UFC 108 was awesome, eh?
The injury bug has once again munched another Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pay-per-view (PPV) event, and once again, Rashad Evans will sit atop it.
UFC 161 is set to hit MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, this weekend (Sat., June 15, 2013) with "Suga" booked to battle former dual Pride FC champion, Dan Henderson, in a heavy-hitting Light Heavyweight mixed martial arts (MMA) match up. Evans and Henderson, coming off tough losses to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Lyoto Machida, respectively, will look to take out their frustrations on one another, stepping up when Renan Barao's title defense with Eddie Wineland was scrambled because of injury.
In addition, Roy Nelson will meet former baseball star and boxing Golden Gloves winner Stipe Miocic in a Heavyweight showdown, while a pair of female submission specialists collide in a Bantamweight match between Alexis Davis and Dr. Rosi Sexton.
Despite the shake up, UFC 161 still has significant potential for a solid night of fights, as well as the potential for cold-hard cash.
Follow me below for a closer look at the latest odds behind -- and best bets for -- UFC 161: "Evans vs. Henderson."
And as for my performance last week, let's just make like Shane Carwin's steroid ties and pretend it never happened. Or, just blame Hemmi for jinxing it.
UFC 161 Odds For The Under Card:
Tyron Woodley (-175) vs. Jake Shields (+155)
Sam Stout (-245) vs. James Krause (+175)
Sean Pierson (-165) vs. Kenny Robertson (+125)
Roland Delorme (-190) vs. Edwin Figueroa (+150)
John Maguire (-280) vs. Mitch Clarke (+200)
Yves Jabouin (-350) vs. Dustin Pague (+250)
Thoughts: Two favorites, one underdog this time -- Woodley, Krause and Delorme are your men.
I don’t know if there’s something in the water or what, but you can’t argue that Shields has been anything but awful in the Octagon. I scored the Martin Kampmann fight for the Dane and both the Yoshihiro Akiyama and Ed Herman fights were agonizingly dull. He’s just so damn slow and powerless on the feet.
"T-Wood" isn’t a paragon of technique, but he’s extremely strong, very fast and hard as hell to take down. Unless something goes disastrously wrong, it’s hard to picture him losing this fight.
I’m not advising a huge bet on Krause, but he’s got a lot going for him. Stout has decisively won all of one fight in the last three years while Krause has been on an absolute tear since 2011. Krause is also five inches taller and has a superior submission game. This is a pick-em fight for me which, according to my math, makes betting on the underdog a worthwhile investment.
Look, take the Delorme recommendation with a grain of salt. I don’t like Figueroa; in fact, I think he stinks. But, he does hit hard; the thing is, so does Nick Denis, who got choked out after Delorme took his best shots. Yes, Francisco Rivera put him down, but it took a hell of a lot of thumping to do so and Rivera’s a much tighter puncher than Figueroa.
In my opinion, anchoring some bets with Delorme wouldn’t be the worst idea.
UFC 161 Odds For The Main Card:
Rashad Evans (-125) vs. Dan Henderson (+105)
Roy Nelson (-255) vs. Stipe Miocic (+215)
Ryan Jimmo (-250) vs. Igor Pokrajac (+210)
Alexis Davis (-380) vs. Rosi Sexton (+315)
Pat Barry (-120) vs. Shawn Jordan (EVEN)
Thoughts: I’m not really seeing much value here. If Miocic fights a perfect fight, he might be able to pot-shot Nelson for a decision, but that’s incredibly unlikely. If I knew Barry could keep it standing, I’d put some on him, but I think I’ve had my fill of basing bets entirely on takedown defense.
If you’re set on betting on SOMEone on the main card, make it Hendo. He hits crazy hard and Evans, though he has solid recovery ability, isn’t the hardest guy to hurt. Still, don’t make it too much, as I’ve also had my fill of betting on guys with cardio issues (so help me I’m this close to forcing Rafael Cavalcante and Karlos Vemola to spend hours on a treadmill at gunpoint).
Best Bets For UFC 161:
- Parlay: Tyron Woodley and Roland Delorme -- Bet $40 to make $56
- Single bet: Roland Delorme -- Bet $70 to make $36.84
- Single bet: James Krause -- Bet $25 to make $43.75
- Single bet: Dan Henderson -- Bet $20 to make $21
There are several finishers about to duke it out. We might just have something solid in store.
See you Saturday, Maniacs.