown into a very popular fan favorite because of his never say die fighting style and the fact that it is legitimately impossible for one of his fights to be boring. Leben is a very dangerous slugger who has a lot of power in his hands, but what makes him so dangerous is that he never stops fighting for even a second. He will wade through beatings that are hard to even watch just to land a couple of counter haymakers. His gameplan is always predictable: he will move forward constantly, absorbing any punishment he has to, just to make sure he lands his power punches. When a fight settles into a groove and becomes technical, that is when Leben tends to stagnate. He is at his best during wild, ugly brawls, and he is very good at making his fights turn out that way. The big question mark against Munoz is how well his takedown defense will hold up and how effectively he will be able to fight off his back with a big, technical wrestler like Munoz on top of him.

Mark Munoz, who is currently riding an impressive three fight win streak, is one of the rising stars of the Middleweight division. A skilled wrestler with devastating power punches, Munoz has consistently improved and turned in solid performances. Outside of a head kick knockout he suffered at the hands of Matt Hamill, the only blemish on Munoz’s record is a narrow split decision loss to top contender Yushin “Thunder” Okami. Munoz has a very complete offensive game, with good boxing, dominant wrestling, and a very active and effective clinch. As good a puncher as Munoz is, he probably doesn’t want to stand and trade with Leben, just because that is Leben’s strength and it is ridiculously difficult to put him down with strikes. Munoz has the tools to put Leben on the ground, though, and he would be smart to use them. In a ground fight, from top position, Munoz instantly becomes the favorite here, so he would be wise to force this fight to the mat as early as possible.

This is going to be a very competitive fight. On the feet, both of these guys can do a ton of damage, which makes this a tough fight to call if it plays out in the striking department. The difference maker here is going to be Munoz’s clinch game and wrestling. Both of these guys are tough and solid chins, so this should go the distance, but Munoz’s ability to control position with the clinch and score points with takedowns and ground and pound should be enough to earn him the unanimous decision win in his first main event.

Prediction: Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz via Unanimous Decision.

To add  a little more excitement on fight night, you can bet on this fight at Bodog.com Odds. Check out my review of Bodog here…