Fightin' around the world ... Russell Crowe not included.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is busy once again this weekend, staging "Fight Night" events in both Sydney, Australia, and Uberlandia, Brazil, this Friday and Saturday evenings, repectively.
The former is headlined by a match between outspoken The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 3 winner Michael Bisping and final Strikeforce Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, both coming off of impressive stoppages. Ross Pearson will also face Al Iaquinta in a match up of lethal Lightweight strikers.
In the latter, former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua will look to please the local crowd against late replacement Ovince St-Preux, while Ian McCall battles John Lineker for Flyweight contendership.
We've got plenty of fights this weekend. What better way to keep your interest the whole time than to put a little money on the line?
Let's dig in:
Under Card Odds:
Sydney:
Jake Matthews (-400) vs. Vagner Rocha (+325)
Guto Inocente (-220) vs. Anthony Perosh (+180)
Dylan Andrews (-170) vs. Sam Alvey (+150)
Louis Smolka (-350) vs. Richie Vaculik (+290)
Vik Grujic (-145) vs. Chris Clements (+125)
Luke Zachrich (-310) vs. Daniel Kelly (+255)
Marcus Brimage (-550) vs. Jumabieke Tuerxun (+425)
Uberlandia:
Diego Rivas (-125) vs. Rodolfo Rubio (-105)
Caio Magalhaes (-225) vs. Trevor Smith (+175)
Dhiego Lima (-325) vs. Jorge Oliveira (+250)
Leandro Silva (-155) vs. Charlie Brenneman (+125)
Thomas de Almeida (-350) vs. Tim Gorman (+260)
Colby Covington (-450) vs. Wagner Silva Gomes (+330)
Thoughts: I like the looks of the underdogs here; while Perosh is a bit too fragile for me to recommend putting money on, the odds seem favorable for Alvey, Clements and Smith.
Andrews has very good power and solid wrestling. He just can’t seem to put it all together. He struggled mightily with Papy Abedi and seemed to run out of steam fairly quickly against Hester. Though limited, Alvey packs some real power and is dangerous through all three rounds; I believe he’s going to catch Andrews sometime in the second round and, at +150, should make you a pretty penny.
Grujic and Clements are both, by my estimation, regional-level fighters. That said, Clements should have a sizeable power advantage and ought to be the superior striker. His shaky takedown defense makes it a gamble, but I do think he has the goods to put Grujic down sometime in the first round.
If you do decide to put money down on him, as I believe you should, don’t go nuts.
Magalhaes -- despite that nice win recently -- doesn’t strike me as all that good. He’s been soundly out-wrestled multiple times in the past; Karlos Vemola steamrolled him before his cardio issues showed up again and Nick Ring held his own in the grappling department prior to a second-round knee injury. Smith is big, strong, and perfectly willing to wade through fire to get the tie-up.
I believe +175 badly undersells his ability to put Magalhaes on his back and control his way to a decision win.
Main Card Odds:
Sydney:
Luke Rockhold (-450) vs. Michael Bisping (+360)
Ross Pearson (-145) vs. Al Iaquinta (+125)
Clint Hester (-185) vs. Robert Whittaker (+160)
Soa Palelei (-150) vs. Walt Harris (+130)
Uberlandia:
Mauricio Rua (-180) vs. Ovince St. Preux (+150)
Ian McCall (-185) vs. John Lineker (+155)Warlley Alves (-240) vs. Alan Jouban (+180)
Leon Edwards (-195) vs. Claudio Henrique da Silva (+160)
Nina Ansaroff (-160) vs. Juliana Lima (+135)
Thoughts:
I believe in John Lineker.
For all his weight issues, he is far-and-away my favorite UFC fighter to watch. He pushes an insane pace, has a concrete chin and packs frightening power in his hands. McCall, while an excellent fighter, has a tendency to start slow and can be dragged into a brawl. Against Lineker, this is a recipe for an insurmountable early deficit.
Lineker’s concrete jaw and concrete hands should carry him to the upset.
UFC Fight Night 55, 56 Best Bets:
- Single bet -- Sam Alvey: Bet $30 to make $45
- Single bet -- Chris Clements: Bet $20 to make $25
- Single bet -- Trevor Smith: Bet $40 to make $70
- Single bet -- John Lineker: Bet $30 to make $46.50
Several fun match ups and plenty of potential for incredible finishes. Looks like a fun weekend to me, Maniacs.
Remember that MMAmania.com will offer live UFC Fight Night 55 results and UFC Fight Night 56 results this weekend, which is as good a place as any to talk about all the action inside the Octagon, as well as what you've got riding on the sportsbook.
Running Profit For 2014 Based On This Column: $166.11