Last weekends Fight Night in Phoenix was a great show with a couple of big knockouts from Mitrione and Overeem to start off the big fights part of the card, followed by Dos Anjos absolutely destroying Nick Diaz before JDS pulled out a tight performance beating Miocic. Stipe stood in there with JDS for a full 5 rounds, which has to be commended so I expect that fight to be looked upon favourably for both men from the UFC brass. Dos Santos not winning by knockout was my only loss of the evening where I went 2-1 with wins on the Dos Anjos W and the Mitrione KO.
2014 Record: 52-33 for +15.31 units.
The TUF Finale was also last weekend and Carla Esparza is now the UFC Strawweight Champion after dominating Rose Namajunas with takedowns in their fight. Check the full inaugural rankings of the Women’s Strawweight division here.
This weekends Fight Night card isn’t nearly as strong as last weekends, but with Machida headlining the card you can at least expect one very exciting fight that involves The Dragon.
Lyoto Machida vs CB Dollaway
Machida is coming off a Middleweight Championship loss against Chris Weidman, where he was beat by uanimous decision, but didn’t lose any fans because his fighter spirit and unique striking style still showed through in the loss. That said he still has to start over again if he hopes to earn another shot before retiring and that means #10 ranked CB Dollaway is the first challenger in his way.
Dollaway won a decision victory over Francis Carmont in his last fight and he actually hasn’t beaten anyone ranked in the top 15 at Middleweight at this time. Machida is going to be a huge step up for Dollaway, and I just don’t think he has what it takes. Machida showed in the 4th and 5th rounds against Weidman that he can dig deep late in a 5 round fight and pull out some crazy striking to win rounds even when down. Dollaway on the other hand hasn’t even been in a 5 round fight in his career. I think this will be the difference, because I don’t see Machida losing a 5 round decision in this one. His last 2 fights went 5 rounds and he comes alive in the Championship Rounds, which will be the undoing for Dollaway if he manages to get that far.
Play: Machida -600 @ 5Dimes.eu
Renan Barao vs Mitch Gagnon
This is a very interesting fight because it’s a very low level competitor for Renan Barao. After losing his title to TJ Dillashaw back in May of this year, Barao was in line for an instant rematch, but his weight cut did not go well and Barao was hospitalized and had to withdraw from the bout. Now Barao, who was on a ridiculous 32 fight winning streak if you don’t count one no-contest before losing to Dillashaw, has to fight Mitch Gagnon who is ranked #14 on the UFC Bantamweight Rankings.
This really should be a walk in the park for Barao, but let’s not forget that Dillashaw was not ranked very high when he won the belt from Barao in May.
The Canadian, Gagnon, has won 4 fights in a row in the UFC, winning 3 by submission in the first round. That said, he hasn’t fought anyone near the level of Barao and this might just be too big a jump for him at this point in his career. Barao, at 27 years old is still a young fighter and I expect that he’s itching to get back to the Championship.
Play: Barao -650 @ BetOnline.ag
Those are the two most exciting and important fights on this card. The Patrick Cummins fight is somewhat interesting after he completely man handled Kingsbury in his last fight. This opponent is a step up for him and another win may earn him a shot against a ranked opponent next time out.
One Response to “UFC Fight Night 58: Machida vs Dollaway Free Betting Pick”