UFC Betting – Betting Heavy on Lightweights and Light Heavies – Sizing Up 84
by Charles Jay
BetUS online betting bouts, it goes three-deep - with a championship match and two other encounters where title aspirants go into the Octagon with iconic MMA figures would want another shot at the throne.
Let's take a brief look at all three of these fights:
BetUS UFC Betting Odds
UFC Lightweight Championship
BJ PENN -230
SEAN SHERK +180
In his title win over Jens Pulver. I like Penn, although I think this goes to a decision.
BetUS UFC Betting Odds
Light Heavyweights (3 rounds)
WANDERLEI SILVA -185
KEITH JARDINE +145
Silva's had three losses in a row, which is not all that unusual if you're fighting top-level people. And he certainly has, in Mirko Cro Cop, Houston Alexander, a rather nondescript fighter, knocked him out at UFC 71. Silva has a huge edge in experience; he has fought just about everyone. And I'm figuring he'll find a way to win this inside the distance.
BetUS UFC Betting Odds
Light heavyweights (3 rounds)
LYOTO MACHIDA -220
TITO ORTIZ +175
Ortiz (the +175 underdog in the BetUS odds) offers name value. Does he offer anything else? That, I guess, is what we'll find out. In his last fight, he was unimpressive against Rashard Evans. Before that, he lost to Chuck Liddell. And that was preceded by a pair of wins over fading Ken Shamrock. On top of all this, Ortiz is in his last fight with the UFC (at least for now), having spoken out against the organization and his former handler, Dana White, and making some plans to put together his own promotion. There is nothing the UFC would love more than to send him out a loser, especially against someone they have high hopes for. It could be that Lyoto Machida (-220 at BetUS) is the next big thing, and he has plowed through all twelve opponents, including wins over Rich Franklin and B.J. Penn, so he is hardly untested. And he has spread those fights out over several years, so he is hardly green either. He is fresher and less shopworn. Ortiz is being brought in not to recapture past glory, but as a stepping stone. My feeling is that he will serve as just that. This goes to a second round, but perhaps not far beyond that.
We'll be back later in the week to discuss these matches in more detail!
(Charles Jay of www.eBookies.com is a former manager, matchmaker and color commentator in professional boxing. He currently pulls no punches in the BetUS Locker Room)
