Underdog bettors will be hoping for a repeat of a highly profitable UFC 71 fight next weekend, when UFC heads to Northern Ireland for UFC 72: Victory.
There's was tons of money to be made during UFC 71 if you didn't mind going against the favorite. In the main event Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell was a strong heavy favorite in his Light Heavy Weight title bout with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Everyone knows by now that the fight ended with Jackson wailing on the champ and stealing his title. Bettors also know that Rampage paid off quite well at +200 betting odds for the upset. That was nothing compared to Keith Jardine's shocking loss to Houston Alexander. It only took Alexander 48 seconds and a couple of punishing right hands to drop Jardine, who was a huge -550 favorite in the fight.
Bettors probably won't be receiving such high underdog betting odds in the UFC 72 bouts, but that doesn't mean there isn't more money to be made on upsets. The main event, Rich Franklin versus Yushin Okami looks like another prime opportunity for an upset. The current odds have Franklin, the former Middleweight champion, listed as a -185 favorite. The lesser-known Okami is a +155 underdog.
Both fighters match up extremely well, with comparable size and fighting techniques. Franklin and Okami can both throw hard-hitting punches, and they're also highly skilled defensive grapplers if the fight ends up on the ground. Okami only has four UFC fights under his belt (but he is 21-3-0 lifetime in MMA) and he's won all four using different methods. He went the distance in his last fight versus Mike Swick, winning a unanimous decision after inflicting a beating on the highly-skilled Swick.
In his two previous fights before defeating Swick, Okami took out Rory Singer with a submission and delivered a massive TKO to Kalib Starnes. If you ask anyone about Okami the first thing they'll likely mention is how freakishly strong he is. For a middleweight fighter Okami is strong as an ox, and if he can get Franklin down and use his ?ground and pound? on him the fight will be over quick.
UFC 72 Betting Odds available at WagerWeb Sportsbook
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