UFC is returning to Atlantic City for the first time since 2005 for an event on June 22nd. Ranked lightweights Gray Maynard and Clay Guida will headline the event. Maynard and Guida are both coming off losses to the men who fought for the 155-pound title last month, Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson. This lightweight bout will go for five rounds.
This should be a huge event in Atlantic City as it’s packed over the summer and there’s nothing like a fight to get the town buzzing. People will be lining up to bet the fights of course, and if you can’t make it you’ll be check out sportsbook reviews to join in the fun.
It’s also important for the UFC and MMA to spread its wings and keep hitting more cities in order to bring this sport to the masses. Both of these fighters really need a win to get back in contention, so it should be a real battle.
If anyone, including myself, questioned women’s MMA, the Showtime event on March 5 in Columbus should have changed everyone’s minds. The women were the stars. They weren’t just good women’s fights; they were good MMA fights. Just as men’s MMA took some years to grow into its current greatness, women’s MMA is certainly coming around.
With stars like Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis showing up and performing like they did, more and more world class athletes will join the women’s ranks. This will only bring more competition and excellence.
But let’s not forget the men. There were some outstanding performances by Kazuo Misaki, Roger Bowling, Pat Healy and Ryan Couture. All in all it was an excellent night of exciting fights. Check out the recap and pics below.
The lightweight championship will be on the line as MMA betting action from Tokyo will feature Frankie Edgar, the defending champion, matched up with Ben Henderson for the title belt.
The lightweight championship is not all as there will be six other bouts on the main card to make for a phenomenal evening of MMA betting action that will take place on Saturday, February 25th. A total of seven main card bouts will make for an expected four hours of pay per view action compared to the standard three hours that is the norm.
From the light heavyweight class Ryan Bader will take on Quinton Jackson while in heavyweight action Cheick Kongo will face Mark Hunt. Japan’s own Yoshiro Akiyama will take on Jake Shields in welterweight action, while another Japanese fighter, Yushin Okami, will take on Tim Boetsch in a middleweight bout. In featherweight action, Japan’s Hatsu Hioki will face Bart Palaszewski and in lightweight action, Anthony Pettis will take on Joe Lauzon.
Frankie Edgar is the champion of the lightweight class. He first won the belt over BJ Penn at UFC 112 in April of 2010 in a highly disputed unanimous decision that was coupled with Penn not fighting at his best and coming off as unprepared. But four months later the duo met again in a highly anticipated rematch in which Edgar scored yet another unanimous decision to erase any doubts about his legitimacy as the champ. Since then he has defended the lightweight belt twice with a draw and a win over Gray Maynard in another rematch scenario. Edgar has an overall career record of 14-1-1 and fights out of Toms River, New Jersey. Edgar has gone from being scoffed at to being a respected lightweight since he has kept the belt for two years after that initial win over Penn.
Ben Henderson fights out of Glendale, Arizona and makes for a formidable challenger to Edgar. Henderson has won his last three bouts to stand with a record of 15-2 for his career. Henderson was the WEC lightweight champion from 2009-2010 before moving to the UFC where he has a 3-0 career mark. He is coming off a unanimous decision win over Clay Guida on November 12th which was an elimination bout for a title shot at Edgar. Henderson was an All American NAIA wrestler and fights for the MMA lab.
MMA betting odds excitement is set to resume on Saturday, February 4 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada with UFC 143 Diaz vs. Condit, which headlines a main card that totals five bouts.
The feature bout for UFC 143 has Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit for the Interim Welterweight Championship. Also on the Main Card MMA betting odds board will be a Heavyweight Bout between Roy Nelson and Fabricio Werdum, a Welterweight Bout between Josh Koscheck and Mike Pierce, a Bantamweight Bout between Renan Barao and Scott Jorgensen, and a Middleweight Bout between Ed Herman and Clifford Starks.
There are also a total of six Preliminary Card bouts that will be featured on FX Network. Dustin Poirier will face Max Halloway in a Featherweight bout, Matthew Riddle will face Jorge Lopez in a Welterweight bout, Alex Caceres will take on Edwin Figueroa in a Bantamweight bout, Matt Brown will face Chris Cope in a Welterweight Bout, Dan Stittgen will fight Stephen Thompson in a Welterweight fight and Rafael Natal will matchup with Michael Kuiper in a Middleweight fight.
Nick Diaz has one of the most diverse backgrounds in all of the UFC. In his first UFC bout since coming back to the circuit from Strikeforce he defeated BJ Penn in a unanimous decision last October 29 at UFC 137 in a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors. Diaz was the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion that vacated the belt in order to return to UFC. He left UFC after a Technical Knockout win over Gleison Tibau at UFC 65 on November 18, 2006. He has also had success fighting in the Dream and Elite XC circuits after beginning his career in the IFC Warriors in August of 2001. To further add to his strong and diverse background Diaz also has experience as a boxer. Diaz is about an 8-5 favorite in MMA betting odds to defeat Condit.
Carlos Condit fights out of Albuquerque, New Mexico and has been fighting in UFC since April of 2009. He is riding a four-bout winning streak and he is coming off a knockout win over Dong Hyun Kim on July 2, 2011. His last two bouts have earned him Knockout of the Night honors. Condit also has a diverse background that includes a WEC Welterweight Championship and Rumble of the Rock experience.
.Gina Carano attends the Cinema Society screening of ‘Haywire’ at Landmark Sunshine Cinema on January 18, 2012 in New York City. ….
Former Strikeforce fighter Gina Carano gets all decked out on the red carpet for her new film “Haywire” that opens this weekend. Get some of Gina’s reactions here.
