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By: Wesley Walker, MMATorch Specialist
Main Event: Anderson Silva -800 vs. Demian Maia +500
Prediction: Anderson Silva by TKO round 3
Betting Advice: There's no money in betting on Anderson Silva therefore don’t bet on this fight. Maybe you could throw a little money down on Demian Maia just to see if you can get lucky with Anderson Silva getting bored a getting caught in a stupid submission. Silva at 185 has gotten bored at times with dominating people and he has slipped up in his fights with Patrick Cote and Thales Leites. Silva won those fights, but opened the door enough to allow me to place a small bet on Maia.
Co-Main Event: BJ Penn -750 vs. Frankie Edgar +475
Prediction: BJ PENN dominating 3rd round rear naked choke
Betting Advice: I believe B.J. Penn keeps getting matched up with the same fighters over and over in Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian, and Frankie Edgar. Those fighters are essentially the same with pretty good striking and ok wrestling. Frankie Edgar has nothing to offer B.J. Penn in this fight he is too small to get Penn down to the ground. You have to pick B.J. Penn up and slam him no way Edgar has that type of strength. No bet in my opinion necessary on either fighter in this fight.
Undercard Fight: Matt Hughes -400 vs. Renzo Gracie +300
Prediction: Matt Hughes by decision
Betting Advice: Matt Hughes will take Renzo Gracie down and pound his face into the canvas. Gracie doesn’t have enough strength to fire off submissions to get a win. Hughes will do the same thing he did a UFC 60 to Royce Gracie to his cousin Renzo Gracie. I would bet on Matt Hughes who wants to get back to the top of the welterweight division.
Undercard Fight: Terry Etim -150 vs. Rafael Dos Anjos +120
Prediction: Terry Etim by unanimous decision
Betting Advice: Bet on Terry Etim he is a long lanky lightweight who has great striking to go with a great ground game. Rafael Dos Anjos is very close model of Terry Etim without the same striking. Bet on Terry Etim because I believe he take the fight wherever he wants to and dictate the pace of the fight.
Undercard Fight: Mark Munoz -200 vs. Kendall Grove +160
Prediction: Mark Munoz by unanimous decision
Betting Advice: Bet on Mark Munoz. I believe he can take and hold Kendall Grove on the canvas. The X-Factor is Mark Munoz training with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira where he has expanded his submission defense. I would bet on Munoz to takeover the fight and ground and pound Grove just like Ricardo Almeida did at UFC 101.
Undercard Fight: Phil Davis -500 vs. Alexander Gustafsson +350
Prediction: Phil Davis by unanimous decision
Betting Advice: I believe that Phil Davis is the next big star in the UFC. Davis has great striking to go with pretty good striking. Bet on Phil Davis Alexander Gustafsson will never be able to get off his back to doing anything offensive.
Undercard Fight: John Gunderson +200 vs. Paul Taylor -260
Prediction: Paul Taylor by unanimous decision
Betting Advice: Paul Taylor has fought top level guys such as Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle which gives him a tremendous advantage over John Gunderson. Paul Taylor has well rounded skills and can take this fight to the ground or punish Gunderson on the feet. Bet on Paul Taylor to grind out a unanimous decision over John Gunderson in this bout.
Undercard Fight: Rick Story -170 vs. Nick Osipczak +140
Prediction: Rick Story by decision
Betting Advice: Rick story and Nick Osipczak have both impressed me in their last few fights. I thought Nick Osipczak was very overrated on the show, but he dominated Matthew Riddle in his last fight by sprawling and keeping the fight standing. Rick Story has very good striking and great wrestling. X- Factor in this fight is Osipczak’s body length in this fight could give him the edge. I would place a bet on Osipczak just because it is a close fight and he is the underdog and you get more bang for the buck. I would make sure to place a small bet because of how close this fight is going to be.
Undercard Fight: DaMarques Johnson +140 vs. Brad Blackburn -170
Prediction: DaMarques Johnson pulls off the upset
Betting Advice: This is a very close fight to call as they are mirror images of each other; they are both good strikers with ok wrestling. I give DaMarques Johnson the edge in this with his wrestling to get a close decision victory. Bet on the underdog Johnson because Brad Backburn did not look very good in his last fight against Amir Sadollah. Johnson had an amazing submission over Edgar Garcia, a mutual opponent to which Brad Blackburn struggled to edge out a decision victory.
Undercard Fight: Matt Veach -280 vs. Paul Kelly +210
Prediction:Matt Veach by decison
Betting Advice: Matt Veach comes from Matt Hughes’ camp and he has learned how to take someone down and punish them. He struggled with Frankie Edgar but I believe that was due to Veach not being ready for the step up in competition. Paul Kelly has a great chance in this fight as he was moving his way up the ladder before Dennis Shiver hit him with a spinning back kick. Paul Kelly is a high underdog in this fight and I believe the fight is a lot close than the lines are set. I would bet on Paul Kelly because Matt Veach struggled with Matt Grice, who has a similar game to Paul Kelly.
Undercard Fight: Jon Madsen -300 vs. Mostapha Al Turk +220
Prediction: Jon Madsen by decision
Betting Advice: Jon Madsen is a big guy with tremendous wrestling and he will be able to take Mostapha Al Turk down to the canvas over and over. Madsen struggles with great strikers, which Al turk is not, and he will not be able to get off his back in this fight. Bet on Jon Madsen. I would, though, throw down a little small bet on Al Turk because of the jump in competition for Madsen who could struggle with Al Turk’s size.
My Parlay
BJ Penn
Anderson Silva
Matt Hughes
Terry Etim
Mark Munoz
Phil Davis
Paul Taylor
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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