I have provided here all the information you will need to help with your betting decisions.

Fight Odds & Betting Lines

• UFC 101 Betting Odds
• MMA Betting Sites

UFC 101 Fight Card

• Full UFC 101 Fight Card

Pat’s Expert Predictions

• Quick UFC 101 Predictions Page

Detailed Fight Predictions

• Penn vs. Florian
• Silva vs. Griffin
• Sadollah vs. Hendricks
• Grove vs. Almeida
• Neer vs. Pellegrino

UFC 101 Fighter Profiles

• BJ Penn
• Kenny Florian
• Anderson Silva
• Forrest Griffin
• Amir Sadollah
• Johny Hendricks
• Kendall Grove
• Ricardo Almeida
• Josh Neer
• Kurt Pellegrino

UFC 101 Promo Videos

• UFC 101 Extended Promo Video
• UFC 101 Promo Video
• UFC 101 Trailer
• Forrest Griffin on Anderson Silva
• Ricardo Almeida on Kendall Grove

For the main event we have our BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian prediction page

Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin

• For a detailed prediction of this fight visit our Silva vs. Griffin prediction page

Pats Prediction

• Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva will square off with former LHW champ Forrest Griffin.  This will be Silva’s second fight at 205 lbs.  We all know Griffin can give any fighter a tough time in the octagon.  He’s extremely tough,  well rounded, and can give & take punishment. Silva has cleaned out the MW division and looking for a fight.  Griffin is known for pulling off upsets and will look for a huge one here.  Griffin must not attack Silva right away as he sometimes likes to.  For him to have a chance he will need to take this fight all three rounds and use his wrestling securing take-downs.  I just don’t see it happening as Silva will show off his remarkable striking and overwhelm Griffin via first round TKO.

 - Silva vs. Griffin Odds

Amir Sadollah vs. Johny Hendricks

• For a detailed prediction of this fight visit our Sadollah vs. Hendricks prediction page

Pats Prediction

• I see Sadollah’s lay off from competing playing a big factor here. Hendricks has not faced top level competition, but I believe he is the better fighter.  Amir being the Season winner has yet to prove himself to be a legit contender.  He now will get a chance to show case his talent that I just don’t see.  I have Hendricks winning this fight via second round TKO.

 - Sadollah vs. Hendricks Odds

Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo Almeida

• For a detailed prediction of this fight visit our Grove vs. Almeida prediction page.

Pats Prediction

• Here we have a style vs. style match up.  While Almeida has decent stand up he is best on the ground and Grove has a decent ground game with much better striking.  Grove needs to use his length to keep Almeida and bay and the fight standing.  Almeida will look to get this fight down to the mat using his wrestling and jiu-jitsu.  I see Ricardo getting the take downs and controlling the fight on top of Kendall. Big Dog via a unanimous decision victory. 

 - Grove vs. Almeida Odds

Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellegrino

• For a detailed prediction of this fight visit our Neer vs. Pellegrino prediction page.

Pats Prediction

• The first fight of the night is sure to be entertaining.  As Batman and The Dentist collide.  Pellegrino has had an impress run in the octagon, but unfortunately Josh Neer has the tools to take this fight from him.  Pellegrino will most likely trade a few shots and look to take Neer to the mat and  to work a submission.  Neer a good wrestler and take-down defense will keep this fight standing which he prefers.  Neer has devastating KO power and will catch Kurt via second round TKO.

 - Neer vs. Pellegrino Odds

UFC 101 Preliminary Card Quick Picks

Sportsbook.com Odds

• Tamdan McCrory over John Howard via unanimous decision

• Matt Riddle over Dan Cramer via unanimous decision

• Danillo Villefort over Jesse Lennox via second round TKO

• Thales Leites over Alessio Sakara via third round TKO

• Aaron Riley over Shane Nelson via unanimous decision

• George Sotiropoulos over George Roop via second round submission

UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian

Main Event Odds: (-260 Penn / +200 Florian) at Sportsbook.com

Prediction: I think Florian will be successful at evading Penn’s offense for a while, but eventually Penn will catch him with a hard flurry and drop him for the TKO in the third round.

The main event of the evening is a huge Lightweight title matchup between champion BJ “The Prodigy” Penn and challenger Kenny “KenFlo” Florian.  

Florian has been destroying top contenders since his loss to Sean Sherk, while Penn is coming off a one-sided defeat against Georges St-Pierre.  The question is whether Florian will be able to ride his momentum to a title win, or if BJ Penn will show the old form 

that allowed him to embarrass some of the world’s best Lightweights.

Florian first made a name for himself on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, where he made it all the way to the finals despite fighting a full 30 pounds above his natural weight.  Originally coming from a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu background, Florian’s Muay Thai has improved constantly since his UFC debut to the point that he is one of the most dynamic and effective strikers in the division.  A lot of this growth comes from his top-notch training camp at Mark DellaGrotte’s Sityodtong camp in Massachusetts.  For this fight, he has the added bonus of training with Georges St. Pierre, who can claim two wins over Penn.

If Penn’s past performances at Lightweight are any indication, Florian is going to need all the extra help he can get.  The only question mark about Penn has always been his cardio.  In terms of technique and raw athleticism, Penn has no peer at 155.  His technical boxing is amazing, he has plenty of punching power, and his jiu jitsu is out of this world.  If he has a weak spot besides conditioning, it is his mediocre wrestling, but considering how good he is both standing and on the ground, it rarely presents an issue.

Stylistically, this is a bad match for Florian.  Both guys have great standup, but Penn’s accuracy and handspeed are going to be hard for Florian to deal with.  Florian is a counterstriker who likes to move backwards and make his opponents pay, but if he allows Penn to walk him down he is going to get annihilated.  On the ground, the edge easily goes to Penn despite Florian’s black belt.  Penn is the more technical, flexible, and explosive grappler by far.

Florian’s best chance in this one is to fight extremely conservatively and hope that Penn wears himself out chasing him around the ring.  Staying out of BJ’s way once he starts pressing the issue, though, is a lot easier said than done.  

I think Florian will be successful at evading Penn’s offense for a while, but eventually Penn will catch him with a hard flurry and drop him for the TKO in the third round.

205 lbs. Forrest Griffin vs. Anderson Silva

Odds: (-350 Silva / +275 Griffin) at Sportsbook.com

Prediction: Most likely, Griffin will try to trade shots early and get blasted in the first round.  

The semi-main event is a compelling spectacle fight which sees Middleweight champion Anderson “Spider” Silva move up to Light Heavyweight again to face former Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin.  

Silva has dominated the Middleweight division in legendary fashion, destroying top contenders while dancing around to keep himself from falling asleep.  He is looking to challenge himself by fighting larger opponents.  Griffin is sure to put up a fight, and is world renowned for pulling off huge upsets, so this one is sure to be suspenseful.

Silva, a top contender for the pound for pound crown, has been completely unstoppable since debuting in the UFC.  His vicious Muay Thai offense, elusive standup defense, ability to scramble, and world-class jiu jitsu make him one of the most formidable fighters in the history of the sport.  He is so good that many of his recent fights have been quite boring because his opponents have absolutely no answer for his dynamic offense.

 There is only one hole in Silva’s game, and that is wrestling.  While he has shown an ability to scramble well and to fight off his back, he has notoriously poor takedown defense and has found himself in quite a few dangerous positions on the ground.  No one, at 185 or 205, is going to beat Silva in a standup fight, period.  The only way to stop him is to exploit his poor takedown defense and stay aggressive on the ground to keep him from escaping.

Forrest Griffin certainly has the ability to execute that gameplan, the question is whether or not he will actually do it.  Coming into the fight with a size advantage, superior wrestling, and a stellar training camp at Xtreme Couture, Griffin actually has the tools to pull off a monster upset here.  Unfortunately, he has also shown a tendency to throw caution to the wind and has often paid for it.

 He was rocked early against Alex Shoenaur on The Ultimate Fighter, got destroyed when he tried to bumrush Keith Jardine, and walked into a lot of punishment from both Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz.  If Griffin comes charging in and tries to trade early, it is going to be an extremely short night for him.  If he tries to use his weight to push Silva around in the greco roman clinch and goes for takedowns early and often, he is more than capable of controlling the fight from the top and grinding out a rugged decision.

In the end, it’s hard to pick against Anderson Silva, even against a guy as tough as Forrest.  Forrest has the ability to win by executing a particular gameplan, but Silva is by far the more dangerous and dynamic fighter, especially standing.  Most likely, Griffin will try to trade shots early and get blasted in the first round.  

That said, a small bet on Griffin may not be a bad idea, as he is notoriously tough and does have some important stylistic advantages.

185 lbs. Amir Sadollah vs. Johny Hendricks

The third match of the evening is an extremely poor Middleweight matchup that has no business being on the televised card.  

Amir Sodollah, winner of the worst season of The Ultimate Fighter, will engage in his second ever professional MMA fight against WEC veteran and former amateur wrestler Johny Hendricks.  Sodollah shocked the world by submitting heavy favorite CB Dolloway twice to win The Ultimate Fighter and then seemed to drop off the face of the earth, with all of his fights getting pushed back and cancelled.  In the meantime, Hendricks was in WEC actually fighting people, although no one very good.

It’s hard to say what Sadollah is good or bad at, besides that it is safe to say he can execute an armbar.  His lack of fight experience is troubling, as is the very long layoff since his last fight.  Still, he acquitted himself well against Dolloway, who is a stylistically similar fighter to Hendricks.

Hendricks, who has compiled a perfect 5-0 professional record, has a strong amateur wrestling background and powerful ground and pound.  The most important thing for Hendricks is going to be his submission defense.  He should be able to get Sadollah down and do some punishment, but he has to be careful of Sadollah, who can clearly fight off his back.

Ultimately, I think Sadollah’s long absence from competition and lack of professional experience are going to cost him in this one.  

I see Hendricks taking Sadollah down and putting a hurting on him from top position.  Hendricks by TKO, round 2.

185 lbs. Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo Almeida

The evening’s second matchup is a somewhat lackluster middleweight showdown between Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove and long time veteran Ricardo Almeida.  

With Anderson Silva’s dominance of the Middleweight division and the fact that he has already beaten most every contender, a win for either of these guys could lay the groundwork for a future title shot, so a lot is on the line.At 6′6″ and only 185 pounds, Kendall Grove has an extremely odd physique for a fighter.  He is all arms and legs, it seems, which actually gives him a great reach advantage and also helps his jiu jitsu.  

Even though he is well rounded with good submissions and effective, unorthodox striking, his biggest weaknesses are his inconsistency and lack of athleticism.  He will go into the fight with Almeida with a decided advantage in the striking department, so his best chance is to keep this one off the ground, where Almeida shines.

Ricardo Almeida, in addition to his two stints in UFC, is also a veteran of PRIDE FC and Pancrase.  He has some great wins, including defeats of Nathan Marquardt and Kazuo Misaki.  In 2004, though, he took a nearly four-year sabbatical from competition.  Since his return, he has looked uninspiring and lethargic during most of his fights, not showing the brilliant technique that made him such a force in his early career.  Still, there is no denying that Almeida is one of the most capable grapplers in the sport and especially in the Middleweight division.

This amounts to a style vs. style match, even though Almeida has some boxing and Grove is quite good on the ground.  If Grove can keep this fight standing, his superior striking and huge reach advantage will be more than Almeida can handle.  If Grove can’t stop the takedown, Almeida will easily ride out a decision from the top, controlling Grove with his superior wrestling and jiu jitsu.  

Considering Grove’s lanky frame and Almeida’s experience, I see Almeida managing to wrestle Grove down fairly easily.  Almeida by unanimous decision.

155 lbs. Kurt Pellegrino vs. Josh Neer 

The evening’s opening bout is an extremely competitive lightweight matchup between two skilled grapplers in Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino and Josh “The Dentist” Neer.  Both are firmly entrenched in the middle of the division, but a win here would help both of them distance themselves from the pack.

Kurt Pellegrino is an extremely talented jiu jitu black belt who has put together an impressive UFC record, only losing to top contenders.  While his jiu jitsu is excellent, his success has been hampered by  the fact that he lacks good wrestling and this his offense is too one-dimensional.  His striking is mediocre at best, and so against well-rounded opponents where he can’t impose his ground game, he sometimes looks lost.

Unfortunately for Pellegrino, Neer is exactly the type of opponent who can give him fits.  While his ground game may not be quite as good as Pellegrino’s, Neer is more than capable of handling his own and resisting Pellegrino’s submission attempts.  More importantly, though, he has superior wrestling and far superior striking, meaning that he will be able to keep Pellegrino from taking it to the ground at all and make him pay for it dearly in the process.

This one should be all Neer.  He will keep the fight standing and exploit his striking advantage before TKOing Pellegrino midway through the second round.