Latest UFC 175 odds and betting guide

History (maybe) in the making.

Following in the footsteps of Randy Couture and B.J. Penn, former Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida will try to conquer a second weight class this Saturday evening (July 5, 2014) at UFC 175 from Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. He'll have to get through Middleweight champion Chris Weidman, though, who is looking to defend both his belt and his country's honor on this most patriotic of weekends.

The backstory is ripe, too, with "All American" last seen defeating Machida's teammate, Anderson Silva, twice in a row.

Women's Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will also stand her American ground against a foreign menace, taking on Canada's Alexis Davis with her 135-pound belt on the line in the co-main event.

It should be a fun night of fights to highlight a long weekend, so let's see if can't make it even better.

UFC 175 Odds For The Under Card:

Urijah Faber (-1580) vs. Alex Caceres (+750)
Ildemar Alcantara (-160) vs. Kenny Robertson (+120)
Chris Camozzi (-260) vs. Bruno Santos (+180)
George Roop (-210) vs. Rob Font (+160)
Guilherme Vasconcelos (-170) vs. Luke Zachrich (+130)
Bubba Bush (-180) vs. Kevin Casey (+140)

Thoughts: My favorite (heavy sarcasm): Debuting fighters and cardio issues. Therefore, let’s just work with known properties: Robertson and Santos.

Though Alcantara was a top fighter on the Brazilian circuit, he’s not his brother. On the contrary, he’s slow, awkward on the feet, and somewhat underwhelming in the grappling department. Robertson, while a limited striker, has solid wrestling and should be able to handle Alcantara on the mat. I believe Robertson’s takedowns should be able to overcome the Brazilian’s size advantage, so see if you can’t use that to help pay off your fireworks debt.

I will never stoop so low as to say that Santos isn’t cripplingly boring, but he is pretty good at making things cripplingly boring in his favor. Though Camozzi is the better striker of the two, I don’t think he’ll be able to keep Santos from gluing himself to Camozzi’s leg and grinding him into … well ... not oblivion, but something that gets the judges’ attention.

Accordingly, a moderate bet on "Carioca" seems to be the ticket.

UFC 175 Odds For The Main card:

Chris Weidman (-200) vs. Lyoto Machida (+170)
Ronda Rousey (-1750) vs. Alexis Davis (+850)
Stefan Struve (-195) vs. Matt Mitrione (+155)
Uriah Hall (-425) vs. Thiago Santos (+305)
Russell Doane (-140) vs. Marcus Brimage (EVEN)

Thoughts: Nothing terribly enticing in the first four fights, but I do feel like the lines on Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida should be a bit closer. Weidman, while a beast, will be giving up quite a bit of speed to the former 205-pound champ. In addition, Machida is notoriously difficult to take down. I’d pick Weidman over Vitor Belfort and most of the rest of the division, but I do think "The Dragon" is a bad matchup for him and is worth a small investment.

UFC 175 Best Bets:

• Single bet -- Kenny Robertson: Bet $50 to make $60
• Single bet -- Bruno Santos: Bet $30 to make $51
• Single bet -- Lyoto Machida: Bet $50 to make $85

Two title fights to complement the FREEDOM ... works for me. See you there, Maniacs.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver live UFC 175: "Weidman vs. Machida" results on fight night RIGHT HERE, 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: -$381.00