This PPV card probably has the least depth of any UFC pay-per-view I have come across in the past few years. In my opinion there is really only one interesting fight on the entire card and that’s the main event Bantamweight title fight between TJ Dillashaw and Renan Barao. This fight does have to completely carry this card and it alone will sell some PPV’s based on just how exciting their first title fight was and the interest of the MMA fans wanting to find out if Dillashaw can do it again or if his amazing performance to win the belt in the first place was a fluke.
After these guys though there is absolutely nothing on this card. I’m only going to give my pick for the Dillashaw vs Barao fight in this post and then I will wonder aloud to myself why the UFC Fight Night or UFC on Fox cards are so much deeper than a PPV card that asks fans to pay money to watch one interesting fight.
Last weekend I went 2 for 5 on my picks for the weekend that featured both Fight Night 48 and Fight Night 49. My wins were taking Leites to win and Woodley inside distance. The Henderson loss hurt me a little bit, but overall the night ended only down 1.38 units.
2014 Record: 40-22 for +17.36 units.
TJ Dillashaw vs Renan Barao
If you saw the first fight between these two at UFC 173 you will have seen Dillashaw absolutely dominate Barao for 5 rounds. Dillashaw almost finished it in the first round, but give Barao some credit for somehow staying in the fight. All that really did though was allow Dillashaw to continue to dominate for 4 more rounds before finally TKO’ing Barao with a head kick and punches in the 5th. Dillashaw was a big underdog heading into that fight at something like 6 to 1 if I remember correctly.
Barao was on a 32 fight winning streak heading into that fight including 9 wins in the WEC/UFC over all of the top guys (2x Faber), but for some reason he looked outclassed against Dillashaw.
Dillashaw is a small favourite heading into this fight and he was a pleasure to watch in his first fight with Barao, but something tells me Barao will be more ready this time around. He will realize that he will have to deal with the speed and angle changes that Dillashaw is going to throw at him and I’m sure he will have a better answer this time around.
Barao is a beast who doesn’t lose, but Dillashaw made him look silly. I’m not really sure why, but I’m taking Barao in this one to bounce back. Whenever you lose it always makes that next fight more personal and you also learn more from your loss. The only problem with this theory is if Dillashaw truly is that much better than Barao, but I don’t think it’s possible to be head and shoulders above a guy who has beaten all of the best in the division.
Take Renan Barao +135 @ 5Dimes.eu.
Renan Barao • TJ Dillashaw • UFC 177 betting