It’s been a full few weeks of UFC fight nights and now we are getting up to the main event. Jon Jones will be back in the octagon defending his light heavyweight title against his newest challenger, Glover Teixeira at UFC 172. Last week we had the TUF finale on Wednesday and then a big Fight Night on Saturday so as MMA fans we have been treated to a lot of quality fights of late. In my last post I picked Browne to win via KO and Tate and Nurmagomedov to win their respective fights. I got 2 of the 3 right, but Browne was outmatched against Werdum which I had not expected. It was still another profitable night overall as my record continues to improve this season.
2014 Record: 20-7 for +13.40 units.
Jon Jones vs Glover Teixeira
Jon Jones had his biggest test as the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion in his last fight against Alexander Gustafsson. He was damaged in that fight and some people thought he lost it, but he was able to convince the judges to give him a decision victory. It was the first time we really saw Jones in danger and he says that fight really woke him up and showed him the areas that he needs to improve in order to keep his belt. Even though the fans were calling for a Gustafsson rematch the UFC felt that Teixeira had earned a shot at the belt. Glover is 5-0 with the UFC, but his wins haven’t come against the top quality fighters in the division. His last couple of wins have been over James Te Huna and Ryan Bader, neither of who you would really consider a contender in the division. Glover does have the power to cause some damage to Jones, but I don’t see him landing any big punches because of Jones reach advantage. This fight should be a fairly easy victory for Jon Jones and will serve as a tune up for his rematch with Gustafsson.
Take Jones -500 @ 5Dimes.
Anthony Johnson vs Phil Davis
This is a very interesting light heavyweight fight because both of these guys could be in the discussion for a title shot if they win this fight and then get another win after while Jones has his rematch with Gustafsson. In my opinion that means each of these guys are 2 wins away from a title shot against Jones. Phil Davis already fought in a title eliminator against Rashad Evans back in January of 2012, but lost that fight via decision. Since then he has 3 straight wins including a big W over Lyoto Machida in Brazil last August, which really showed he can hang with the top guys in the division.
Anthony Johnson is a very interesting animal all together. Johnson was in the UFC back from 2007 to 2012, but he was trying to fight at too light of a weight, which resulted in him missing weight a variety of times. He was trying to fight at welterweight for a good portion of his career and then he was even failing to make weight at middleweight. His loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 142 at a 197lb catch weight because Johnson missed weight resulted in him being cut from the UFC. He has now accepted that he is a light heavyweight fighter and has 6 wins in a row single leaving the UFC. Phil Davis will be the most dangerous opponent Johnson has faced in his career, but he has the experience to win this fight and now that he is in the correct weight class he could really do some damage.
Take Johnson +170 @ 5Dimes.
Joseph Benavidez vs Tim Elliott
The final fight of the preliminary card on Fox Sports 1 is a very interesting flyweight fight between Benavidez and Elliott. Benavidez is coming off a title fight loss to Demetrious Johnson, but a win here will keep him right at the top of the flyweight division. Benavidez has lost to Johnson twice in his last 9 fights, but has won the other 7. Elliott is coming off a loss to Ali Bagautinov, but getting to fight Benavidez is great for him. A win will really put him in the thick of things in the flyweight division, but a second loss in a row could send him down quite a few pegs. I just don’t think Elliott will be ready for a fighter of Benavidez’s quality. Look for Benavidez to control this fight and win by either knockout or decision.
Take Benavidez -380 @ 5Dimes.
Anthony Johnson • Glover Teixeira • Jon Jones • Phil Davis • UFC 172 betting
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