MMA betting – Jackson defends title against hometown hero Griffin
Posted on 7/3/2008 11:16:50 PM
By Jack "The Hammer" Howard
MMA betting?UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin
July 5 @ 10 p.m. ET, Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada
UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin has arrived, and odds are it will be a great card. Two fights in particular look very appealing and should offer a lot of action.
In the main event, Forrest Griffin (+200 odds) will try to wrest the light heavyweight title from Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (-260 odds). The underdog Griffin is riding high after taking down Mauricio “Shogun” Rua with a rear naked choke in his latest fight.
Rua was considered by many to be one of the world's greatest pound-for-pound fighters. In fact, Rua was the last fighter to defeat Jackson, which he did via strikes in 2005 in PRIDE. Griffin has a 15-4 record in his MMA career.
Defeating Jackson will be no easy task. In fact, Jackson is a heavy favorite for Saturday's fight. “Rampage”, with a 28-6 career MMA record, has won six straight fights, including victories over Dan Henderson and Chuck Liddell. He is extremely strong and often ends his fights with strikes and punches.
The fact that Jackson and Griffin shared the stage as coaches for this season's Ultimate Fighter will only add intrigue to Saturday's title match. Griffin has the height advantage (6'3” to Jackson's 6'1”) as well as the benefit of fighting on his home turf with a raucous crowd behind him (he's a Las Vegas, Nevada native).
Jackson is the more accomplished, more skilled fighter. It should be a heated, wild, entertaining fight.
Patrick “The Predator” Cote will battle Ricardo “Big Dog” Almeida in a middleweight bout. Cote, a Rimouski, Quebec native, has a 13-4 professional record. He's won his last four fights and six of seven, including three straight TKOs.
He gives an inch to the six-foot Almeida, who has racked up a 9-2 MMA record. Almeida, a Brazil native, has strung together seven wins in a row, including three by submission. That's two contrasting styles that should make for an entertaining fight.
It should be an incredible night for sports bettors and MMA betting.
A Laval, Quebec native, Guy LaPierre grew up rooting
for the Montreal Alouettes. Now he gets to handicap them for a living as our
resident CFL expert. Guy enjoys the game South of the Border, but three-down
football is his specialty. Thoughts or
questions? Email Comments@BetOnline.com.
