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Oddsmakers for tonight: Strikeforce- Tate vs Rousey

rayang — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:47:43 +0000

Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate main event Strikeforce tonight in one of the most anticipated women’s fights of all time. Here’s a look at the current betting lines:

Odds from Bodog. Accurate as of 0645 March 3, 2012

Ronda Rousey (-310) vs Miesha Tate (+240)
Pick: Tate
People seem to be overlooking the fact that Tate is much more experienced, better at striking, and isn’t simply going to get tossed/taken down as easily as Rousey’s other opponents. We also don’t know how Rousey reacts to getting hit or how she would deal with positional disadvantage.

Josh Thomson (-185) vs KJ Noons (+150)
Pick: Thomson
Thomson is a former 155 pound title contender, though he has been inactive with injuries. Still, he’s got a stellar record in his last dozen fights, and has the striking and style of striking to deal with Noons.

Paul Daley (-375) vs Kazuo Misaki (+285)
Pick: Daley
Misaki is good but he is probably going to get into a brawl here with Daley, and Daley is a powerful striker. This is also Misaki’s 1st time fighting in the US and fighting at 170.

Ronaldo Souza “Jacare” (-700) vs Bristol Marunde (+450)
Pick: Jacare
Huge mismatch here, Jacare by whatever he wants.

Lumumba Sayers (-170) vs Scott Smith (+140)
Pick: Smith
Smith is an aging vet who has taken a lot of punishment, but he probably still has enough to beat someone like Sayers.

Sarah Kaufman (-600) vs Alexis Davis (+400)
Pick: Kaufman
Kaufman beat Tate in the Rock-Paper-Scissors era of the women’s bantamweight division. She is highly motivated to rematch Tate or shut Ronda Rousey up.

Oddsmakers for tonight: UFC on FX- Alves vs Kampmann

rayang — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:35:13 +0000

The UFC makes its 3rd appearance in Australia tonight with an FX card that features Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann in the main event. Here’s a look at the current betting lines:

Odds from Bodog. Accurate as of 0730 March 2, 2012

Thiago Alves (-135) vs Martin Kampmann (+105)
Pick: Alves
Alves is probably still good enough to beat virtually all welterweights, but hasn’t had a quality win in awhile. Kampmann is good, but doesn’t have the power of Alves and doesn’t use his grappling very well. Alves has the clinch game and the most vicious leg kicks at 170.

Demetrious Johnson (-305) vs Ian McCall (+235)
Pick: McCall
Johnson is fast. McCall is just as fast. Mighty Mouse has some trouble with good wrestlers, and McCall is a good wrestler on top of probably being a better striker.

Joseph Benavidez (-900) vs Yasuhiro Urushitani (+550)
Pick: Benavidez
Benavidez was a top guy at 135, and should probably be favoured to win this flyweight tournament. Urushitani is good, but has almost never fought outside of Japan. The line is ridiculous, but as Benavidez has the best chance of winning the whole thing, go with him.

Court McGee (-145) vs Constantinos Philippou (-115)
Pick: McGee
McGee is probably the better fighter. Philippou has great power, but he should get beat by McGee’s wrestling.

James Te Huna (-300) vs Aaron Rosa (+240)
Pick: Te Huna
This fight should not last long, and Te Huna’s power and bullrush should be enough to win.

Nick Penner (-135) vs Anthony Perosh (+105)
Pick: Perosh
Perosh seems to be getting better, while Penner has beaten…Butterbean. Perosh beat a better striker in Cyrille Diabate in his last fight.

Cole Miller (-400) vs Steven Siler (+300)
Pick: Miller
Miller has fought some pretty tough opposition. Also, Miller is going to be motivated to beat up Siler in Siler’s UFC debut with the whole ‘he beat up my brother’ thing going on.

Kyle Noke (-275) vs Andrew Craig (+215)
Pick: Noke
Craig is a pretty decent prospect. Noke has legit skills and could still be a pretty good fighter in the division.

TJ Waldburger (-115) vs Jake Hecht (-115)
Pick: Hecht
Hecht should be able to pickup the knockout here

Mackens Semerzier (-165) vs Daniel Pineda (+135)
Pick: Semerzier
These 2 guys have similar records but Semerzier has faced a higher level of opposition.

Shawn Jordan (-210) vs Oli Thompson (+170)
Pick: Jordan
Jordan’s got the experience and is a good wrestler with good submissions and good striking. Thompson is a strongman who isn’t proven as a fighter yet.

Video: Bob Sapp taps to strikes in 15 seconds

rayang — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:27:19 +0000

Dan Henderson recently got into a tiff with Rampage Jackson over Rampage’s showing at UFC 144, arguing that Rampage just showed up for a cheque. Speaking of showing up just to get paid, Bob Sapp was also recently in action. Here, he is defeated by Volkan Duzgun via tapout due to strikes.

It’s really quite sad what has become of Sapp. At one point, it seemed like he had serious talent- he beat Ernesto Hoost twice in kickboxing matches, and was compiling decent records in kickboxing and MMA. However, once people figured out how to deal with his opening bell bull rush, Sapp began a long slide. He’s now 11-14 in kickboxing and 11-11 in MMA, and has lost his last 5 MMA fights.

Sapp is fighting again in less than 2 weeks. He’ll be fighting in the debut of India’s Super Fight League against James Thompson.

Nostalgia: Hayato Sakurai vs Frank Trigg

rayang — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:28:22 +0000

At one point, Hayato Sakurai could have been considered a top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He was 16-0-2 and the Shooto 168 pound champion. In late 2000, he took on Frank Trigg, who was 7-0. Trigg of course would go on to challenge Matt Hughes twice, leading to one of the most memorable moments in UFC history.

This fight took place in Japan in 2000 and was a back and forth affair that saw great counterstrikes, ground reversals, and Sakurai getting beaten while hanging out of the ring. Eventually, Sakurai’s knees made the difference.

Sakurai’s 1st loss was to Anderson Silva. At that point, he went down to lightweight division and went on to have a strong career as a contender. Trigg may have lost this fight, but he also went on to have a pretty good run at welterweight, even if he did get RNC’d a lot.

What’s next?: UFC 144 post-mortem

rayang — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:02:31 +0000

Frankie Edgar was unable to keep his name in the pound-for-pound greats discussion, as he lost a decision to Ben Henderson at last night’s UFC event in Japan. It was a close fight that could have gone either way, and a rematch would be a winner for viewers. Edgar was bloody and battered at the end of the fight like he often is, but had more takedowns and actually landed more strikes by volume.

If Edgar does not get an immediate rematch, there is no shortage of challenging opponents at 155 pounds. Edgar vs Clay Guida, or Edgar vs Donald Cerrone would mean fights between 2 combatants coming off losses who are known for exciting matches. Edgar could fight the winner of Nate Diaz vs Jim Miller for the next title shot. Additionally, Edgar could drop to featherweight, which would be his natural weight class. Dana White has stated in the past that if Edgar dropped down, he would get an immediate title fight with Jose Aldo.

Anthony Pettis knocked out Joe Lauzon, and Dana White is musing about a Henderson-Pettis matchup. If you recall, Henderson and Pettis fought at the final WEC event and Pettis landed the Showtime kick en route to becoming the last WEC lightweight champion. Pettis was supposed to get a UFC title shot, but the Edgar-Gray Maynard trilogy put this on hold, and Pettis lost a fight against Clay Guida. A Henderson-Pettis rematch, this time for the UFC title, would also be a treat for everyone and it would bring things full circle.

In other action, if you had said that Mark Hunt would be in the mix in the UFC, people would have laughed at you. Without a knockout over Cheick Kongo, Hunt has 3 wins in a row, with the last 2 coming over some pretty decent opponents (Kongo and Ben Rothwell). While his ground game still probably isn’t good, he clearly has the striking (not to mention chin) to engage in standup wars with anyone. It’s time for Hunt to fight a top 10 guy, perhaps have Hunt vs Shane Carwin in a battle of superheavyweight hitters.

Also, just how funny is it that the Pride guy and the WEC guys won?

Oddsmakers for tonight: UFC 144- Edgar vs Henderson

rayang — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:32:38 +0000

The UFC returns to Japan for the 1st time in more than a decade tonight, with a main event featuring Frankie Edgar defending the lightweight championship against Ben Henderson. Here’s a look at the current betting lines:

Odds from BetUS Sportsbook. Accurate as of 0730 February 25, 2012

Frankie Edgar (-135) vs Ben Henderson (+105)
Pick: Henderson
Henderson is an opponent that Frankie can’t outwork and clearly outspeed. Henderson is a much better striker than Gray Maynard, and has been highly impressive since the WEC merger. Edgar is a great fighter but he does get hit a lot, and Henderson isn’t going to gas in trying to finish.

Rampage Jackson (-260) vs Ryan Bader (+200)
Pick: Rampage
Rampage looked terrible at the weighin, which could affect this fight. However, Rampage is still simply a better fighter than Bader.

Cheick Kongo (-320) vs Mark Hunt (+240)
Pick: Hunt
Fun matchup here. Kongo is a good striker who tries takedowns when facing good and better strikers. Hunt has good takedown defence and one of the best chins of all time in MMA.

Jake Shields (-350) vs Yoshihiro Akiyama (+250)
Pick: Shields
Shields is still an elite fighter. He’s got a better wrestling/ground game, and better cardio. Akiyama is finally fighting at the weight class he should be at, but he’s just not as good as someone like Shields.

Yushin Okami (-375) vs Tim Boetsch (+275)
Pick: Okami
Okami is the best middleweight not named Anderson Silva.

Hatsu Hioki (-175) vs Bart Palaszewski (+145)
Pick: Hioki
Hioki is a great clinch guy who uses that to set up the ground game. Bartimus is somewhat more well-rounded, but can he fend off Hioki while scoring points at the same time? Hioki won’t get submitted here, and he has a great chin.

Anthony Pettis (-240) vs Joe Lauzon (+190)
Pick: Pettis
It could have been Pettis fighting in the main event, but it was not to be. Lauzon is an exciting fighter, but he isn’t top 10 like Pettis, and has a tendency to flame out after starting with a bunch of flurries to set up the ground game.

Takanori Gomi (-220) vs Eiji Mitsuoka (+175)
Pick: Gomi
While you get the feeling that Gomi is done and Mitsuoka is a solid vet, Mitsuoka’s takedowns aren’t as good as Gomi’s takedown defence.

Norifumi Yamamoto (-350) vs Vaughn Lee (+250)
Pick: Yamamoto
If Kid loses here, he’s got to be the biggest bust in UFC history if he isn’t already.

Riki Fukuda (-300) vs Steve Cantwell (+220)
Pick: Cantwell
Fukuda got injured in a car accident, subsequently had a long layoff, and has been wandering around camps for this fight. Cantwell has been disappointing, but at 185 he should do fairly well.

Takeya Mizugaki (-220) vs Chris Cariaso (+175)
Pick: Mizugaki
Mizugaki has the better striking, grappling, reach/size advantage, and is tougher.

Tiequan Zhang (-350) vs Issei Tamura (+250)
Pick: Zhang
Tamura is a late replacement. Zhang is still quite raw for the UFC level, but his skills are slightly better than Tamura’s.

UFC 144: Manga Version

rayang — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:15:48 +0000

Dana White often clashes with MMA fans, but he gave his seal of approval for this fan-made video promoting the UFC’s return to Japan. Someone made a manga style video eaturing Frankie Edgar, Ben Henderson, Rampage Jackson, Ryan Bader, Bruce Buffer, Joe Rogan, the Octagon Girls, and the “Let’s Fighting Love” song from South Park:

And here’s an official ad from the UFC:

Nostalgia: Showtime presents Kimbo Slice et al. in the worst promo ever

rayang — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:19:32 +0000

At one point, Showtime and EliteXC had a highly marketable fighter by the name of Kimbo Slice. Showtime also runs boxing events, and at the time of Slice’s peak, a boxer named Samuel Peter was doing well, having beaten James Toney twice and being in line to fight the Klitschko brothers.

So of course, Showtime produces what is possibly the worst promo ever, featuring Slice, Peter, and a lot of ring girls. How could this formula go wrong? Well, just watch:

Video: The bonuses from UFC on Fuel

rayang — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:36:38 +0000

Most people do not get Fuel TV (fortunately Canadians were hooked up through Sportsnet), so if you missed the UFC’s 1^st event on Fuel, Fox Sports has put up the highlights featuring the fights that netted bonuses for the fighters.

Diego Sanchez vs Jake Ellenberger highlights (Fight of the Night):

Stipe Milocic vs Philip De Fries (Knockout of the Night):

Ivan Menjivar vs John Albert (Submission of the Night, and a good candidate for Round of the Year):

Oddsmakers for tonight: UFC on Fuel- Sanchez vs Ellenberger

rayang — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:11:30 +0000

The UFC makes its debut on Fuel TV tonight, with a main event featuring Diego Sanchez taking on Jake Ellenberger. Here’s a look at the current betting lines:

Odds from BetUS Sportsbook. Accurate as of 0615 February 15, 2012

Jake Ellenberger (-400) vs Diego Sanchez (+300)
Pick: Ellenberger
Is Sanchez really back and ready to make a run at welterweight? He is a grinder, and Ellenberger had some trouble with Carlos Eduardo Rocha. Ellenberger does have the whole upward trajectory thing going for him, and his power is undeniable.

Dave Herman (-155) vs Stefan Struve (+125)
Pick: Struve
Herman looked good in his UFC debut, but Struve does well against these newcomers. If Herman takes this to the ground, Struve’s ridiculous length will cause serious problems.

Aaron Simpson (-115) vs Ronny Markes (-115)
Pick: Simpson
Tough one to pick. Markes has a great future, Simpson has a good win streak going with his excellent wrestling. At this point go with Simpson and his ability to take Markes down and keep him there.

Stipe Milocic (-500) vs Philip De Fries (+350)
Pick: Milocic
Milocic was a great NCAA-level wrestler, and has developed a good striking game. De Fries needs a submission to win.

TJ Dillashaw (-260) vs Walel Watson (+200)
Pick: Watson
The Gazelle is a long fighter who excels off his back. Dillashaw also has a habit of keeping his hands low, and if he doesn’t fix this soon he will end up getting stopped.

Ivan Menjivar (-280) vs John Albert (+210)
Pick: Menjivar
Menjivar is a tough veteran with a well-rounded game. Albert is a recent TUFer.

Jonathan Brookins (-230) vs Vagner Rocha (+180)
Pick: Rocha
Rocha is a fantastic grappler and has only lost to fighters who have significantly outsized him. Featherweight should be the appropriate class of Rocha.

Buddy Roberts (-155) vs Sean Loeffler (+125)
Pick: Roberts
Loeffler is similar to Jason Reinhardt record-wise. Roberts has more serious wins.

Anton Kuivanen (+120) vs Justin Salas (-150)
Pick: Salas
This is a battle between 2 well-regarded prospects. Salas’ should be able to get the win here with wrestling.

Bernardo Magalhaes (-120) vs Tim Means (-110)
Pick: Magalhaes
Means is coming in on short notice and with a fight just 1 month ago. Magalhaes has great top control, and Means needs to land something when the fight is still on the feet.