It’s the one we’ve been waiting for ...

The best Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pay-per-view (PPV) of 2017 to date is right around the corner, as UFC 211 is set to hit the airwaves this Saturday evening (May 13, 2017) from American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic makes his second title defense against old foe Junior dos Santos in the main event, while women’s Strawweight roost ruler Joanna Jedrzejczyk faces Jessica Andrade in her fifth defense.

Demian Maia is also set to take on Jorge Masvidal in a potential Welterweight No. 1 contender eliminator match, not to mention Frankie Edgar vs. Yair Rodriguez and Henry Cejudo vs. Sergio Pettis.

UFC 211’s PPV is a bit pricey, though, so let’s see what we can do to fix that.

What Went Wrong at UFC Fight Night 108?

Dustin Ortiz was doing exactly what I expected him to: Staying busy on the fence, mixing in takedowns, defusing Brandon Moreno’s offense. Then he got kicked in the head. Marcos Rogerio de Lima was doing exactly what I expected him to, also: Controlling a hesitant Ovince St-Preux on the feet. Then he got taken down and revealed that his grappling hasn’t improved in years.

But, you already know that. You’re here to rub in my picking Jake Ellenberger over Mike Perry. If you don’t mind, I’d like to explain myself. I am of the firm belief that Ellenberger has the natural gifts to never leave the welterweight Top 10. He’s incredibly strong, surprisingly quick, has good wrestling, and hits stupidly hard. Carlos Condit can absorb the sort of punches that reconstructive dentists dream of and Ellenberger’s right hand had him folding in half to get away from it.

The thing is, while he always fails to live up to his potential, nobody he’d lost to in his streak was a bad fighter. Three of them went on to fight for the title, one of them is in an eliminator this weekend, one of them is currently beating up Middleweights, and the final one was the Strikeforce 170-pound champ. I believed that Perry would not have the patience or skill to use the sort of gameplan that Ellenberger is susceptible to. I believed that his lust for violence would lead to reckless exchanges in which Ellenberger’s concussive power would spell his end.

I was wrong. Though I had Perry just slightly losing the first round based on a few solid Ellenberger counters, he did an excellent job disrupting with his leg kicks and the final elbow was a thing of beauty. He has what Jack Slack called a “gift for violence,” the same thing that lets Matt Brown always pick just the right strike when chewing people up on the inside.

It was a bad pick. Now let’s make some good ones ...

UFC 211 Odds For The Undercard:

Dustin Poirier (-130) vs. Eddie Alvarez (+110)
Chas Skelly (-125) vs. Jason Knight (+105)
Krzysztof Jotko (-145) vs. David Branch (+125)
James Vick (-420) vs. Polo Reyes (+335)
Jared Gordon (-145) vs. Michel Quinones (+125)
Chase Sherman (-145) vs. Rashad Coulter (+125)
Cortney Casey (-130) vs. Jessica Aguilar (+110)
Gabriel Benitez (-190) vs. Enrique Barzola (+165)
Gadzhimurad Antigulov (-400) vs. Joachim Christensen (+325)

Thoughts: Lots of really well-matched fights. However, I do think we can work with Chas Skelly, Jessica Aguilar and Enrique Barzola.

Skelly is not Tatsuya Kawajiri, but he has airtight submission defense, extremely strong wrestling, and a dangerous clinch, all of which work well against Knight’s come-forward bruising. I’m a huge fan of Knight’s, but the only victim of his current streak with decent wrestling was Jim Alers and “The Beast” was hesitant to shoot. Expect no such hesitance from Skelly.

“Jag” has been out for almost two years, but the fact remains that she has more than twice the fighting experience of Casey and a resume that blows “Cast Iron’s” out of the water. Her wrestling and body of work have me leaning her way, but don’t go too crazy.

As strong as Benitez has looked against mid-tier Featherweight competition, he’s yet to beat a well-rounded opponent in UFC. Humberto Brown was a one-note wrestler, Clay Collard is a pure brawler, and Sam Sicilia is just sort of terrible. Barzola’s speed, cardio and fluidity make him worth a pick.

UFC 211 Odds For The Main Card:

Stipe Miocic (-130) vs. Junior Dos Santos (+110)
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (-155) vs. Jessica Andrade (+135)
Jorge Masvidal (-130) vs. Demian Maia (+110)
Frankie Edgar (-130) vs. Yair Rodriguez (+110)
Henry Cejudo (-440) vs. Sergio Pettis (+350)

Thoughts: Frankie Edgar is not getting anywhere near enough respect here. Rodriguez is a phenomenal talent, but there is no Featherweight cleverer in the cage than “The Answer.” Alex Caceres showed that Rodriguez can be defused with proper movement and Edgar’s damn near untouchable once he gets his groove going. He’s also tough enough to survive whatever spinning shenanigans Rodriguez slips through his guard. Bank on it.

UFC 211 Best Bets:

• Single bet -- Chas Skelly: Bet $40 to make $32
• Single bet -- Jessica Aguilar: Bet $20 to make $22
• Single bet — Enrique Barzola: Bet $20 to make $33
• Single bet — Frankie Edgar: Bet $36 to make $30

UFC 211 is must-watch television, Maniacs. See you there!

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver live UFC 211 results on fight night, 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.

Initial Investment For 2017: $200
Current Total: $154.18