The UFC will get back to business following UFC 149 with a free fight card on Fox this weekend. Headlining the event will be a Light Heavyweight battle between former champion Mauricio Rua and Brandon Vera, and sportsbooks are already offering action on three of the main card fights.
In what was originally supposed to be the grudge match between Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz, UFC 149’s main event now features Faber against one of the toughest UFC Bantamweight title challengers in the division in Renan Barao. Faber and Barao will battle for the interim title while Cruz recovers from a serious knee injury.
Oddsmakers initially seemed to get this one wrong, handicapping Faber as the favorite, but MMA betting fans have moved the lines dramatically in favor of Barao being the one who comes out on top on Saturday night.
Strikeforce Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will defend his title against Tim Kennedy this weekend, and action is already available at the sportsbooks on the two fights on the main card for the event. The other top bout will feature the return to the cage of Nate Marquardt, who will be making his Strikeforce debut.
The UFC returns to Fuel TV on July 11 with a Middleweight fight for what could be the next title shot at 185 pounds. In the main event Mark Munoz will take on the undefeated Chris Weidman in what will be a tight matchup of talented wrestlers who have heavy hands.
After nearly two years of hype Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen are set to do it all again on July 7. Silva’s UFC Middleweight belt will once again be on the line in what could be the most watched MMA fight of 2012.
Moneyline options are currently available on three UFC 148 fights, including the main event. Action on the rematch between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin along with the Middleweight fight between Dong Hyun Kim and Damian Maia is already being offered at the sportsbooks.
MMA heads back to Brazil for the UFC 147 fight card and action is already available on the main bouts. Headlining the event will be a rematch between former champions Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva, while the co-main event will feature two well-rounded Heavyweights.
Two of the most exciting Lightweight fighters in the UFC will headline the UFC on FX card on June 22 when Clay “The Carpenter” Guida faces the former No. 1 title contender Gray Maynard.
Action is also available on another Lightweight fight between Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout, as well as a Featherweight matchup between Ross Pearson and Cub Swanson.
Another UFC on FX card will be available this weekend for MMA betting fans, and on the line in the main event will be a chance to fight for the first-ever UFC Flyweight title.
In a highly-anticipated rematch Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall will do it again to decide who gets the vacant title shot against Joseph Benavidez. Also on the card will be two great Welterweight matchups and a Bantamweight fight with two of the best in the division.
MMA betting fans will have another free UFC fight card to enjoy this weekend when The Ultimate Fighter Live wraps up on Friday night. The card includes three main card fights and seven undercard matchups.
Besides The Ultimate Fighter finals between Mike Chiesa and Al Iaquinta, MMA betting fans can already get action on the main event between Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann as well as an undercard fight between Lightweights Charles Oliveira and former Ultimate Fighter winner Jonathan Brookins.
MMA betting fans are in for a great card of Bellator action on Friday night as Bellator 70 will feature a Heavyweight title fight, a Lightweight tournament final, and a Bantamweight semi-final battle.
After over a year and a half Bellator Heavyweight champion Cole Konrad will finally defend his belt, and the sportsbooks are asking a hefty price on him against Eric Prindle. As a -1400 favorite at Topbet Konrad and his wrestling skills should have control of this fight from start to finish.
Originally a stacked night full of the top Heavyweights in the world, the UFC 146 fight card has undergone a few changes over the last few weeks. First Alistair Overeem was suspended, and then Mark Hunt had to pull out of the card due to injury.
Bellator Season 6 is nearing completion and MMA betting fans have the best fights of the year remaining on the schedule. This weekend at Bellator 69 the Middleweight tournament finals will pit Maiquel Falcao against Andreas Spang, while the second Welterweight semifinal will feature Karl Amoussou against David Rickels.
Strikeforce betting fans will finally get to see the conclusion of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix this Saturday night when former UFC Heavyweight champ Josh Barnett faces up-and-coming Daniel Cormier in the tournament final.
Cormier will look to stretch his unbeaten streak to 10 fights this weekend with a win over MMA legend Barnett. Despite being an alternate and only getting a chance to enter the Grand Prix because Alistair Overeem was pulled out to go to the UFC, Cormier enters the final as just a slight underdog to win it all.
MMA betting action is back on May 15 with sportsbooks offering action on the UFC on Fuel TV fight card. Headlining the event will be a Featherweight battle between “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and rising star Dustin Poirier.
Action is also currently available on the Donald Cerrone vs. Jeremy Stephens fight.
Jung will be looking to follow up a surprising seven-second KO over Mark Hominick in his UFC debut last December with another upset win at UFC on Fuel TV.
Season 6 tournament action returns to Bellator this weekend with a Featherweight tournament final and a Bantamweight tournament semifinal. Action is also available on two other main card fights, including a welterweight re-match between Marius Zaromskis and Waachiim Spiritwolf.
Marlon Sandro will be making his second straight Bellator Featherweight tournament final appearance. Last season he was KOed by a Pat Curran head kick; this year he hopes to earn title shot and a chance for redemption by beating Daniel Straus.
At Bellator 67 Lightweight champ Michael Chandler will have his non-title refresher as he waits for the winner of the Lightweight tournament. Meanwhile, the one tournament fight on the card is a Welterweight semi-final between Ben Saunders and Bryan Baker.
Rounding out the main card will be a Heavyweight matchup between Damian Grabowski and Dave Huckaba, as well as a Welterweight fight between Ryan Ford and Luis Santos.
UFC on Fox 3 is set to go down on May 5, and Lightweights will headline the show. In the main event Jim Miller will battle Nate Diaz with a potential title shot on the line, while the co-main event features rising star Johny Hendricks taking on Josh Koscheck.
Diaz has looked much improved since he moved back down to Lightweight last September. Impressive wins over Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone have displayed his vastly improved boxing skills and have put him in a position to contend for a title.
This week’s Bellator action will come from Cleveland, Ohio and will feature two Middleweight tournament semi-final fights, two Lightweight semi-final fights, and a highly-anticipated Lightweight rematch between former champion Eddie Alvarez and Shinya Aoki.
In the main event of the Bellator 66 fight card Alvarez will look to avenge a loss he suffered to Aoki over three years ago. In that fight Aoki was able to end it in the first round via heel hook submission, but it is Alvarez that has seemed to evolve more over the last three years.
UFC returns to pay-per-view on April 21 with a Light Heavyweight fight for the ages, as Jon “Bones” Jones will defend his title for the third time in only seven months against another former UFC Light Heavyweight champion.
UFC 145 will also see the return of highly-touted Welterweight prospect Rory MacDonald.
It will be the Bantamweights' turn this weekend when the Bellator Fighting Championships land in New Jersey for Bellator 65. Headlining the card will be a title fight between current champion Zach Makovsky and Season 5 Bantamweight tournament winner Eduardo Dantas.
UFC betting will return on April 14 with UFC on Fuel TV 2. The card consists of twelve fights, with four making the free broadcast.
The main event on the card will feature two Light Heavyweight fighters looking to get into the Top 10 of the division rankings.
Thiago Silva will return to action following a year-long suspension for testing positive for banned substances.
His injured neck has had a year to heal, but the question remains to be answered as to whether he’s 100% again. If he is back to the form he was in a couple of years ago his opponent could be in for a rough night.
The most dominant champion in the Bellator Fighting Championships will be back in action this weekend at Bellator 64 when Ben Askren defends his title against Season 5 Welterweight tournament winner Douglas Lima.
Askren is one of the best fighters in the world not fighting in the UFC. His elite wrestling skills have propelled him to nine straight victories, where he dominated most of the action with take-downs and ground-and-pound.
This week the Bellator Fighting Championships will begin their Welterweight tournament with four quarterfinal fights, with the winner getting a six-figure payday and a shot at undefeated Ben Askren and the Bellator Welterweight title later in the year.
Bellator 62 odds focus on the Lightweight Tournament Friday as MMA betting action resumes during a rare lull in UFC action.
Quarterfinal lightweight battles plus the long-awaited heavyweight matchup between Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos goes from the Laredo Energy Center in Laredo, Texas.
In Season 4’s Lightweight tournament Patricky Freire made it into the finals after a couple of highlight reel KOs, only to lose a unanimous decision to Michael Chandler.
Since then, he knocked out Kurt Pellegrino and will be looking to go all the way in this year’s tournament.
Middleweights will be the theme for Bellator 61 betting as the promotion heads south to Bossier City, Louisiana. The sportsbooks are currently offering action on the five main card fights.
In the main event a Heavyweight tournament semi-final from last season between Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos will finally be played out, and the rest of the Bellator 61 main fight card will consist of four Middleweight tournament quarterfinals.
Like most sports, MMA offers up a huge upset that few fans or handicappers expect to happen. Unlike most sports where big upsets are unusual, in the MMA, every fighter has a puncher's chance of winning. It makes betting UFC odds a fun and profitable outlet for smart sports bettors.
Here is a short list of some of the biggest upsets in UFC history, in order of moneyline payout.
Matt Serra vs. Georges St-Pierre
The featherweight championship is on the line and the featherweight tournament kicks off when the Bellator Fighting Championships kicks off its sixth season Friday.
Champion Joe Warren and Pat Curran get in the cage in the Bellator 60 Main Event March 9 at The Horseshoe Casino in Indiana.
Warren is 7-2 and returns to defend his Bellator featherweight strap. He faces the Curran, a world-class grappler and self-proclaimed baddest man on the planet, who is 16-4 lifetime.
The world of female MMA could be making a big leap forward this weekend when Olympic judo bronze medalist Ronda Rousey attempts to capture her first world title and continue her complete dominance.
Also on the Strikeforce card Josh Thomson will be looking to rebound from a decision loss to Tatsuya Kawajiri when he steps into the cage against former EliteXC Lightweight champion K.J. Noons.
In other action Paul Daley will hope to get a step closer to another Strikeforce title shot with a victory over Kazuo Misaki.
UFC on FX 2 will feature two semi-final fights in the Flyweight tournament and a Welterweight contender match between two lethal strikers. Also on the televised card, two rising stars in the Middleweight division will look to take a step closer to contention.
In the main event of UFC on FX 2, Welterweights Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann find themselves on the outskirts of the division-contender picture following recent losses to top contenders. Both need a win to keep any title shot hopes alive, while a loss will almost completely push the loser out the 170-pound picture.
For the first time in almost two years UFC Lightweight champion Frank Edgar will get into the Octagon against someone other than Gray Maynard or B.J. Penn.
With those four epic battles behind him, Edgar will now defend his title against former WEC Lightweight champion Ben Henderson.
Also on the UFC 144 fight card will be a Lightweight contender bout between Joe Lauzon and Anthony Pettis, a Light Heavyweight match between Quinton Jackson and Ryan Bader, and a Heavyweight battle between Cheick Kongo and Mark Hunt.