No "Bones" about it ... we've got ourselves some incredible mixed martial arts (MMA) fights this upcoming Saturday night (Sept. 27, 2014).
Despite losing its original headliner, Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones to injury, UFC 178 hits MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, this weekend with a stacked line up. Demetrious Johnson defends his Flyweight title against Chris Cariaso in the main event, while Donald Cerrone welcomes former Bellator Lightweight kingpin Eddie Alvarez to vicious Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 155-pound division.
Elsewhere on the pay-per-view (PPV) card, American Top Team's Dustin Poirier will attempt to silence the rising Conor McGregor and Tim Kennedy will take on Cuban Olympian Yoel Romero in a clash of surging Strikeforce Middleweight imports.
Yum.
It'll cost you at least $50 to check out these fights on PPV, so here's how to earn that back ... with interest.
UFC 178 Odds For The Under Card:
Dominick Cruz (-400) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (+325)
Jorge Masvidal (-360) vs. James Krause (+300)
Stephen Thompson (-350) vs. Patrick Cote (+290)
John Howard (-190) vs. Brian Ebersole (+165)
Kevin Lee (-175) vs. Jon Tuck (+155)
Cody Gibson (-190) vs. Manny Gamburyan (+165)
Thoughts: The only line that really stands out to me is Kevin Lee vs. Jon Tuck because I expect Lee to win with more ease than his -175 odds suggest.
As skilled as Tuck is, he has a history of fading late and had nothing to offer his best foe in Norman Parke. Lee has shown excellent opportunistic grappling and a relentless takedown attack that seems well-suited to sapping Tuck’s gas tank. I’d favor his top game to overcome Tuck’s bottom attack and don’t believe Tuck has the wrestling to consistently put Lee on his back.
Lee seems like a solid parlay stuffer.
UFC 178 Odds For The Main Card:
Demetrious Johnson (-1375) vs. Chris Cariaso (+900)
Donald Cerrone (-110) vs. Eddie Alvarez (-110)
Conor McGregor (-265) vs. Dustin Poirier (+225)
Yoel Romero (-145) vs. Tim Kennedy (+125)
Cat Zingano (-275) vs. Amanda Nunes (+235)
Thoughts: Were it not for the fact that nobody can lock in a rear-naked choke on a wounded opponent like Cerrone, I’d probably be all over Alvarez. Alas, Alvarez gets dropped too easily for me to have any confidence there.
Instead, Romero and Nunes are the best values.
Kennedy is going to look at a sizeable speed, power and technical striking disadvantage against Romero, not to mention the Cuban’s massive strength. Against Brad Tavares, Romero showed that he was more than capable of outwrestling a strong defensive grappler when out to wrestle. Whether he does the same or again looks to strike and scramble up when brought down, though, I feel he’s a horrific match up for Kennedy.
Romero should pick up his fourth straight UFC win ... so be sure to profit from it.
Zingano is skilled and dangerous, but I don’t understand the reason she’s such a large favorite. She has not fought in almost 1.5 years and -- even in a winning effort -- struggled in the first two rounds of her Octagon debut, getting taken down and outstruck by Miesha Tate.
Nunes has proven lethal from top position and packs terrific power in her hands. For a fight that I see as closer to 50-50, Nunes being more than a 2-1 underdog strikes me as a quality bargain.
UFC 178 Best Bets:
- Parlay -- Kevin Lee and Yoel Romero: Bet $40 to make $66.40
- Single bet -- Amanda Nunes: Bet $30 to make $70.50
This is, simply put, an awesome card.
Running Profit For 2014 Based On This Column: $61.50