UFC 137 from Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada promises to be a card that attracts some of the largest MMA betting activity of the entire year. UFC 137 begins on Saturday, October 29 at 9 PM ET on Pay per View.
The main card will be highlighted by the welterweight matchup of long time MMA betting and fan favorite BJ Penn against Nick Diaz. Penn was a surprise entry for UFC 137 but said that UFC boss Dana White made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse.
There are four other bouts on the UFC 137 main card. In heavyweight action Cheick Kongo will take on Matt Mitrione and Mirko Filipovic will take on Roy Nelson. Scott Jorgensen will matchup with Jeff Curran in a Bantamweight showdown while Hatsu Hioki will take on George Roop in a featherweight match.
Spike TV will have a two-bout preliminary card as Dennis Silver will take on Donald Cerrone in a lightweight bout and from the featherweight ranks Tyson Griffin will meet Bart Palaszewski.
The 32 year old Penn is one of the superstars of the UFC circuit and a MMA betting legend. Penn has a career mark of 16-7 and has been in and out of UFC since 2001. He won the WFC welterweight championship in 2004 and later went on to win the UFC lightweight championship in 2008. In January of 2009 Penn had a shot to recapture the welterweight title but was defeated by another popular legend George St. Pierre. He lost the lightweight title to Frankie Edgar and the rematch that followed. He is coming off a win over Matt Hughes in November of 2010 and a draw against Jon Fitch last February 27. The first loss to Edgar was highly controversial and Penn has never been the same since.
Diaz is 28 years old and has a career professional record of 25-7. He is coming off a win from the Strikeforce circuit over Paul Dailey in a TKO. Diaz was in UFC 5 years ago but went on to the Strikeforce circuit where he became dominant as the champion of the Strikeforce welterweight division. He has won 10 bouts in a row and has not lost in 4 years.
In Diaz and Penn there is a matchup of the new versus the old and an outstanding contrast in style and reputation.
