presto
7th September 2007, 18:25
The UFC hits London's millenium dome (o2 arena) on saturday with what looks to be a cracking card. Though i should mention, a very tricky card to call.
MAIN CARD
Dan Henderson (22-5-0) (+120) vs. Quinton Jackson (27-6-0) (-135)[/u]
Pride champ Henderson takes on UFC champ Jackson, the winner to be crowned the unified LHW champ of the world. Both fighters are on top of there game right now, with 'rampage' KOing chuck for the UFC belt, and Henderson taking out Wanderlei Silva over in Pride.
Rampage is the bigger and stronger man in the fight (henderson is the 183lbs current pride champ) and i also give rampage the standup edge. Henderson on the other hand has a wrestling background which could stifle the standup of rampage, Henderson also has a great chin having never been KOed and his only loss by stoppage was being submitted by Nogueira. This fight has the possibility of going the full 5 rounds, if it does then conditioning could play a part, i reckon Henderson will be fully prepared for this and may have the conditioning advantage, Rampage has been training at altitude up in 'big bear' so i wouldn't have thaught it will be that big an issue.
As for the fight i feel that it will be very close, rampage i beleive has the better chance of getting a stoppage, though Henderson could use his wrestling to take the verdict on points.
As i beleive its pretty much a 50/50 fight i will take Henderson at odd's against as the value bet, though i won't be staking much.
VERDICT - Henderson
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (22-5-2) (-360) vs. Cheick Kongo (20-3-1) (+340)
Two heavy hitters in this stand up battle. Cro-Cop will be out to prove a point after getting KTFO against Gonzaga, Kongo will also be looking to prove a point to the rest of the HW division in by far his toughest fight yet.
There will certainly be questions asked of Cro-Cop after his last fight, but is Kongo the one to ask them? Sure Kongo has a 'punchers chance' against Cro-Cop, but in this stand up fight Cro-Cop holds the advantage with his devistating KO power, Kongo dosn't really have much other than his stand up either, so i have to favour Cro-Cop in this fight even with the short odd's.
VERDICT - Cro-Cop
Michael Bisping (-200) (14-0-0) vs. Matt Hamill (5-0-0) (+210)
The TUF 3 final that never was 'according to many', the impressive TUF 3 winner Bisping takes on former 'team mate' and bitter rival Matt Hamill, the 2 didn't really get along in the TUF3 house with Bisping feeling Hamill got preferential treatment in training, Bisping also bust Hamills arm when he refused to tap during sparring.
The home crowd will erupt when home favourite Bisping enters the cage, in what will be a total clash of styles. Hamill is a world class wrestler who is very strong and has improved striking, compared to the well rounded Bisping who's strengths lie in his standup.
As a Bisping fan - this isn't a fight i am looking forward too, as being a wrestler Hamill could easily take Bisping to the ground and use a 'lay 'n' prey' tactics to grind out a points victory, or even land a heavy punch on the often over confident Bisping. Having said that Bisping is by far the more well rounded and has the better standup, if Bisping is to take this fight then he will have to keep on his feet, Hamill dosn't like being hit (OK - nobody likes being hit), if Bisping can make contact with Hamill, this could seriously wilt his confidence - especially if Bisping can catch Hamill going for a takedown.
I feel that Bisping has the most ways of finishing this fight and indeed the worthy favourite but he could have serious problems with Hamills wrestling which worries me when calling this fight, so making a choice is a tough call. If you want to go with the value pick then Hamill is the bet, but i still fancy Bisping to get the job done. I won't be betting on this fight.
VERDICT - Bisping
Houston Alexander (7-1-0) (-165) vs. Alessio Sakara (15-5-1) (+150)
A good looking standup fight here, Houston making an impressive UFC debut KOing Keith Jardine in shor time. Sakara is also primaraly a standup fighter though has a pretty good ground game and ji-jitsu. One thing that struck me about this fight was the odd's, i actually have Sakara as a slight favourite here so when i saw the odd's was a little supprised (sakara traded around 3/1 on betfair - though this could be a self trade). I still confess i havn't seen too much of Houston Alexander, but i certainly am not going to jump on his bandwagon after just one fight, and with the tasty odd's on Sakara he has to be my pick for this one.
VERDICK - Sakara
Marcus Davis (17-4-0) (-180) vs. Paul Taylor (8-1-1) (+160)
The TUF2 and ever improving Davis takes on Taylor who had a good victory against an undefeated fighter the last time the UFC was on British soil at UFC 70, I feel that Davis should take this one.
VERDICT - Davis
MAIN CARD
Dan Henderson (22-5-0) (+120) vs. Quinton Jackson (27-6-0) (-135)[/u]
Pride champ Henderson takes on UFC champ Jackson, the winner to be crowned the unified LHW champ of the world. Both fighters are on top of there game right now, with 'rampage' KOing chuck for the UFC belt, and Henderson taking out Wanderlei Silva over in Pride.
Rampage is the bigger and stronger man in the fight (henderson is the 183lbs current pride champ) and i also give rampage the standup edge. Henderson on the other hand has a wrestling background which could stifle the standup of rampage, Henderson also has a great chin having never been KOed and his only loss by stoppage was being submitted by Nogueira. This fight has the possibility of going the full 5 rounds, if it does then conditioning could play a part, i reckon Henderson will be fully prepared for this and may have the conditioning advantage, Rampage has been training at altitude up in 'big bear' so i wouldn't have thaught it will be that big an issue.
As for the fight i feel that it will be very close, rampage i beleive has the better chance of getting a stoppage, though Henderson could use his wrestling to take the verdict on points.
As i beleive its pretty much a 50/50 fight i will take Henderson at odd's against as the value bet, though i won't be staking much.
VERDICT - Henderson
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (22-5-2) (-360) vs. Cheick Kongo (20-3-1) (+340)
Two heavy hitters in this stand up battle. Cro-Cop will be out to prove a point after getting KTFO against Gonzaga, Kongo will also be looking to prove a point to the rest of the HW division in by far his toughest fight yet.
There will certainly be questions asked of Cro-Cop after his last fight, but is Kongo the one to ask them? Sure Kongo has a 'punchers chance' against Cro-Cop, but in this stand up fight Cro-Cop holds the advantage with his devistating KO power, Kongo dosn't really have much other than his stand up either, so i have to favour Cro-Cop in this fight even with the short odd's.
VERDICT - Cro-Cop
Michael Bisping (-200) (14-0-0) vs. Matt Hamill (5-0-0) (+210)
The TUF 3 final that never was 'according to many', the impressive TUF 3 winner Bisping takes on former 'team mate' and bitter rival Matt Hamill, the 2 didn't really get along in the TUF3 house with Bisping feeling Hamill got preferential treatment in training, Bisping also bust Hamills arm when he refused to tap during sparring.
The home crowd will erupt when home favourite Bisping enters the cage, in what will be a total clash of styles. Hamill is a world class wrestler who is very strong and has improved striking, compared to the well rounded Bisping who's strengths lie in his standup.
As a Bisping fan - this isn't a fight i am looking forward too, as being a wrestler Hamill could easily take Bisping to the ground and use a 'lay 'n' prey' tactics to grind out a points victory, or even land a heavy punch on the often over confident Bisping. Having said that Bisping is by far the more well rounded and has the better standup, if Bisping is to take this fight then he will have to keep on his feet, Hamill dosn't like being hit (OK - nobody likes being hit), if Bisping can make contact with Hamill, this could seriously wilt his confidence - especially if Bisping can catch Hamill going for a takedown.
I feel that Bisping has the most ways of finishing this fight and indeed the worthy favourite but he could have serious problems with Hamills wrestling which worries me when calling this fight, so making a choice is a tough call. If you want to go with the value pick then Hamill is the bet, but i still fancy Bisping to get the job done. I won't be betting on this fight.
VERDICT - Bisping
Houston Alexander (7-1-0) (-165) vs. Alessio Sakara (15-5-1) (+150)
A good looking standup fight here, Houston making an impressive UFC debut KOing Keith Jardine in shor time. Sakara is also primaraly a standup fighter though has a pretty good ground game and ji-jitsu. One thing that struck me about this fight was the odd's, i actually have Sakara as a slight favourite here so when i saw the odd's was a little supprised (sakara traded around 3/1 on betfair - though this could be a self trade). I still confess i havn't seen too much of Houston Alexander, but i certainly am not going to jump on his bandwagon after just one fight, and with the tasty odd's on Sakara he has to be my pick for this one.
VERDICK - Sakara
Marcus Davis (17-4-0) (-180) vs. Paul Taylor (8-1-1) (+160)
The TUF2 and ever improving Davis takes on Taylor who had a good victory against an undefeated fighter the last time the UFC was on British soil at UFC 70, I feel that Davis should take this one.
VERDICT - Davis