Wednesday, May 26, 2010

UFC 114 odds...who ya got?

UFC Fighter Turned Actor Jackson Returns to Octagon

The Rampage Jackson versus Sugar Rashad Evans light heavyweight bout has been in the making for over a year now. When UFC 114 concludes with this bout in Las Vegas, Memorial Day Saturday, the electricity will be through the roof.

Jackson and Evans have an obvious hatred for each other and with Jackson now starring in the movie version of The A Team, Evans will have more fuel to add to the fire. Jackson and Evans were the coaches on The Ultimate Fighter Season Ten and there were plenty of fireworks between the two in that season. Evans main issue will be can his fast hands and foot speed overwhelm the the larger harder hitting Rampage Jackson.

Rashad Evans +120 versus Quinton Jackson -140 light heavyweight fight.
Quinton Rampage Jackson and Sugar Rashad Evans were suppose to square off for this fight last year but Jackson flew the UFC coop and went to make the movie The A Team. Evans has been relentless in his desire to keep this fight on the front burner since Jackson bugged out last year.

Now that Evans has what he wants, he may regret that have ever wished for this fight. Evans may be faster on his his feet and with his hands but Jackson will waste no time coming forward and doing his best to shut Evans up. Evans, a wrestler, will be looking for takedowns early and often and he could pay if he catches a shot going in recklessly for a takedown on Jackson. Evans last fight was a decision over Thiago Silva and his fight before that was a loss brutal knockout loss to Lyoto Machida.

Rampage Jackson's biggest problem will be the layoff outside the Octagon. Jackson has had similar layoffs though and this could end up not being the game changer everyone is making it out to be. Jackson does not look like other fighters that have left training to shoot a movie and don't expect a soft version of Jackson in this fight. Jackson -140 will defeat Evans either by lopsided decision or a knockout.

John Hathaway +200 versus Diego Sanchez -240 lightweght fight.
Diego Sanchez
23-3 was dismantled in his last fight by BJ Penn and this will not be an easy return to the Octagon against John Hathaway who is 12-0 and on his way up the UFC ladder. Sanchez actually is coming off two punishing fights, his fight before Penn was a knock down drag out battle with Clay Guida. Sanchez won the fight but took a lot of punishment in the process.

John Hathaway nicknamed "The Hitman" has not faced any major MMA fighters of note on his way to a 12-0 record but he has shown versatility. Hathaway has won by strikes, elbows, and one submission in the first fight of his career. Hathaway has gone the distance four times in his short career, including his last two fights. If this fight goes the distance, Hathaway has no shot.

Diego Sanchez will try to make short work of Hathaway and if Hathaway can survive the first round he will need to finish the fight in the second round. Sanchez is a warrior and he will own the third round. Diego Sanchez -200 will win by a first round knockout. Look for Sanchez to try to end this fight in the first two and a half minutes.

Dong Hyun Kim -110 versus Amir Saddollah -110 middleweight fight.
Amir Sadollahis headed into another battle in his short UFC career. Dong Hyun Kim is no pushover for Sadollah to face in his fourth UFC fight.Kim aka "Stun Gun", has six knockouts and a record of 12-0-1. Kim would have a spotless record if it wasn't for his fight with Karo Parisyan last January. The fight was later changed to a no contest after Parisyan tested positive in his drug test post fight.

This will be Kim's first appearance in the Octagon since that fight January 31, 2009. With a long layoff, will Kim be able to hit Sadollah with purpose? No one will know that answer until the first punch of this fight. Sadollah has the heart to outlast a hard hitting Kim and should score well in a decision.

Dan Lauzon +375 versus Efrain Escudero -450 lightweight fight.
Efrain Escudero is tough enough but now Dan Lauzon is heading into this fight without his trainer and his brother Joe Lauzon. The full story on Fanhouse can be viewed here. This makes an easy fight for Escudero that much easier. Take Escudero -450 and look for this to end early.

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