UFC Middleweight bout:  Jason Miller vs. Michael Bisping

Odds: (+140 Miller / -170 Bisping )

Betting Pick:  Miller

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After a contentious season of coaching opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter, Middleweights Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Michael “The Count” Bisping will finally meet in the main event. This is a very interesting matchup for a variety of reason. For one thing, these two seem to have a genuine disdain for another. For another, their styles are contrasting and it will be interesting to see how they match up. Miller is a prolific submission grappler with good technical Muay Thai, and Bisping is a very technical boxer with ever-improving wrestling and fairly good submissions of his own.

Michael “The Count” Bisping made his way into the UFC after winning the third season of The Ultimate Fighter, and has had a very successful career in two weight divisions. He is a very technically proficient striker, but he has very little knockout power. Still, he is quite capable of picking opponents apart with his hands and beating them to the punch consistently. His wrestling has improved greatly over his career, and he actually has rather good jiu-jitsu, although he would be wise to avoid any extended grappling with Miller. Bisping’s best chance to win this fight is to try and maintain range and use his jab to keep Miller at bay and set up his combos. He has enough wrestling to take Miller down and score points, but if he tries to sit inside Miller’s guard he will most likely pay the price.

Jason “Mayhem” Miller is making his return to the UFC, where he formerly competed as a Welterweight. After washing out of the company, he put together very successful stints in Icon Sport and DREAM, fighting a lot of top-notch opponents and enjoying a lot of success. Miller is a very good grappler who has submissions from every position and very good positioning, sweeps, and escapes. His Muay Thai is technically very solid, but he isn’t the most powerful striker in the world. It is unlikely that either one of them is going to knock the other out, but Miller would probably be wise to avoid boxing too much with Bisping, who is the crisper and quicker puncher. Miller might have trouble shooting in for takedowns on Bisping, but on the ground I think his jiu-jitsu is substantially more effective and he should be able to control Bisping relatively easily. If Mayhem can close the distance in the striking game and use the clinch to beat Bisping up and set up takedowns, he will be able to work Bisping over from top position very effectively.

This should be a great fight. Neither guy has much knockout power but both like to let their hands go and both guys are active and effective on the ground. In the end, I think the edge has to go to Miller. Bisping is the more technical striker but Miller is very effective on his feet as well and I think Miller is the better grappler by a substantial margin. Bisping has underrated jiu-jitsu and might be able to survive on the ground, but I think Miller will control the action and earn a unanimous decision.

Prediction:  Jason “Mayhem” Miller via Unanimous Decision.

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UFC Lightweight bout:  Yves Edwards vs. Tony Ferguson

Odds: (+260 Edwards /-340 Ferguson )

Betting Pick:  Ferguson

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In a featured Lightweight matchup, long-time veteran Yves Edwards will face tough boxer and Ultimate Fighter winner Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson, who is riding a 5 fight win streak. Both of these guys like to stand and trade shots and both of them have serious knockout power, so this should be an extremely exciting affair. Ferguson is young and has looked dominant recently, but Edwards is a very talented veteran with extremely dynamic and unorthodox striking, so this is going to be a tough challenge for the young boxer.

Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson was the Lightweight champion of Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter. An extremely tough and technically proficient boxer, Ferguson has solid technique, a good chin, and a lot of knockout power in his hands. He doesn’t have much in the way of takedown defense or a ground game, but he has won 5 consecutive fights with stoppages on strikes and against Edwards it is unlikely he is going to have to avoid takedowns anyway. This is most likely going to be a kickboxing match and Ferguson has the technique and the punching power to give Edwards serious problems in that kind of fight.

Yves Edwards, the self-proclaimed master of Thug-Jitsu, is a long-time veteran who will be competing in his 60th fight as a professional. Edwards is a very effective striker who can end fights with punches or kicks and who actually has very good submissions as well. It is rare that Edwards tries to take an opponent down despite his solid grappling, preferring to try and knock them out. His striking is quick, accurate, unorthodox, powerful, and hard to defend against. He is known for flashy strikes, but he is fundamentally very sound as well.

This should be an extremely entertaining bout. Any time you put two skilled strikers with knockout power together it is going to be exciting, especially in the Lightweight division where the speed and athleticism are so impressive. Edwards is more dynamic and has great kicks as well as punches, but Ferguson is younger, stronger, and a more proficient pure boxer. In the end I think the edge goes to Ferguson, who is the more compact puncher and who is younger and fresher. Edwards has been around the block and is always a danger, but Ferguson hits hard and has the more solid chin, which should allow him to earn the T/KO victory.

Prediction:  Tony Ferguson 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…

Current  TUF 14 Finale Betting Odds – On December 3, 2011, the 14th season of  The Ultimate Fighter will come to a close with a live finale at The Pearl at The Palms Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, team coaches Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Michael “The Count” Bisping will finally meet. Both of these guys are versatile and effective, but Bisping’s striking is superior while “Mayhem” clearly has the better ground game. Their stint as coaches has created some legitimate animosity between these two, so that should add another layer of intrigue to an already compelling main event.

Michael Bisping vs. Jason Miller

Bodog.com Odds

• Bisping   (-170)
• Miller      (+140)

Betonline.com Odds

• Bisping
• Miller

Yves Edwards vs. Tony Ferguson

Bodog.com Odds

• Edwards     (+260)
• Ferguson   (-340)

Betonline.com Odds

• Edwards
• Ferguson

Dennis Bermudez vs. Diego Brandao

Bodog.com Odds

• Bermudez   (+280)
• Brandao      (-370)

TJ Dillashaw vs. John Dodson

Bodog.com Odds

• Dillashaw   (-225)
• Dodson       (+175)

Johnny Bedford vs. Louis Gaudinot

Bodog.com Odds

• Bedford      (-225)
• Gaudinot   (+175)

Preliminary Card:

Marcus Brimage vs. Stephen Bass

Bodog.com Odds

• Brimage  (+140)
• Bass          (-170)

Dustin Pague vs. John Albert

Bodog.com Odds

• Pague   (-300)
• Albert  (+230)

Roland Delorme vs. Josh Ferguson

Bodog.com Odds

• Delorme    (+105)
• Ferguson  (-135)

Steven Siler vs. Josh Clopton

Bodog.com Odds

• Siler          (-150)
• Clopton   (+120)

Bryan Caraway vs. Dustin Neace

Bodog.com Odds

• Caraway  (-400)
• Neace        (+300)

In another scheduled bout, long-time veteran Yves Edwards will put his Thug-Jitsu to the test against tough striker Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson. Both of these guys have serious knockout power, so this should be a great fight. Also featured will be a few unannounced bouts and, obviously, the finals of The Ultimate Fighter Season 14.

Make sure to Check back with us closer to fight night as I will have updated UFC TUF 14 Finale Odds plus Fight Predictions.  And to add a little excitement to your fight night, you can bet on this fight at Bodog.com Odds.