Saturday, June 7, 2008

UFC blog for latest news, videos, results, betting odds, fighter interviews and MMA rumors - UFCmania.com

UFC blog for latest news, videos, results, betting odds, fighter interviews and MMA rumors - UFCmania.com

Tim Sylvia talks Fedor Emelianenko Affliction MMA fight on July 19 (Video)

Posted: 06 Jun 2008 10:36 PM CDT

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Report: Anderson Silva mulls offer to fight at light heavyweight

Posted: 06 Jun 2008 09:50 PM CDT

anderson Silva

Props: WrestingObserver.com

Quoteworthy:

“He [Dana White] promised an announcement that will blow people’s minds on Thursday. Don’t necessarily read anything into this as being the announcement, but I do know that they have talked with Anderson Silva about being on the card and fighting at light heavy and he wasn’t opposed to it, but there was nothing agreed to as of last week.”

It’s hard to believe that the “mind-blowing” announcement” that UFC President Dana White recently teased that would be “an indicator of where this business is going over the next five years” would be a blockbuster showdown between UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and former 205-pound kingpin Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 in September. Nonetheless, the thought of Liddell and Silva going toe-to-toe is downright crazy. “The Spider” has essentially cleared out the 185-pound division sans Yushin Okami. That’s a fight that needs to happen. But, in the meantime, we can dream, can’t we? As for UFC 88, it wouldn’t shock me to see the scrapped UFC 85 main event between Liddell and Rashad Evans to finally take place (Shogun Rua is reportedly out until December).

Friday Night Throwdown: Stepping stone for Thiago Alves or return to glory for Matt Hughes at UFC 85?

Posted: 06 Jun 2008 08:40 PM CDT

firday night throwdown

There’s an intriguing main event on tap this weekend between former welterweight champion Matt Hughes and up-and-comer Thiago Alves at the O2 Arena in London, England.

The 170-pound pits two men who are going in two different directions in their careers — one is relatively close to calling it an amazing career and the other is hoping to follow in his footsteps. It will also determine who is heading toward a title shot in the near future.

For Alves, a win over Hughes could be the fight that solidifies him as a legitimate contender in the stacked welterweight division. As for Hughes, a win here could lead him to at least two more fights, another shot at championship glory, and another accolade to tack onto his Hall of Fame career.

It's no secret by now that tomorrow night is do or die for Matt Hughes.

He only — by his own admission — a handful of fights left in him. He has no intentions of fighting into his early 40s like Randy Couture … for now. Heading into this fight, Hughes has promised that he will return to the Matt Hughes of old who dominated the welterweight division for years.

For him to win this fight, he's going to have to take Alves to the mat and keep him down. There is no way that Hughes can win this fight trying to trade shots with Alves — a very skilled striker.

The problem with Hughes' game, however, is the fact that his striking is essentially ineffective. He uses it to set up his aggressive takedowns and monster slams. Hughes is not going to knockout anyone standing and probably never will.

He has to force Alves to respect his striking to the point where he can secure takedown after takedown. If Hughes can't take Alves down, it could be spell trouble.

Look no further than his last fight with Georges St. Pierre. “Rush” knew that Hughes could not hurt him when the two were trading shots, so he decided to takedown Hughes and punish him from there. In a sense, he beat Hughes at his own game.

Hughes didn't look comfortable on his back and really never has. His first fight with BJ Penn and third fight with St. Pierre also shows that Hughes isn't as effective if he's on his back.

Put simply, Hughes’ bread and butter — the skills that propelled him to the highest level of the sport — are when he uses his strength and wrestling to overwhelm opponents.

And when he can’t get those going it translates into another “L” in the loss column.

Alves, on the other hand, knows that this is the biggest fight in his career. He is riding a five-fight winning streak that includes two impressive victories over Chris Lytle and Karo Parisyan.

Even though the fight with Lytle ended because of a cut, it was clear that Alves was well on his way to winning that fight outright. Yet it was his victory over Parisyan that proved to be the most impressibe to date in his young career.

Karo knew heading into the tilt that a win would guarantee him an eventual title shot. Jon Fitch — who had already defeated Alves — was also looming in the background; however, Parisyan accepted the bout with Alves instead and it backfired.

Alves proved to be no stepping stone for the “Heat.”

He stuffed most of Paryisan's Judo attempts and kept the fight where he wanted it — standing. Alves then fustrated Karo with his sprawls and the use of his Muay Thai to keep him guessing. Then when Karo finally had a chance for another takedown, Alves used his impressive stand up skills to deliver a big knee that later ended the fight.

Alves will have to do the same thing to Hughes to win this fight.

“The Pitbull” has to bring the fight to Hughes and use his effective leg kicks early to wear Hughes' legs down. The reason being that Hughes will not have the strength in his legs to attempt takedowns. Alves is by far the superior striker and if he can keep Hughes at bay, Alves could very well find an opening and can knockout Hughes.

In short, Alves will have to let his hands go early and often to fustrate Hughes and win this fight.

Both men clearly need to win this fight for different reasons. Even with news that win, lose or draw Hughes is guaranteed to fight Matt Serra in the fall, he will still have to win both fights to earn a title shot. A win for Alves puts him one step closer to possibly fighting the winner of St. Pierre and Fitch at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy.”

So much intrigue. And we'll get plenty of answers tomorrow night at UFC 85.

Quick picks for UFC 85

  • Hughes — I see him weathering the storm early and taking Alves down at will to win via decision.
  • Michael Bisping — I've enjoyed Jason Day's commentary heading into the fight here on the site, but Bisping is too well rounded for Day.
  • Marcus Davis — I'm not a big Mike Swick fan and he should've stayed at middleweight. Davis is for real and will show it tomorrow.
  • Brandon Vera — He's going to exploit the striking advantage over Werdum with his kickboxing and take him out in the second.
  • Thales Leites — He's a beast on the ground and I think he can catch Marquardt in the second with an armbar.

MMA news and notes

Alves misses weight and fight at UFC 85 will be fought at catch weight: This isn't the first time Alves has had a problem making weight and it's cause for concern. He can't expect to have St. Pierre or Fitch fight him at a catch weight nor can his boss trust him to not ruin a possible championship bout like Travis Lutter did back at UFC 67. Ultimately, four pounds isn’t going to make a difference in this fight — it’s more of a psychological blow than anything else.

Donald Trump an equity partner for Affliction MMA: It’s difficult what to make of this, but if it helps the sport in the long run then I'm all for it. I've got to admit though, now Affliction can make the case that it has the deepest heavyweight division in the sport today. With Sylvia, Barnett, Fedor and now Andrei Arlovski, the class is deep. Really deep. Perhaps Affliction can showcase the heavyweights like boxing in its heyday. That would be something.

If there's going to be Lawler-Smith 2, then the same for Slice-Thompson 2: Elite XC did its job, considering it wasn't the best showcase of the sport. But the stoppages of both fights weren't justified to me. I felt that if Thompson was rocked, then let him be until he got knocked out. By the same token, the fight should've been stopped in the second round because of Slice's inability to improve position from the bottom and the shots that were unanswered. As for Lawler-Smith, Scott should've gotten his five minutes … PERIOD!

Faber-Pulver was entertaining, but Torres-Maeda stole the show: Last week, we predicted right here that WEC 34 was the show to watch for great MMA action. Faber surprised everyone with his impressive display of power and technique in outstriking Pulver for five rounds. Granted, he was getting tagged as well but he just kept coming and frustrated Pulver all night. But I have to give praise for Torres-Maeda because that back-and-forth war tore the building down. I was literally standing on my feet when both men had ankle locks on each other. It is an instant classic.

That's it for this week folks, next week I'll have a recap of UFC 85 and thoughts on the fights. Other than that, I'll see you guys right back here in the Throwdown!

UFC 85 predictions, preview and analysis

Posted: 06 Jun 2008 03:16 PM CDT

ufc 85 predictions and analysis

UFC 85: "Bedlam" is set for tomorrow, Saturday June 7, from the O2 Arena in London, England. The main card action is set to begin at 3 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (PPV).

Remember: MMAmania.com will provide LIVE updates and blow-by-blow, round-by-round commentary of the main card action throughout the telecast. As usual, it promises to be a great discussion during an exciting night of fights.

To get us pumped for the afternoon festivities, Mania himself will attempt to clear his bad name after a disastrous contribution the last time he appeared in this column, going toe-to-toe with senior writer and turgid egomaniac Jesse Holland with predictions for the upcoming event.

The mission: Forecast which fighters will leave the Octagon with their hands raised during the featured fights of the show.

It's important to note for the predictions that while someone may be lauding a certain fighter, he isn't necessarily the guy who he thinks is going to win.

Basically, we never want this to come out sounding repetitive. At the end of each analysis, therefore, you will see the individual picks at the conclusion of the write ups.

Let's get to it:

Matt Hughes (42-6) vs. Thiago Alves (14-3)

Jesse Holland: What I find surprising about Matt Hughes is how many people are throwing in the towel when it comes to his career. And for what? Losing to Georges St. Pierre? Hughes is 21-3 since 2001 and aside from the two to GSP his only other loss was the upset to current UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn at UFC 46 — a loss he avenged in 2006. Hughes' biggest asset coming into this fight is his experience. Not only has he held the welterweight strap, he’s defeated some of the best 170-pound fighters in the world. He knows how to fight on the big stage and since when is being 34 washed up? Hughes doesn’t carry around a lot of excess muscle and his body has remained relatively healthy over the years. As far as I’m concerned, this entire fight is going to depend on how well Alves can defend the shot. Hughes’ dominance on the ground is the stuff of legend and Alves has not shown me enough in his wins or his losses to convince me he’s able to defend someone as strong and as relentless as Hughes. It would not surprise me to see a vintage slam and if Hughes can set the pace early against Alves — who often needs more time to warm up than my sister’s ‘72 Bonneville. This one isn’t going to make it out of the first round.

MMAmania: “The Pitbull” has been on a role since his eight-month suspension for ingesting a banned substance (diuretic), finishing his last three opponents in impressive fashion. His upset stoppage of top contender and super tough Karo Parisyan at UFC Fight Night 13 catapulted him into the upper echelon of the very loaded 170-pound division. And a win over a high-profile former champion such as Matt Hughes will only raise his stock that much more. Alves has a fantastic and devastating striking arsenal, whether it’s crushing knees, strafing kicks or powerful punch combinations. He’ll need to keep this fight upright if he has any hopes of toppling Hughes, which could be troublesome because Hughes will more than likely do everything in his power to take him down. Alves trains at arguably the top gym in the world at American Top Team and has some of the most talented training partners around him. There’s no question that he has drilled takedown defense to prepare for Hughes’ attack as much as Jesse Holland abuses his plastic Asian blow-up princess. Alves needs to keep his distance with a mix of jabs and kicks as make Hughes pay with knees anytime he gets close. Alves — who is just 24-years-old and has never been on such a big stage — needs to stay composed early and put the label as a slow starter behind him … otherwise it’s going to be a disappointing night for the proud Brazilian. Much worse than the weigh-in debacle.

Final predictions:

Jesse Holland: Hughes via technical knockout
MMAmania: Hughes via submission

Michael Bisping (15-1) vs. Jason Day (17-5)

Jesse Holland: Jason Day has won five straight and is 15-2 since 2005. He’s also coming off an impressive UFC debut where he defeated Alan Belcher with strikes in the first round at UFC 83. He’s a talented striker who ends almost half of his fights via (T)KO and has been known to pull off an armbar or two. Day has his hands full against Bisping, but if he follows the example set by Matt Hamill and Rashad Evans he can pull this one off. “The Count” doesn’t like to get hit, and gets a little flustered when he’s beaten to the punch. Day needs to work the jab and keep the pressure on without lingering in the pocket for an undue amount of time. The goal is to frustrate Bisping and keep him off balance and out of sorts. Stick and move! Even with the move to 185, I’m still not convinced that Bisping has a full tank of gas and Day can use that to his advantage. The crowd will be more of a factor for Bisping than it will for Day with Bisping having the pressure of performing in front of his hometown. If he can cut off the ring and be the aggressor, it’s likely he can steal this one.

MMAmania: The popular British mixed martial artist, Michael Bisping, is no stranger to being in the spotlight before a roaring hometown crowd. Saturday night will be no different. Bisping will look to erase the memories of his last performance in London — the controversial win over Matt Hamill at UFC 75: “Champion vs. Champion” — with an impressive showing against Jason Day. “The Count” looks fit, agile and powerful at 185 pounds and will be determined to finish the Canadian and avoid leaving the decision up to the judges. As usual, there will be a tremendous amount of pressure on Bisping to win, but as we’ve seen in the past he’s passed the test before. Day is a gritty opponent who has said on numerous occasions that he intends to stand and bang to put on a show for all those watching from around the world. That’s not the best strategy if it is indeed accurate — Bisping has some nice stand up skills. But as we witnessed against Alan Belcher, Day is capable of finishing his opponents while upright. This is a tough fight to predict because there is no quit in either of these two fighters — in 38 combined professional fights between the two only three bouts have gone to decision. Expect more of the same this time around.

Final predictions:

Jesse Holland: Bisping via technical knockout
MMAmania: Day via technical knockout

Nate Marquardt (26-7) vs. Thales Leites (12-1)

Jesse Holland: Thales Leites is a 12-1 jiu-jitsu machine that is making his fifth UFC appearance since he debuted against Martin Kampmann at UFC Ultimate Finale 4 back in 2006. He is also coming off two straight first-round submission wins against Ryan Jensen and Floyd Sword and looks to keep that streak going. He will have his hands full, however, against Marquardt who has excellent submission defense. The key for Leites will be inside fighting. If he can’t get any type of submission offense going then he has to use any closed distance opportunities to land bombs. Whether it be on the floor or against the cage he has to stay busy and keep the pace high. Marquardt has been known to play it safe and that gives Leites his best chance for victory. I don’t think he’s good enough to defeat Marquardt, but I do think he can take home the decision if he outworks him.

MMAmania: Nate Marquardt — the soft-spoken, one-time 185-pound title challenger — is out to prove that he is still among the best middleweights in the world. His loss to Anderson Silva hurt real bad and set him back quite a bit. But then he nearly ripped Jeremy Horn’s neck off his spine in a very impressive win at UFC 81: “Breaking Point.” He’s got tremendous power and fantastic defense — Dean Lister, a very craft Brazilian jiu-jitsu player, could do absolutely nothing in their bout at UFC Fight Night 8. Thales Leites relies heavily on his jiu-jitsu prowess and has some of the best submissions in the sport right now. His stand up, however, is a glaring weakness that was exposed in his Octagon debut against Martin Kampmann at TUF 4 Finale. He is the perfect opponent for an experienced veteran such as Marquardt. He can’t hurt him on the feet and more than likely will be unable to sink in a submission unless there is a catastrophic lapse on the part of Marquardt. Let’s just hope that the “new” Nate continues to enter the eight-sided cage with bad intentions and does not revert back to his old, boring and careful approach.

Final predictions:

Jesse Holland: Marquardt via unanimous decision
MMAmania: Marquardt via unanimous decision

Mike Swick (11-2) vs. Marcus Davis (14-3)

Jesse Holland: Mike Swick is back from a lackluster performance and has something to prove. He dropped down to 170 after a tough loss to Yushin Okami and looked a little flat in a winning effort against Josh Burkman but I think he was adjusting to the new weight class. Against Davis I expect to see the Swick of old. He shares the nickname “Quick” with MMAmania (who was awarded that moniker by his ex-girlfriends) and I favor him in this match-up against Davis. “The Irish Hand Grenade” certainly has the advantage in power, but I consider Swick to have cleaner, more refined stand-up. True that Davis is a former boxer but Swick is a better MMA striker and his combinations are rock solid. Swick is tall and lean and he should have no trouble staying out of the range of Davis — who also has improved submission skills. But are they good enough to submit a wily Swick? Doubtful. But even more doubtful is the likelihood of this becoming a ground war. Davis is going to try and bully Swick and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a lot of time spent pressed against the cage. If Swick can avoid the knockout punch, he can and should batter Davis to a unanimous decision.

MMAmania: Is there a hotter fighter right now than the “Irish Hand Grenade?” He has 11 consecutive wins coming into this bout and has vastly improved since his stint on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). Davis punches like he has a roll of quarters packed in each fist, which he’ll look to put on display this weekend. In addition, he has “Big Nog”-esque recuperative powers (see Paul Taylor) — Davis has never been stopped via strikes. His opponent, on the other hand, has been dropped earlier in his career. And he has not necessarily demonstrated an ability to finish fights from his feet. However, Swick is extremely dangerous with his complete all-around tool box (skills, not Jesse Holland.) He can certainly finish Davis, but it's just not likely going to happen if the two opt to stand toe-to-toe. And that’s possibly how this might pan out. Swick is coming off a poor winning performance and might feel the need to go out and go balls to the wall. It’s a strategy that could literally blow up in his face courtesy of a Davis five-knuckle hand grenade.

Final predictions:

Jesse Holland: Swick via unanimous decision
MMAmania: Davis via knockout

Brandon Vera (8-1) vs. Fabricio Werdum (10-3-1)

Jesse Holland: As it stands, Brandon Vera is probably the only heavyweight in the division who has a chance of defeating current champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogeuira. The unfortunate thing for Vera is that he was on a torrid pace in the UFC until contract negotiations and some other monkey business kept him out of action. In fact, he’s only had one fight since November of 2006 — a decision loss to Tim Sylvia at UFC 77. Nevertheless, he is a dangerous fighter. He has blinding speed in his strikes and throws kicks like a guy half his weight. He also has a solid ground game and decent submission skills. Werdum is a talented, agile fighter, but he goes into defensive mode when he gets into trouble. Vera needs to keep it standing where he has the distinct advantage and force Werdum to make a mistake. Leg kicks will be the order of the day and as long as he doesn’t get wrapped up in the showmanship aspect of this fight, he can end it convincingly.

MMAmania: Sans a bad unanimous decision loss to Andrei Arlovski, Fabricio Werdum has shown that he is among the top heavyweights on the planet. He has two wins over Gabriel Gonzaga, a submission victory over Aleksander Emelianenko, as well as Alistair Overeem, and put up a great fight against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a losing effort while competing under the Pride FC banner. He can cause anyone some major problems if he can impose his will and has time to work his top shelf submission game. Werdum is not known for his striking, which could be a concern if Brandon Vera is able to keep this contest upright. “The Truth” has serious Muay Thai skills that are capable of putting Werdum on his ass at any moment from any angle. He’s quick and agile for the division, posing some interesting challenges for the Brazilian. If he is able to takedown Vera, chances are that Vera’s submission defense is good enough to thwart just about anything and his superb wrestling will help him escape from any dangerous situations on the mat. This is a bad match up for Werdum.

Final predictions:

Jesse Holland: Vera via technical knockout
MMAmania: Vera via technical knockout

That's a wrap, folks.

Remember to come check us out after the show for all the latest results, recaps and our coverage of UFC 85: "Bedlam." For the complete fight card click here.

What do you think? Now it's your turn … let us have it in the comments section and share your thoughts and picks for UFC 85.

Kimbo Slice next fight against Brett Rogers in October possible

Posted: 06 Jun 2008 02:10 PM CDT

kimbo slice brett rogers
Elite XC heavyweight Brett Rogers hijacked the spotlight in the wake of “Primetime” on CBS “Saturday Night Fights” last weekend, calling out Kimbo Slice for his lackluster performance against James Thompson in the main event of the evening.

Rogers — who knocked out “The Colossus” in the first round at Elite XC: “Street Certified” earlier this year — made a point to needle Slice in the post-fight press conference, which nearly led to an altercation on the podium.

“Da Grim” has kept a steady drumbeat of criticism rolling throughout the week, saying that Slice should either “step up or step aside.” Slice has remained silent for most of the public relations attack … until now.

While nothing is official, Slice has accepted Rogers’ challenge, telling Dan LeBatard on ESPN.com radio that the fight is on — perhaps sometime in October.

Here’s a snip from Kimbo:

“Considering Brett Rogers is as ignorant as he is, he’s probably looking at it like Kimbo Slice can be a meal ticket. Instead of making the fight at more of a business tip, this is going to be personal. This shit is personal now. If he wants to call me out, considering he’s going to get big money to fight me, then you know, from a business point of view, whoever was in his ear, they did their part, and now they got the fight.”

Short of calling out Kimbo’s mother, Rogers did and said just about everything he could to make this fight happen.

And apparently it worked, even though Elite XC Live Events President Gary Shaw indicated immediately following the fight that it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

If it is indeed accurate — and Rogers and Slice didn’t just set this up themselves in the media — it could start a trend. If it’s as easy as posting a challenge up on a Web site and saying some harsh words at a press conference, then Kimbo might have a line out the door after his next fight.

If he wins, of course.

Stylistically this is a fight Kimbo should want. Sure, Rogers is the bigger fighter and Kimbo just had a tough time with Thompson’s size, but Rogers is a different fighter than Thompson. He wants to stand and trade with his opponents, which is Kimbo’s bread and butter.

Be careful what you wish for, Mr. Rogers.

The knocks on Kimbo have been his inexperience and ground game. Nobody has ever questioned his stand up, and now Brett Rogers will most likely look to prove Kimbo is all hype by beating him at his own game.

We’ve all begged to see Kimbo’s ground game get tested. Perhaps now we’re finally going to see his stand up get tested. Add in some animosity from Kimbo’s side and we got ourselves a heck of a fight to look forward to this fall.

Kimbo mentioned the fight would probably take place in October, which may or may not be the next event on CBS. Either way, is this a fight anyone is going to want to miss? I think not.

Here’s what Kimbo had to say when asked directly from Letard if he was fighting Rogers next:

“Yeah, hell yeah, I got to fight him man. This man just called me out.”

Aright Brett, you got want you wanted. Now lets see if you can back those words up with a win. Stay tuned, October is a long way away — this will certainly get a lot more interesting before then.

UFC Quick Quote: Dana White on UFC 85: ‘Cursed’

Posted: 06 Jun 2008 01:33 PM CDT

ufc 85

“I’m wondering if this kid [Thiago Alves] should be at 170 or not. If this were a title fight, I’d be really pissed. What are you going to do? Matt Hughes agreed to fight him at 175, so it’s not all bad. … I can’t wait to get this card behind me, to be honest with you. Eight guys dropped out. The main event guy can’t make weight. It’s crazy.”

– UFC President Dana White shares his thoughts via Yahoo!Sports.com on the fiasco also known as UFC 85: “Bedlam” at the O2 Arena in London, England, on Saturday, June 7. The latest blow was Thiago Alves coming in four pounds heavy four his main event fight with Matt Hughes. For what it’s worth Hughes proves once again that he is such a team player, agreeing to take the fight with Alves at a catchweight with little to no resistance. In addition, the UFC has really demonstrated its superior depth by cobbling together a card that is still ripe with talent. I’m still interested regardless of all the shenanigans.

UFC 85 weigh-in results for ‘Bedlam’ PPV event in London; Thiago Alves misses weight

Posted: 06 Jun 2008 10:34 AM CDT

ufc 85 weigh-in
The official weigh-in results for UFC 85: “Bedlam” at the O2 Arena in London, England, are in.

And there’s some ridiculous news to report.

Thiago Alves came in super heavy at 174 pounds for his main event fight against Matt Hughes. He will not have to shed the extra poundage — he and Hughes have agreed to fight at a catchweight.

He’ll more than likely have to pay Hughes a percentage of his salary for the massive blunder and pay in the court of public opinion for the lack of professionalism.

Here are the official results:

170 lbs.: Matt Hughes (170) vs. Thiago Alves (174)
185 lbs.: Michael Bisping (184) vs. Jason Day (184)
185 lbs.: Nate Marquardt (185) vs. Thales Leites (185)
170 lbs.: Mike Swick (170) vs. Marcus Davis (170)
265 lbs.: Brandon Vera (228) vs. Fabricio Werdum (247)
185 lbs.: Martin Kampmann (186) vs. Jorge Rivera (185)
155 lbs.: Thiago Tavares (154.5) vs. Matt Wiman (155)
170 lbs.: Roan Carneiro (171) vs. Kevin Burns (170)
205 lbs.: Jason Lambert (205) vs. Luis Arthur Cane (204)
170 lbs.: Jess Liaudin (169) vs. Paul Taylor (169)
265 lbs.: Eddie Sanchez (244) vs. Antoni Hardonk (247)

*Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit in non-title fights.

Remember that MMAmania.com will also provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action on fight afternoon, which is slated to air at 3 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (PPV) from the O2 Arena on Saturday, June 7.

Of course, the latest quick updates of the prelim bouts will begin to flow earlier than that at around 1:30 p.m. ET.

It’s going to be an entertaining afternoon of mixed martial arts action … check us out for all the pre, during and post-fight coverage you can handle.

Note that the UFC 85 PPV will re-air at 10 p.m. ET.

How to bet on UFC with new MMA betting calculator

Posted: 06 Jun 2008 08:59 AM CDT


ufc betting

Hey MMAMania.com readers … this is Damon D from BetUS Sports Radio (a series of sports betting related podcasts). It’s likely that you may have heard of us before — Jesse Holland is a frequent guest on my “Fight Talk” show, sharing his infinite mixed martial arts knowledge from time to time.

MMAmania.com often passes along the latest odds from our sportsbook for each UFC event for those fans who prefer to make the fights more interesting and possibly make some nice scratch in the process.

To check out the latest betting odds for UFC 85: “Bedlam” and make some wagers CLICK HERE.

Don’t know what the any of that means or what you are doing? No problem. That’s the reason for this post.

On my show I cover all the major sports to bet on, including football, baseball and basketball. But what really turns my crank is mixed martial arts. Football may pay the bills, but MMA wets my whistle (I don't know what that means but you get my point).

I try my best to educate people and promote the sport wherever and whenever possible. And unlike others in the industry I try to turn down the douche dial a little bit.

Now as an MMA sportsbook analyst I get to do a lot of cool stuff, but regardless of where I am or who I'm talking to I continually have to answer the same question about MMA odds:

"What the #%*$ does minus 200 mean?"

Well, I've written a balls load of explanations and explained it to people countless times. Some people get it and others never will.

To help everyone calculate the odds easier we finally made a betting calculator that will do all the math for you instantly. It takes all the odds and crunches the numbers so you don't have to hurt yourself trying to add anymore.

To check it out right now CLICK HERE.

For those who want to know a little extra background on how this works let’s quickly go through how lines are set and adjusted to better understand the philosophy behind the numbers.

So let's start off easy. Minus(-) = FAVORITE. Plus(+) = UNDERDOG.

The number that comes after the minus is how much you have to RISK to win $100 and the number that comes after the plus is what you WIN if you risk $100.

For example, if a fighter has a -200 after his name it means that you would have to RISK (or bet) $200 to win back $100. If it's +200 — and you bet $100 — then you would win back $200.

Again, if the concept is still too damn confusing remember to check out the UFC Bet Calculator right here.

There are a few extra things that you should probably know about these odds. Now bear with me because it's kind of detailed, but it could also make you a lot of money in the long run.

First off, you've never met a bookie with a part time job, meaning that regardless of how ridiculous you think a line might be oddsmakers are in reality extremely intelligent. And if they weren't huge sports fans, they'd be designing rocket engines for NASA or something like that.

So take the line seriously … always.

Secondly, lines are set for money to come in EVEN on both sides of a fight. In a perfect world, if every fight, game or race had exactly half the people betting on either side the risk for a sportsbook is minimized.

Therefore, in high profile bouts public opinion is a major factor in making a line.


ufc betting

An example that I like to use with last season's New England Patriots. The lines for some of their games were ridiculous, but it had more to do with the perception of how good they were and not their actual skills.

The problem is, if they're playing a winless Miami team, NOBODY would put any money on Miami unless they thought they had a remote chance to cover. And since the Patriots were all over the news and setting records and being awesome this would inflate the line to make it easier for Miami to cover in order to keep the money even on both sides.

This is the same reason you will see a line move leading up to a fight. If a balls load of money is coming in on GSP at -300, oddsmakers will make it less profitable to make a bet on him and you will see the line creep up to -350, -400 etc., and a more profitable to bet on Matt Serra whose line will increase (from say +350 to +500).

Therefore, if you think a low profile underdog can win a fight wait until the drunken Las Vegas weekend money starts rolling in. Because as the high profile favorite gets all the dough laid on him your little doggie will start getting sweeter. (Ask anybody who waited on Serra – St. Pierre 1 who got him a +1200 right before the fight).

Well that's that. If you have any questions for me about this stuff comment here on MMAMania.com and I'll be sure to reply.

Remember to check out the latest betting odds for UFC 85: “Bedlam” and make some wagers RIGHT HERE.


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