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Sydney, Australia, plays host to a Heavyweight showdown this Saturday (Nov. 18, 2017), but not the one the world’s leading mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion wanted. Having taken no damage against Walt Harris, Fabricio Werdum has replaced Mark Hunt against Marcin Tybura in the main event of UFC Fight Night 121, which will take place inside Qudos Bank Arena.
Local girls Bec Rawlings and Jessica-Rose Clark do battle in FOX Sports 1’s co-feature, while Tim Means throws down with Belal Muhammad and Jake Matthews returns to Welterweight to face Bojan Velickovic.
Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1 are all you need to watch the whole thing, and here’s what you need to turn a profit from it:
What Went Wrong at UFC Fight Night 120?
Junior Albini came into the cage looking like he was wearing a diaper and then sleepwalked through the second two rounds. Arlovski has folded under heavy pressure over and over and yet Albini was content to plod forward without letting his hands go for a significant chunk of the fight. Why!
Michel Quinones did far worse than I thought he would, as well, but that pick was predicated on Sage Northcutt having one of his customary mental lapses, which didn’t happen. So it goes ...
UFC Fight Night 121 Odds For The Undercard:
Ryan Benoit (-255) vs. Ashkan Mokhtarian (+215)
Will Brooks (-570) vs. Nik Lentz (+435)
Adam Wieczorek (-155) vs. Anthony Hamilton (+135)
Frank Camacho (-130) vs. Damien Brown (+110)
Nadia Kassem (-150) vs. Alex Chambers (+130)
Eric Shelton (-350) vs. Jenel Lausa (+290)
Tai Tuivasa (-165) vs. Rashad Coulter (+145)
Thoughts: Ryan Benoit, Frank “The Crank” and Eric Shelton, come on down.
Benoit is limited technique-wise and isn’t improving at a high enough pace to make a run at the elite feasible, but he’s a quality scrambler with legitimate lights-out power in his hands. Mokhtarian, on the other hand, looked kind of dismal at everything in his UFC debut and figures to be at a sizable athletic disadvantage.
Benoit thumps him early.
Damien Brown is fun to watch and you can’t deny his grit, but it’s worth remembering that his UFC wins came over Cesar Arzamendia — bearer of a nearly unmatched combination of terrible chin and terrible striking defense — and Jon Tuck, who gassed after three minutes. Camacho’s a heavier hitter and more credentialed on the ground, not to mention capable of standing up to a brick-handed welterweight.
He overpowers Brown wherever the fight goes.
Shelton should be 1-1 in UFC and I will not budge on this. He deserved the win over Jarred Brooks last time out. Even in the fights he did lose, he gave Tim Elliott and Alexandre Pantoja everything they could handle. Lausa’s solid, but he is simply not on that level overall and his takedown defense is unlikely to hold up.
UFC Fight Night 121 Odds For The Main Card:
Fabricio Werdum (-360) vs. Marcin Tybura (+300)
Bec Rawlings (-155) vs. Jessica-Rose Clark (+135)
Tim Means (-235) vs. Belal Muhammad (+195)
Jake Matthews (-145) vs. Bojan Velickovic (+125)
Elias Theodorou (-250) vs. Daniel Kelly (+210)
Alex Volkanovski (-600) vs. Shane Young (+450)
Thoughts: Yeah, I don’t see it. The only conceivable bargain is Bojan Velickovic, who is pretty mediocre but colossal for Welterweight and going up against a rising Lightweight with takedown defense issues. Maybe a pittance on “Serbian Steel.”
UFC Fight Night 121 Best Bets:
- Single bet -- Frank Camacho: Bet $150 to make $115.38
- Parlay -- Ryan Benoit and Eric Shelton: Bet $127 to make $100
- Single bet -- Bojan Velickovic: Bet $40 to make $50
UFC Fight Night 121 is short on star power, but there are some solid prospects in the line up and several fights worth watching. See you Saturday, Maniacs.
Initial Investment For 2017: $200 (+$400 infusion)
Current Total: $361.41
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