UFC 148 Preview: Gambling Spotlight

Here are the most recent betting lines courtesy of Bodog for UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II, which comes to you tomorrow night from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, live on Pay-Per-View.

The most anticipated rematch in quite some time will serve as the main event as the champion comes in as the favourite, which is a familiar situation for Silva, who has been the favourite betting wise in all but one of his UFC bouts.

Below are my “Lock of the Night”, “Upset of the Night”, as well as the “Line to Avoid” for “UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II”.

Anderson Silva (-300) vs. Chael Sonnen (+230)

Tito Ortiz (+250) vs. Forest Griffin (-325)

Cung Le (+185) vs. Patrick Cote (-235)

Demian Maia (+125) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (-155)

Cody McKenzie (+400) vs. Chad Mendes (-600)

Ivan Menjivar (Even) vs. Mike Easton (-130)

Lock of the Night: Chad Mendes over Cody McKenzie
Yes, I realize this is a safe pick with Chad Mendes being the biggest favourite on the main card, but the fact is, there is a reason for this.  McKenzie offers one threat to Mendes which is his guillotine during one of Mendes’ take downs.  There is no doubt Mendes has worked hours on this and will be very well prepared to defend it.

Upset of the Night: Cung Le over Patrick Cote
While Cung Le has had some issues taking shots in his past fights, he is still one of the most dynamic strikers in the game, and his quickness could cause problems for Cote.  Additionally, Cote has added pressure with this being his first fight back in the UFC after being cut, which will work to his disadvantage.

Line to Avoid: Demian Maia vs. Dong Hyun Kim
I believe Dong Hyun Kim uses his reach effectively and wins this matchup, however, with the combination of the line being so close, as well as the fact that this is the debut of Demian Maia at 170 pounds, this is the fight to stay away from come Saturday night.