UFC 102 Pros’ Picks

 
Total
 
Randy Couture vs.
Antonio Nogueira
Couture
Couture
Couture
Nogueira
Couture
Couture
Couture
Couture 86%
 
Nate Marquardt vs.
Demian Maia
Marquardt
Maia
Marquardt
Marquardt
Maia
Marquardt
Marquardt
Marquardt 71%
 
Keith Jardine vs.
Thiago Silva
Jardine
Jardine
Silva
Silva
Jardine
Jardine
Silva
Jardine 57%
 
Brandon Vera vs.
Krzysztof Soszynski
Vera
Soszynski
Soszynski
Soszynski
Vera
Vera
Soszynski
Soszynski 57%
 
Chris Leben vs.
Jake Rosholt
Leben
Leben
Leben
Leben
Rosholt
Leben
Rosholt
Leben 71%
 
Gabriel Gonzaga vs.
Chris Tuchscherer
Gonzaga
Gonzaga
Gonzaga
Gonzaga
Gonzaga
Gonzaga
Gonzaga
Gonzaga 100%
 
Mike Russow vs.
Justin McCully
-
Russow
Russow
Russow
Russow
Russow
Russow
Russow 100%
 
Ed Herman vs.
Aaron Simpson
Herman
Herman
Herman
Herman
Herman
Herman
Herman
Herman 100%
 
Mark Munoz vs.
Nick Catone
Munoz
Munoz
Catone
Munoz
Munoz
Munoz
Munoz
Munoz 86%
 
Todd Duffee vs.
Tim Hague
Duffee
Duffee
Hague
Hague
Duffee
Duffee
Duffee
Duffee 71%
 
Evan Dunham vs.
Marcus Aurelio
-
Aurelio
Aurelio
Aurelio
Aurelio
Aurelio
Aurelio
Aurelio 100%
 

UFC 102 Predictions

ufc102poster

UFC 102:  “Couture VS. Nogueira” takes place this Saturday, August 29th, at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.  It’s main event will pit two of the best Heavyweight mixed martial artists in history against each other.  Former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight champion, Randy Couture, will look to get back into title contention when he squares off against former Pride FC and UFC Interim Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira.

The UFC 102 card also features what may very well be a Middleweight #1 contender fight between BJJ ace Demian Maia and ex-”King Of Pancrase” Nate Marquardt.  In addition, Keith Jardine, Brandon Vera, Thiago Silva, Krzysztof Soszynski and Chris Leben will also be inside the octagon this weekend in the Pacific Northwest.

There are some very interesting fights on this card from a betting perspective.  Several of the fights on this card have been subjects of passionate debate.  With that being said, there is some money to be made on this UFC event.  Without further adeiu, here are my predictions and betting advice for UFC 102.

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Strikeforce – Carano VS. Cyborg Predictions

carano_cyborg_big

Strikeforce’s possibly cursed “Carano VS. Cyborg” event will be taking place this Saturday, August 15th in San Jose, CA.  It will be headlined by possibly the biggest fight in the history of women’s MMA:  Gina Carano against Cris “Cyborg” Santos.  Strikeforce’s Light Heavyweight championship will also be up for grabs as Renato “Babalu” Sobral defends his title against Gegard Mousasi.  Mitsuhiro Ishida will also be stepping in for an injured Josh Thomson to get a shot at Strikeforce’s interim Lightweight title against Gilbert Melendez.  Here are my predictions for the main card and the Kyle/Werdum fight.

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Strikeforce – Carano VS. Cyborg News & Notes

carano_cyborg_bigI have updated the “Pros’ Picks” for this weekend’s “Strikeforce – Carano VS. Cyborg” main card.  In addition, the odds for the event will be continually updated up until fight time.  Thank you to Ben at CagePotato, Zak at WatchKalubRun, Zeus at MiddleEasy and Steve at MMAConvert for the contributions.

Some thoughts on “Strikeforce – Carano VS. Cyborg”:

-After watching Cyborg Santos’ training video for her upcoming fight against Gina Carano, I feel more confident in my pick.  Cyborg will be Carano’s stiffest to date, and I think she has the skill, preparation and camp to cement herself as Strikeforce’s #1 female fighter.  I think Carano is a bit overrated, and while she is a very talented mixed martial artist, Cyborg is otherworldly.

-Mitsuihiro Ishida shouldn’t be that big of an underdog, especially because he’s beaten Gilbert Melendez once.  I know there are concerns because he took this fight on late notice and that this fight is in America instead of Japan, but Ishida shoudn’t be at +200.  Most bloggers seem to agree that Ishida is being undervalued here, seeing as he is 67% to win in MMAMoneyLine’s “Pro’s Picks”.

-Nick Diaz/CSAC let me down.  I think both parties are to blame for Strikeforce’s latest event snafu, but hopefully Jay Hieron and Jesse Taylor still put on a good fight.

-As an MMA bettor, I believe that any fighter over +400 is worth a bet (or at least a thorough analysis).  Mike Kyle is getting no respect from the sportsbooks, even with his victory over Rafael Cavalcante.  Will Fabricio Werdum win?  Probably.  Can Werdum be knocked out?  Absolutely.  Is the Fabricio Werdum in 2009 the same Fabricio Werdum of 2006?  Questionable…at best.

If you are planning on wagering on any fights on this card, be sure to keep watching the betting lines, check over the “Pro’s Picks” and check the fighter profiles either by going to the “MMA Fighters” page or clicking on the name of the fighter in the odds table.

Strikeforce – Carano VS. Cyborg Pros’ Picks

 
Total
 
Cristiane Santos vs.
Gina Carano
Santos
Carano
Carano
Santos
Santos
Carano
EVEN
 
Mitsuhiro Ishida vs.
Gilbert Melendez
Ishida
Melendez
Ishida
Ishida
Melendez
Ishida
Ishida 67%
 
Gegard Mousasi vs.
Renato Sobral
Mousasi
Mousasi
Sobral
Mousasi
Mousasi
Mousasi
Mousasi 83%
 
Fabricio Werdum vs.
Mike Kyle
Werdum
Werdum
Werdum
Werdum
Werdum
Werdum
Werdum 100%
 
Jesse Taylor vs.
Jay Hieron
Hieron
Hieron
Hieron
Hieron
Hieron
Hieron
Hieron 100%
 

UFC 101 Pros’ Picks

 
Total
 
BJ Penn vs.
Kenny Florian
Penn
Penn
Penn
Penn
Penn
Penn
Florian
Penn 86%
 
Anderson Silva vs.
Forrest Griffin
Griffin
Silva
Silva
Griffin
Silva
Griffin
Silva
Silva 57%
 
Amir Sadollah vs.
Johny Hendricks
-
Sadollah
Hendricks
Sadollah
Hendricks
Hendricks
Hendricks
Hendricks 67%
 
Ricardo Almeida vs.
Kendall Grove
Almeida
Grove
Almeida
Grove
Grove
Grove
Almeida
Grove 57%
 
Josh Neer vs.
Kurt Pellegrino
Neer
Neer
Neer
Neer
Neer
Pellegrino
Neer
Neer 86%
 
Aaron Riley vs.
Shane Nelson
Riley
Riley
Riley
Nelson
Nelson
-
Riley
Riley 67%
 
Tamdan McCrory vs.
John Howard
-
McCrory
McCrory
McCrory
McCrory
-
McCrory
McCrory 100%
 
Thales Leites vs.
Alessio Sakara
Leites
Leites
Leites
Leites
Leites
-
Leites
Leites 100%
 
Matt Riddle vs.
Dan Cramer
Riddle
Riddle
Riddle
Riddle
Riddle
Riddle
Riddle
Riddle 100%
 
George Sotiropoulos vs.
George Roop
Sotiropoulos
Sotiropoulos
Sotiropoulos
Sotiropoulos
Sotiropoulos
-
Sotiropoulos
Sotiropoulos 100%
 
Danillo Villefort vs.
Jesse Lennox
Villefort
Villefort
Villefort
Lennox
Lennox
-
Villefort
Villefort 67%
 

UFC 105 – COUTURE VS. VERA

 
 
Randy Couture
-115
-120
-125
-120
-130
-120
-120
-120
-125
-125
Brandon Vera
-105
-110
-105
-110
EVEN
-110
-110
-110
-105
-111
 
Mike Swick
-225
-225
-220
-225
-215
-225
-225
-220
-215
-238
Dan Hardy
+185
+185
+180
+180
+175
+185
+185
+170
+175
+170
 
Denis Kang
-130
-125
-115
-125
-130
-125
-125
-125
-145
-125
Michael Bisping
+110
-105
-115
-105
EVEN
-105
-105
-105
+115
-111
 
Matt Brown
-155
-168
-150
-155
-170
-168
-168
-155
-165
-175
James Wilks
+135
+138
+120
+125
+140
+138
+138
+125
+135
+125
 
Aaron Riley
-210
-205
-210
-200
-205
-205
-205
-220
-220
-222
Ross Pearson
+175
+165
+170
+160
+165
+165
+165
+170
+170
+155
 
Terry Etim
-370
-325
-
-
-450
-325
-325
-
-365
-
Shannon Gugerty
+280
+265
-
-
+300
+265
+265
-
+285
-
 
Paul Taylor
+200
+210
-
-
+190
+210
+210
-
+180
-
John Hathaway
-260
-260
-
-
-230
-260
-260
-
-220
-
 
Andre Winner
-390
-325
-
-
-500
-325
-325
-
-500
-
Roli Delgado
+300
+265
-
-
+325
+265
+265
-
+300
-
 
Nick Osipczak
+260
+265
-
-
+240
+265
+265
-
+230
-
Matt Riddle
-350
-325
-
-
-300
-325
-325
-
-290
-
 
Jared Hamman
-155
-140
-
-
-160
-140
-140
-
-165
-
Alexander Gustafsson
+125
+110
-
-
+130
+110
+110
-
+135
-
 
Paul Kelly
-360
-320
-
-
-450
-320
-320
-
-360
-
Dennis Siver
+270
+260
-
-
+300
+260
+260
-
+285
-
 

Best Odds Updated 11/12/09 1:02 PM EST

UFC 106 – ORTIZ VS. GRIFFIN II

 
 
Forrest Griffin
-135
-129
-130
-135
-120
-129
-129
-135
-130
-139
Tito Ortiz
+115
-101
EVEN
+105
-110
-101
-101
+115
EVEN
EVEN
 
Josh Koscheck
+115
+105
+105
+110
+105
+105
+105
+115
-115
+110
Anthony Johnson
-135
-135
-135
-140
-135
-135
-135
-135
-115
-152
 
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
-130
-127
-130
-140
-150
-127
-127
-130
-150
-
Luis Cane
+110
+103
EVEN
+110
+120
+103
+103
+110
+120
-
 
Amir Sadollah
-225
-250
-240
-230
-230
-250
-250
-225
-215
-227
Phil Baroni
+185
+200
+190
+180
+190
+200
+200
+185
+175
+162
 
Paulo Thiago
-185
-185
-
-200
-175
-185
-185
-175
-200
-
Jacob Volkmann
+160
+155
-
+160
+145
+155
+155
+155
+160
-
 
Marcus Davis
-230
-260
-260
-240
-260
-260
-260
-230
-240
-
Ben Saunders
+190
+210
+200
+190
+200
+210
+210
+190
+190
-
 
Jake Rosholt
-175
-172
-170
-200
-205
-172
-172
-175
-200
-192
Kendall Grove
+155
+142
+140
+160
+165
+142
+142
+155
+160
+135
 
George Sotiropoulos
-520
-500
-
-550
-650
-500
-500
-520
-550
-
Jason Dent
+380
+400
-
+375
+450
+400
+400
+350
+350
-
 
Brock Larson
-515
-500
-
-550
-625
-500
-500
-515
-575
-
Brian Foster
+375
+400
-
+375
+425
+400
+400
+355
+375
-
 
Caol Uno
-180
-169
-
-175
-175
-169
-169
-180
-185
-
Fabricio Camoes
+150
+139
-
+145
+145
+139
+139
+150
+155
-
 

Best Odds Updated 11/21/09 12:51 PM EST My Picks The Pros’ Picks

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