Ufc 114

Ufc 114 Well, [B][I]IT'S TIME [/I][/B]to post an official wager for UFC 114. I thoroughly believe there is money to be made, tickets to cash and the betting and handicapping of MMA has certainly been exposed. There is so much TV/Internet coverage of this growing sport it is hard to ignore. In case you haven't noticed....our LVASports member [B]Truushot[/B] has done an excellent job with his posts, selections and all-around boxing/MMA write-ups are second to none. We welcome any other members to post and discuss this beatable sport. [B]Rashad Evans -105 [/B]vs Quinton Jackson Jackson is a former champion with strong striking skills, some power but little else. Yes, he can knock anyone out in the light heavyweight division, but I believe this layoff, where he has not fought since March 2009, and his intense dislike for Evans will ultimately be his downfall in this contest. Jackson has spent the good part of the past 5 months filming a movie, "The A Team," and we know from the past that training is not something he likes to do. He ballooned to 252 pounds! He now says he is in the best shape of his life and he better be. He contemplated retiring, withdrew from this fight which was originally scheduled last year in his home town of Memphis and decided to pursue acting instead. Evans on the other hand is a gym rat, is always in shape and if he performs as well as he did in his last fight dominating Thiago Silva with striking and then take-downs, this strategy will go far to defeating Jackson. Jackson's career and UFC days are dwindling, especially if he loses this fight, while Evans seems to be getting better and after a loss has shown the dedication to getting his belt back. The winner of this fight gets a title shot against Mauricio Rua. Jackson is so consumed with beating a hated TUF rival here that he may exhaust himself after one round. Advantage Evans. I attended the public workout at the MGM on Thursday. I saw both fighters and Evans was sharp. He moves well, is the better athlete and when this fight gets to the ground will control the action. Jackson has been and is concentrating on power and this seems to be his game plan. His trainer mentioned they are not using the mats and will stand up for the entire fight. Interesting indeed. Jackson moves slow and the only way I see him winning this fight is with a knockout. But, [B]I project Evans to win by decision or submission.[/B] This is a pick'em fight pretty much across the board, however the public at the workout was 70/30 in favor of Jackson, today at the weigh in it was 80/20, so I think Jackson will go off at minus 6/5 or higher. It should not hurt to wait to bet Evans late here.

Unlike Evans, Quinton Jackson on the other hand does not have anyone overlooking the “small” details in his training. He currently works out of the Wolfslair MMA Academy in England—a newer club with few experienced fighters. Wolfslair houses some decent strikers in Michael Bisping, Cheick Kongo and Paul Kelly however, they are still very much C+ level fighters with very little skill outside of striking, and of the group, Jackson is by far the most experienced. Besides there being no one of comparable ability at Wolfslair to push Jackson in his training, the coaching staff is sorely lacking—there is no one of note heading jujitsu and a wrestling coach is non-existent. Given this, it is very unlikely there will be anyone with decent game to help Jackson formulate a formidable battle plan. This alone may give Evans the edge needed to win this fight. Another intangible that will affect the outcome of this match is the desire to compete. On September 22, 2009, Jackson wrote on his website that due to mistreatment by the UFC, he was “done fighting”, however, on December 4, 2009, Jackson wrote that he will return to the UFC to fulfill his contract and to fight Rashad Evans. Realistically, Jackson is done fighting. He has long left the UFC mentally and has gone on to pursue “bigger and better things”, namely, an acting career. He will be staring as B.A. Baracus in the upcoming A-Team movie and already has roles lined up in upcoming feature films such as Never Surrender, Duel of Legends and Death Warrior. If is highly unlikely Jackson still wants to compete at this level when Hollywood is beckoning—he will finish his current UFC contract and then move on. With the distraction of movie stardom looming in the horizon, and as Jackson has never been one to train properly for a fight, it more than likely he will be ill prepared to face Evans. (fighting-mma.com) This guy isn't right often enough on his picks but his knowledge of the sport is excellent. As ALF said this sport is beatable.

Good stuff guys. I'm still gathering opinions on this (don't trust myself in UFC).. but this felt like the right side for mainly what Truu mentioned with the motivation. GL

Agree mmafighting.com is constantly on the pulse of the sport. Ariel and his crew from New York were the first media on the scene and the last ones to leave interviewing all the fighters on the card.

tru do you have a handicap on Bisping-Miller? Not impressed with Bisping overall, but Miller must go to the ground to have any shot....your take please.

[QUOTE=Alf M;22412]tru do you have a handicap on Bisping-Miller? Not impressed with Bisping overall, but Miller must go to the ground to have any shot....your take please.[/QUOTE] Miller is a real wild card. He has never been KO'd or submitted in his 15 fight MMA career. Of those 15 fights he's had one victory by KO. Many of these fights where at a much lower level of competition though. Bisping is an accomplished striker with little to no ground skills. To me this fight could well be similar to Koscheck vs Daley. British/UK fighters have little to no proper training in BJJ or Wrestling. Miller can obviously take a punch, having never been KO'd. Looking over Bisping's record he hasn't fought anyone with Miller's ground skills. I like the upset in this fight. Miller is a tough guy that won't crack easily. Bisping has no ground skills. I'm looking for Miller to do what Koscheck did. Get Bisping on the ground and either submit him or decision him. This is almost certainly an eliminator fight for Miller. If he loses Dana White will cut him. He has the most to lose. Even if Bisping loses he's unlikely to get cut from the UFC. He still has a good fan base and the UFC can't afford to lose another UK fighter. (Daley was cut after the last UFC for an illegal blow after the bell.) Miller has to know he can't win this fight on the feet. He has to get it to the ground. I'm betting he can get the fight there. GL

I guess the big question is can we get better then +150 by waiting to bet it.

Looks like I'm alone on this. I like Rampage in this fight. Rashad's wrestling is highly overrated and Rampage's wrestling is underrated. I wish Rampage would use his wrestling more as a means to develop offense. His defensive wrestling is outstanding. Rashad is small and you will see a tremendous size difference between the two come fight time. Rampage can push him around and get him in the clinch. Rashad will not take Rampage down b/c I don't think he can. Rashad beat Liddell and Griffin b/c of a speed advantage. I don't know if he has that advantage here.

[QUOTE=truushot;22413]Miller is a real wild card. He has never been KO'd or submitted in his 15 fight MMA career. Of those 15 fights he's had one victory by KO. Many of these fights where at a much lower level of competition though. Bisping is an accomplished striker with little to no ground skills. To me this fight could well be similar to Koscheck vs Daley. British/UK fighters have little to no proper training in BJJ or Wrestling. Miller can obviously take a punch, having never been KO'd. Looking over Bisping's record he hasn't fought anyone with Miller's ground skills. I like the upset in this fight. Miller is a tough guy that won't crack easily. Bisping has no ground skills. I'm looking for Miller to do what Koscheck did. Get Bisping on the ground and either submit him or decision him. This is almost certainly an eliminator fight for Miller. If he loses Dana White will cut him. He has the most to lose. Even if Bisping loses he's unlikely to get cut from the UFC. He still has a good fan base and the UFC can't afford to lose another UK fighter. (Daley was cut after the last UFC for an illegal blow after the bell.) Miller has to know he can't win this fight on the feet. He has to get it to the ground. I'm betting he can get the fight there. GL[/QUOTE] Bisping is the play here if you play it. Dan Miller will not be cut at all. He and his wife have a 4.5 month old son with a kidney disease who needs a transplant. They've also lost a child previously.

[QUOTE=Shooter;22419]Looks like I'm alone on this. I like Rampage in this fight. Rashad's wrestling is highly overrated and Rampage's wrestling is underrated. I wish Rampage would use his wrestling more as a means to develop offense. His defensive wrestling is outstanding. Rashad is small and you will see a tremendous size difference between the two come fight time. Rampage can push him around and get him in the clinch. Rashad will not take Rampage down b/c I don't think he can. Rashad beat Liddell and Griffin b/c of a speed advantage. I don't know if he has that advantage here.[/QUOTE] Jackson is 2 inches taller, they both weight 205 and Griffin has a 1.5 inch reach advantage. Should be an interesting fight.