WEC 48: Shane Roller vs. Anthony Njokuani Video

If you want to add a little excitement to your fight night, you can bet on this fight at Sportsbook.com Odds. Or Betus.com Odds if you want to play some parlay bets. They allow you to start with as little as $20, and you can bet on all of the fights for the night. Check out my review of Sportsbook here…

Written by Pat · Filed Under UFC betting

WEC 48: Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber Prediction

April 23, 2010

Featherweight Championship bout: Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber

Odds: (-285 Aldo / +225 Faber )

In the main event, recently crowned Featherweight champion Jose Aldo will look to make his first title defense against long-time champion and world #1 Featherweight Urijah Faber. Aldo has looked unstoppable, especially in his dismantling of Mike Brown, but Faber is a game opponent who has proven he can compete at the very highest level, so this is a great fight.

Faber, the long-time WEC posterboy, earned his fame with a bruising in-ring style. He has great boxing and very good wrestling on top of an underrated submission game, making him one of the most well-rounded fighters in the division. For years, he looked unbeatable, but saw his momentum halted by two losses to Mike Thomas Brown. In his last fight, though, against top contender Raphael Assuncao, he looked back to his old form, showing great standup and his old frenetic pace. If he wants to get his title back, he is going to need to use his experience, quickness, and strength to keep Aldo off guard, because if he lets Aldo work his gameplan he is done for.

Aldo is a freakishly explosive and athletic fighter with some of the most devastating striking in the sport and crazy good takedown defense to go along with it. He is a decent grappler as well, but his best attribute is his ability to prevent opponents from taking him down and making them pay for it on the feet in brutal fashion. Against Faber, that takedown defense is going to be incredibly important. In the standup, this fight will be all Aldo, but he has never had to work off his back underneath a fighter anywhere near Faber’s caliber, so it is important that he keeps the fight upright as much as possible.

Basically this fight hinges on whether or not Faber can take Aldo down consistently, and I just don’t see it happening. Faber’s boxing is solid, but he was beaten soundly by Mike Thomas Brown twice, and Aldo made Brown look bush league on the feet. I see Faber sticking around for a while, but in a five round fight there is no way he can survive Aldo’s onslaught for that long. Aldo by T/KO.

Prediction: Jose Aldo via fourth round T/KO.

To add a little excitement on fight night, you can bet on this fight at Sportsbook.com Odds. They allow you to start with as little as $20, and you can bet on all of the fights for the night. Check out my review of Sportsbook here…

Written by Pat · Filed Under General MMA betting

WEC 48: Ben Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone Prediction

April 23, 2010

Lightweight Championship bout: Ben Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone

Odds: (-115 Henderson /-115 Cerrone )

The semi-main event is a Lightweight title rematch between champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson and former champion Donald “The Cowboy” Cerrone. Henderson left their first bout with the championship bout after earning a somewhat controversial split decision in a fight that many considered the best fight of the year, so this is not one you want to miss, because this time the stakes are even higher.

Donald Cerrone is a very tough competitor with a top-level submission game. His striking is not spectacular to say the least, but he makes up for it with a determined and effective grappling attack. In the last fight with Henderson, Cerrone wasn’t able to handle Henderson’s relentless pressure, which is why he lost the narrow decision. He is not going to outbox Henderson and the two are very evenly matched on the ground, so Cerrone is going to have to find a way to take Henderson off his game plan and try to dictate his own pace.

Henderson is also a very accomplished grappler with good wrestling and submissions and a developing standup game. His top control is pretty good and he can do some ground and pound damage. One of Henderson’s best attributes is his cardio, which allows him to push the pace of a fight for every second of all five rounds. That pace won him the fight the first time, and he is going to have to repeat that performance if he wants to keep his title.

I think this fight is Henderson’s to lose. He is the more versatile of the two fighters and also the more athletic. In addition, his superior cardio means that he can press the action harder, and in a fight this even that can make all the difference, just like it did last time. I expect this fight to play out very similarly, with lots of close action, but ultimately Henderson will retain his title with the unanimous decision.

Prediction: Ben “Smooth” Henderson via unanimous decision.

To add a little excitement on fight night, you can bet on this fight at Sportsbook.com Odds. They allow you to start with as little as $20, and you can bet on all of the fights for the night. Check out my review of Sportsbook here…

Written by Pat · Filed Under General MMA betting

WEC 48: Mike Brown vs. Manvel Gamburyan Prediction

April 23, 2010

Featherweight bout: Mike Brown vs. Manvel Gamburyan

Odds: (-600 Brown /+400 Gamburyan )

In the first of the evening’s three featured bouts, former Featherweight champ Mike Thomas Brown will face a stiff challenge in UFC veteran Manvel Gamburyan. Brown looked dominant before being completely overwhelmed by Jose Aldo, but has a versatile skillset that makes him one of the most dangerous fighters in the division. Gamburyan has also looked impressive, remaining undefeated since his drop down from Lightweight, so this should be a very competitive affair.

Gamburyan, the cousin of another UFC veteran in Karo “The Heat” Parisyan, is a very accomplished fighter in his own right. A very tough guy with a solid chin and pretty good boxing, Gamburyan’s best work is in the grappling game. He has excellent top control, good wrestling with nice judo throws from the clinch, and an underrated submission game that makes him a threat to finish on the ground at all times.

Brown, for his part, also has a top-notch ground game with good wrestling and excellent submissions. As he has proven in his recent outings, his standup has also come a long way and he is now a fairly dangerous striker as well, both in terms of technical proficiency and knockout power. He is no doubt a better striker than Gamburyan, and is probably better on the ground as well. Where he is going to have to be careful is in the clinch, where Gamburyan has the tools to rough him up and send him for a ride with his judo.

I think the edge in this one has to go to Brown. Gamburyan has good takedowns, but he is not a top-level wrestler, and in the standup Brown has a very clear edge in technique and power. On the ground, the worst case scenario for Brown is that it is a stalemate, and the best case scenario is that he is the superior grappler. Expect Gamburyan to struggle for the takedown and eventually get caught with a hard shot and pounced on. Brown by T/KO.

Prediction: Mike Brown via second round T/KO.

To add a little excitement on fight night, you can bet on this fight at Sportsbook.com Odds. They allow you to start with as little as $20, and you can bet on all of the fights for the night. Check out my review of Sportsbook here…

Written by Pat · Filed Under General MMA betting

Upcoming MMA Events…

April 22, 2010

Slow week for us, so here’s a recap and preview of the upcoming MMA events…

->Tonight! – Bellator FC 15

->Saturday WEC 48 – Urijah Faber squares off against Jose Also. I’m a bit surprised at the odds in this one… I did not expect Faber to be a +205 favorite. Check out the rest of the WEC 48 odds here

-> May 8th – UFC 113 Machida vs. Shogun – At UFC 113 we get to see Kimbo Slice jump in and fight Matt Mitrione. I’m pretty pumped to see this card, we have Shogun, Kimbo, Koscheck and I’d really like to see Sam Stout fight again.

-> May 29th – UFC 114 – Im really, really looking forward to seeing Rampage and Rashad Evans go at it… I’ve been a big Rampage fan for the past two years, and I think this is a big fight for him. He needs a good showing to be back in the top tier of UFC fighters…

Written by Pat · Filed Under General MMA betting

Strikeforce “Nashville” Gegard Mousasi vs. King Mo Lawal Video

April 21, 2010

Written by Pat · Filed Under General MMA betting, Videos