Together with the UFC’s next pay-per-view event just over three weeks away, it’s time to start having a look at the betting odds for the card. Two streaks on the card already have lines introduced, and they’re about as different as can be. At the primary event, T.J. Dillashaw will defend his newly won UFC bantamweight title against the man he took it from, Renan Barao. In their first battle, Barao closed as a massive -910 favorite (wager $910 to win $100) over Dillashaw. The Team Alpha Male manhood ruled that first fight, scoring a fifth-round TKO in among the biggest anti upsets in UFC history. This time, the odds are much closer, with Dillashaw sitting in -140 and Barao the small underdog at +120 (bet $100 to win $120). There are eight additional bouts on the card that up until now did not have gambling lines posted. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas altered that now as he released the full UFC 177 betting odds at 5Dimes Sportsbook. ———— MAIN CARD (PPV, 10pm ET) UFC Bantamweight Title TJ Dillashaw -140 Renan Barao +100 Tony Ferguson -265 Danny Castillo +185 Bethe Correia -160 Shayna Baszler +120 Carlos Diego Ferreira -280 Ramsey Nijem +200 Yancy Medeiros -135 Damon Jackson -105 ————– PRELIMINARY CARD (Fox Sports 1, 8pm ET) Lorenz Larkin -140 Derek Brunson +100 Henry Cejudo -185 Scott Jorgensen +145 Anthony Hamilton -210 Ruan Potts +160 Joe Soto -125 Anthony Birchak -115 ————– PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Night, 7:30pm ET) Chris Wade -140 Cain Carrizosa +100 ————– Brad’s Analysis: I actually desire Bethe Correia to win this particular battle, just so that I never need to hear anything about the ridiculous”Four Horsewomen” ever again. Nevertheless, Correia hasn’t faced anyone of Baszler’s skill level, particularly when it comes to grappling. I think Baszler is able to sift through Correia’s drag and striking this battle to the floor where she will have a distinct edge. The biggest worry for me is about Baszler’s long layoff and harm woes of late, which is more than sufficient to keep me from gambling her. Tony Ferguson appears like a nightmare matchup for Danny Castillo. Castillo has been labeled on the toes several times prior to, and unlike his bouts against Tim Means or Anthony Njokuani, he will not be able to fall back on his wrestling here if the striking does not go to plan. This ought to be very competitive in most areas, but Ferguson has minor edges which should propel him to victory. Lorenz Larkin is only 27, but the decline in his performances of late night makes him look more like a 37-year-old. He looked totally listless against Brad Tavares for 10 minutes, and was immediately dispatched by Costas Philippou. On the flip side, Derek Brunson provided the toughest test of Yoel Romero’s career in his most recent bout. It seems like Larkin was extremely overvalued as a potential while at Strikeforce, while Brunson was overlooked. This is an extremely difficult bout to call in terms of a negative or a total, so I will likely stay out completely. On the other hand, I believe Ramsey Nijem is in for a rough night against Carlos Diego Ferreira. Nijem might have a wrestling advantage here, but even that is questionable. Ferreira is the much better submission grappler, and probably even the better striker at this stage (though Nijem’s advancement in that regard last time outside was fine to see). I expect Ferreira to get the win, and probably put another end on his resume either from his entry abilities or Nijem’s questionable chin. Henry Cejudo consistently made for fascinating bouts even when he had been confronting completely overmatched competition, so now that he’s up against a valid evaluation in Scott Jorgensen, I must admit this is one of my most anticipated bouts on the card. The physical advantages here belong to Cejudo, as does the wrestling edge, naturally. He might not have the well-rounded skill set to stop Jorgensen, but I believe he wins rounds with takedowns and scrambling. Cejudo passed one of the important tests for prospects in his final outing too, becoming broken square on the jaw and shaking off it to win not only the fight, but round too. The major question with Cejudo, as always, is: how concentrated is he? Maybe being signed with the UFC was the impetus he had to begin taking the game seriously, as in his previous appearances (and non-appearances) using Legacy FC, it’s quite obvious he’s been coasting at times. Against Jorgensen he may not have the ability to eliminate a half effort, and if he does it’ll make him much more special. A Legacy veteran making his UFC debut with less fanfare is 39-year-old Richard Odoms. His sole loss came into UFC heavyweight Jared Rosholt, but he’s generally been in a position to restrain and outhustle competitions to pick up decisions. That will be difficult against Ruslan Magomedov, that really possesses decent cardio to get a heavyweight, to go together with his strong striking. Coming off of nearly a year layoff, it’s difficult to expect much from Odoms, so that I expect Magomedov to pick up the win, but he’s somebody I fully expect to fade if he can pick up a couple more wins and face adequate competition. The hype on Yancy Medeiros came a bit too fast, and should almost be snuffed out at this point. His striking defense appeared atrocious against both Yves Edwards and Jim Miller, along with his entry game was practically non-existent as he was tapped within seconds of hitting the floor against Miller. Perhaps that may work to the advantage of his backers from Justin Edwards nevertheless, as Edwards really isn’t UFC caliber, even at this point. Edwards has a good guillotine, rather than many other abilities, therefore Medeiros has this fight to win as long as he does not dive into that weapon. Edwards will probably come out quickly, because he must know that a win will indicate the end of his UFC employ. Talking of pink-slip derbies, the failure of Ruan Potts and Anthony Hamilton will likely be shown the door as well, because both place on putrid dislpays within their UFC debuts. Potts is a competitive — but not overly talented — grappler, while Hamilton showed enormous holes in his own grappling against Alexey Oleinik. On the flip side, Hamilton has some power and Potts was set out by one shot on the floor against Soa Palelei. Either man could finish this battle quickly and I would not be surprised, or else they could play it safe and we could be treated to some truly awful heavyweight MMA. In case the price for this particular bout to go over 1.5 rounds is large enough, I might just take a shot there in hopes the bout is of the hilariously bad variety, but I can not see myself putting much greater than Monopoly money down with this competition.
Copyright © 2013 - All Rights Reserved Naurus (PVT) Ltd.