Ever since Irish featherweight Conor McGregor dominated in his UFC debut, UFC President Dana White has said he wants McGregor to be part of the UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 card in Boston. Not only does him fighting on the card make sense, but now he has a opponent eyeing a match-up with him.

TUF 14 cast member Akira Corassani (2-0 UFC) has went to youtube and has started his campaign to fight the Irishman.

“Conor McGregor, I hereby challenge you to fight me on Aug. 17, 2013, on FOX Sports 1 at TD Garden,” Corassani said in the embedded video. He admires him as a fighter and his camp, but thinks the fight makes complete sense.

“I respect you, I respect your team, and I respect the Republic or Ireland,” Corassani said to McGregor. “But it’s time to do this.”

Corassani is coming off a split-decision victory over Andy Ogle and a unanimous-decision win over Robbie Peralta since his semifinal-round finish on “TUF 14.” Corassani has looked  improved since his TUF 14 stint, his anger has subsided and his striking looks crisp.

Meanwhile, former two-division Cage Warriors champ Conor McGregor made a huge impact in his UFC debut earning the “Knockout of the Night” bonus after stopping Marcus Brimage. The first round stoppage was the Irishman’s 9th straight win, and has stilled never been to a decision in his career.

As of Monday morning, McGregor had given no response via Twitter, and UFC officials have given no indication of whom he may fight at the summer event, but spectators do expect McGregor to be on the card.

Final Thought:

I think this is a perfect match-up for McGregor and that Corassani should keep his mouth shut. I respect Akira for stepping up and calling McGregor out, but even with his improvements, Akira isn’t in the same league as Conor. Besides Brimmage, this could be the hardest fight Conor has seen in his mma career. I see this fight being another stepping stone for the future champ in McGregor.

UFC 161 in Winnipeg on June 15th is stacking up to be a great card. This week we already found out that Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will fight Mauricio Rua in a rematch from back in Pride that ended up being the 2005 Fight of the year.

Jake Shields is returning to the welterweight division to accept the challenge by Tyron Woodley who called out the former Strikeforce champ after his first UFC win when he knocked out Jay Hieron in the first round. And now with the addition of Soa Palelei versus Stipe Miocic, UFC 161 is coming together nicely, and it just keeps getting better.

It didn’t take Dan Henderson long to get a new opponent after his recent split decision loss to Machida at UFC 157. Henderson was medically cleared. A light heavyweight showdown between former Pride champion Dan Henderson (6-3 UFC) and former UFC champion  Rashad Evans (12-3-1 UFC) is schedule as one of the PPV’s headlining fights. No Main event has been announced yet.

Rumors had surfaced that “Hendo” would retire, but we all knew better. He is determined to be UFC champ before he retires, and a win over Evans could put him back near the top of the division.

Evans is on a two fight skid losing back-to-back decisions to current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira after being on a four fight win streak. Evans in a lot of spectators eyes looked horrible, sloppy, and just not there in his last fight. If he expects to put his name back in the title talk, he needs to take this fight very seriously or he will end up on his back.

What a better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than sitting down with your loved one and watching guys bash each other’s brains in…right? Well Bellator 89 has that all taking care of. Bellator 89: Dantas vs. Galvao is set for February 14, 2013 8:00 PM EST in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Bojangles Coliseum.

The main event will feature tournament winner Marcos Galvao (13-5-1 MMA) as he gets his bantamweight title shot against Bellator champion Eduardo Dantas (14-2 MMA).

The co-main event is a highly anticipated middleweight  tournament quarterfinal between Brian Rodgers (10-4 MMA) and Dan Cramer (9-3 MMA). Also on the card we have two more middleweight quarterfinal match-ups between Brett Cooper (17-7 MMA) and Norman Paraisy (10-2-1 MMA), and Andreas Spang (8-2 MMA) and Doug Marshall (15-6 MMA).

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com, 8 p.m. ET)

One of the most anticipated fights of the year is already signed. Now, it’s time to get your tickets for what can only be referred to as a fight between “good” and “evil”. UFC 158 will feature the main event between current  UFC welterweight champion GSP (17-2 UFC) and “Stockton Bad Boy” Nick Diaz (7-5 UFC.

UFC returns to Montreal’s Bell Centre March 16, 2013 and tickets go on sale the beginning of next week. Initially tickets sales were targeted for January 19th, but will now go on sale to the general public beginning Jan. 26. Tickets go on sale at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

UFC 158 Card:

• Champ Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz – for welterweight title
• Jake Ellenberger vs. Johny Hendricks
• Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald
• Chris Camozzi vs. Nick Ring
• Sean Pierson vs. Rick Story
• Jordan Mein vs. Dan Miller
• Daron Cruickshank vs. John Makdessi
• Patrick Cote vs. Bobby Voelker

After a longer than usual break, the UFC returns to Las Vegas today to present its year-end card: UFC 155. Headlining the card is a heavyweight title match between the best two guys in the division: Cain Velasquez and the returning champion, Junior dos Santos.

This is a rematch of their previous effort from last November, where dos Santos beat the seemingly unstoppable Velasquez to claim the heavyweight title. Since the fight, there have been details put out concerning injuries to both parties during the first affair. It was also over in barely over one minute.

This is a new fight, with new dynamics concerning it, and needs to be treated differently than the previous fight.

Backing up this stellar main event is a solid main card, mostly filled up with semi-contenders in the middleweight division.

In this column, we will look at some of the issues at play when selecting good sides to bet and try to find a few good spots to get the money in. The lines have been taken from 5Dimes at approximately 1AM EST.

Derek Brunson (+150) vs. Chris Leben (-160): Fans have been eagerly awaiting Leben’s return from his year-long suspension, and this is a good matchup to put him in at this point of his career. He is most certainly on the downside of his long and successful career, and has shown that he cannot hang with anyone being considered for title contention in the division. However, he is a capable mid-level fighter who will be a big first test for Derek Brunson, making his UFC debut.

Leben basically has one way to win this fight, and it is a powerful one: the knockout. Leben will look to keep the fight standing and land one of his powerful left hands on the chin of Brunson. On the flip side of the coin, Brunson will do well to avoid striking exchanges with Leben at all costs and put “The Crippler” on his back. His most likely method of victory will be via a decision, caused by takedowns and top control.

In this particular circumstance I would not lay a single penny on Chris Leben. There are way too many concerns about his health and his skillset to be able to trust my money on him. He has been facing a very serious drug addiction, a lengthy suspension, and is facing a younger, hungrier fighter in Brunson. Considering a bet on Brunson comes with its own worries and risks as well. He is recently coming off a knockout loss to Jacare Souza, and is known for sticking his chin in the air while he fights. If he comes out and tries any sort of striking with Leben, he is very likely to be KO’ed.

In the end, I believe that Brunson is taking his first UFC fight extremely serious. He is fighting a known quantity in Leben, and certainly is aware of the dangers he presents on the feet. I am expecting Brunson to immediately look for takedowns, exploiting Leben’s less-than-stellar takedown defense. I have already placed a bet on Brunson at +145 shortly after the weigh-ins. Passing this fight is another viable option if you believe the risks to be too high in betting Brunson. I like the bet, but I am not in love with it.

Yushin Okami (-115) vs. Alan Belcher (+105): Alan Belcher has certainly excited fans recently with his complete domination victory of Rousimar Palhares. In the meantime, Yushin Okami has been mostly faltering as of late, started by his humiliating loss to the middleweight champion, Anderson Silva.

Breaking this fight down on paper makes it look very even stylistically, and there are worries concerning each fighter that make this a difficult fight to bet. Okami should have the grappling advantage in this fight, and will certainly be looking to pressure Belcher and work in the clinch and from the top position on the ground. Belcher should have a slight advantage on the feet, and will look to keep the fight there. If taken down, Belcher will look to use his submission game. I do not expect him to find much success there. In fact, I am reluctant to find a likely method of finish for either fighter other than decision.

In the end, I do favor Okami slightly in this bout due to his grappling. I cannot bet on him because of his recent inconsistency. Okami somehow managed to look bad in his victory over Buddy Roberts in his last fight. In the fight before, he was dominating Tim Boetsch for two full rounds before being KO’ed in the third. It almost looked as if Okami froze and just backed up into more punches. I don’t have concerns over his chin necessarily, but I do question his mindset.

On the other hand, I cannot really get behind Belcher as an underdog because he has basically fought three times in the last three years. His inactivity, combined with the fact that Okami is the biggest step up in competition Belcher has ever faced, make me shy away from the small underdog price offered.

Tim Boetsch (-103) vs. Constantinos Philippou (-107): Boetsch now faces a different challenge, after his unlikely comeback against Okami, and his defeat of the majorly-hyped Hector Lombard. Philippou takes this fight on somewhat short-notice, filling in for Chris Weidman.

This is a close fight, and Philippou will enjoy several advantages over “The Barbarian.” He has good takedown defense, and great boxing to go along with it. he will be looking to pick Tim apart on the feet, and use his takedown defense in order to stay off his back. He will run into some major issues if the former NCAA Division 1 wrestler manages to get him on his back.

Boetsch also brings a more varied attack to the table on the feet, although I do not rate his standup skills better than Philippou’s overall. This becomes a very tricky matchup where I can envision either guy winning. If Philippou were more active in his standup game, it would be a bit easier to pick. In the end, I am picking Boetsch to win this fight. I have very little confidence in this pick and will be passing on the fight.

Jim Miller (-210) vs. Joe Lauzon (+190): The co-main event features a battle of guys almost, but not quite, in the upper echelon of fighters within the lightweight division. Miller was looking golden for a while before running into Benson Henderson, while Lauzon seems to win a couple and then lose one, never seeming to gain the momentum needed for title contention talk.

Both fighters bring a very strong grappling game to the table with serviceable striking. Both guys have been known for their submission grappling prowess. What separates them is Miller’s wrestling background, enabling him to control where the fight goes. It is this fact that makes him the odds-on favorite to win this bout.

If I absolutely had to pick a winner of this fight, regardless of odds, I would choose Miller. However, I do believe this fight is much closer than what the line suggests. I believe this fight to be closer to a 50/50 proposition than a 2-1. Due to this, I have bet Joe Lauzon at the current price.

The reasoning behind this is that Joe has been making improvements in his game recently, while Miller seems to be deteriorating. After getting beaten down by Benson Henderson for 3 rounds, Miller defeated Melvin Guillard. This victory over Guillard was more due to Melvin making mental errors than Miller doing things right. Following that fight, Miller was completely dominated by Nate Diaz and finished for the first time in his career. He is a guy known for his toughness, who does not look quite as tough anymore. If Miller had much better standup than Joe, this would be a different story. He doesn’t, and I see value in the line on Joe to win.

Junior dos Santos (-190) vs. Cain Velasquez (+175): This is a really special main event. It is the clash between the #1 and #2 guys in the business at heavyweight, and should be between two fighters not experiencing knee injuries this time. Boiled down to its essence, this is a striker vs. grappler contest. JDS will need to use his boxing and takedown defense to win this fight. Cain will need to use his takedowns, top control, and ground and pound to take back the title.

I do not feel the first fight was very representative of what this fight will be. The lack of knee injuries for both parties will certainly cause both fighters to behave differently. Cain should have better lateral movement and overall explosiveness in his takedowns, while JDS should be able to utilize his footwork better and not have to throw hail-mary bombs at Cain early in this contest. He will get to fully utilize his full boxing repertoire in this contest.

Although many are backing dos Santos in this rematch, I am going to buck the trend and pick Cain to win this fight. I believe the knee injury affected Cain’s game more than JDS’s last fight. I also believe that he will come in prepared and knowing what to expect. If JDS does not hurt Cain early, I expect that Cain’s superior cardio will help him take control in later rounds. Of course, Cain has to survive a bit before that can happen, and he will not if he cannot get JDS to the ground. It is a tricky matchup.

The trick to betting this fight is to know when the odds are unfavorable to a guy you back. For me it is no problem because I am picking Cain. It is a no-brainer to take the decent plus money on him. However, if you believe that dos Santos wins, I would be extremely careful betting it. If you are betting JDS at -190, you are essentially saying that you believe he has greater than a 71% chance of winning (66% from odds + 5% minimum for your profit). You must believe this to be the case in order to have a positive expected value for your bet. Use caution. I recommend betting Cain at +175 if you believe he has a greater than 41% chance of winning (36% from the odds + 5% minimum for your profit). If neither of these two scenarios apply to you, you are better off passing and enjoying an epic and most likely exciting main event.

As you can see, I am only betting three of the five main card fights. This is about average for me, as it does not make sense to bet every fight all the time. Use caution, good luck, and enjoy the fights.

Today’s Facebook prelims are followed by a very intriguing FX preliminary card, featuring four exciting matchups. Three of the four fights on this section of the prelims are easily strong enough to make it on the main card of a pay-per-view, with the lone exception being a fight with a rising prospect facing another decent prospect. All in all, this is a great way to keep the momentum rolling right into the main card.

This column will look into some of the betting opportunities that are available for these four fights. All betting lines are current as of 1AM EST, and are retrieved from 5Dimes.

Michael Johnson (-250) vs. Myles Jury (+210): At first glance, it appears that Jury is being fed to the wolves against a rising star. This is only partially correct. Michael Johnson is on a good roll right now, having won three fights in a row against solid competition. Jury draws Johnson in only his second UFC fight, and is easily the strongest competitor he has had to face in his career. Jury’s 10-0 record is comprised of him blowing away lesser competition in the first round. Every single one of his pro fights have ended in this first round. This is odd, even for a good prospect.

Both fighters have a lot of tools and are well rounded. Johnson has a lot of power in his hands, and prefers to keep fights on the feet. Myles is no slouch on the feet, and is very comfortable with his standup. I do think that Johnson is a little bit better in all areas than Myles. Also, I like that he has more experience against better competition than Myles. These are the reasons I favor Johnson to win the fight, although Myles is definitely a promising talent and could pull off the upset. I am not confident enough in Johnson to pay the price on him, and will be ultimately passing on the fight. If I absolutely had to bet the fight, I would take a stab at the underdog.

Melvin Guillard (-135) vs. Jamie Varner (+115): I already said my piece about this fight in the column covering the TUF 16 Finale, so I will only speak on what has changed since then. There has been a battle of words between both parties. There have been accusations of greasing, people thinking that Varner is scared, Guillard getting overly fired up. This all came to a head during the weigh-ins, with smack-talking and hand gesturing. All of the ingredients for a bad blood feud have been put into place, and I couldn’t be more happy to see a fight between two guys that appear to dislike each other in a very legit way.

I loved betting Jamie Varner the last time this fight came around, but I find myself reluctant to this time. Varner is acting very strange lately, and it is really turning me off to him as an attractive betting option. In the meantime, Guillard is being extremely fired up and emotional about hurting Varner. When Guillard gets like this, he is very prone to making mistakes. I am not really interested at betting this fight anymore. I may change my mind if the price for Varner shoots up more, but at this point it will take a lot of plus money for me to want to bet this.

Erik Perez (-450) vs. Byron Bloodworth (+360): Let me get this out of the way first: I don’t think Byron Bloodworth is a completely worthless talent. However, I have seen no one at all pick him to win this fight. Erik Perez has gotten a lot of press for his Mexican heritage, and is the better prospect here. He should enjoy advantages in all areas of MMA.

The problem with this fight from a betting standpoint is that I cannot lay the extremely steep price on Perez. At the  same time, I cannot back an underdog who I don’t think can win. This fight is a complete pass. I will be interested to see if Byron can improve on his performance against Mike Easton, which should not be too hard. I am also interested in seeing Erik Perez’s development as a prospect. He will be integral in the UFC’s plan to move into the Mexican market, and the UFC will be hoping he can win here.

Brad Pickett (-105) vs. Eddie Wineland (-115): Here is a fight I can get behind. This is one of the most eagerly anticipated matchups among hardcore fans and media, and a fight that is almost surely going to be exciting. Pickett brings a very diverse attack, combined with excellent cardio into the fight. He will be looking to mix up his boxing with takedowns in order to work his submission game. Pickett will pit this skillset up against Wineland, who will be using his very strong boxing and excellent takedown defense.

In the early parts of the fight I tend to favor Wineland more. He should be able to stuff the takedown attempts by Pickett and use his counter boxing to keep Pickett guessing. As the fight moves into the 2nd and 3rd rounds, I expect Pickett to have greater success with his takedown attempts, which should make his overall offense better.

Wineland should be able to do enough damage to hurt Pickett on the feet early, and I do think there is a decent chance of a stoppage due to these strikes. Pickett’s aggressiveness on the feet will put him at a further disadvantage to the counter boxing by Eddie. I believe that this will be enough to win the fight. However, this fight is so close that I keep debating on whether or not I should bet it. I think I am going to pass on the fight, but I lean Wineland. Perhaps the line will improve before fight time, and force me to bet him. I am thinking it will move the other way, and I will not have to worry about betting it at all.

This doesn’t happen often, but I am not currently planning a bet on any of these four fights. I may throw a small bet down on Wineland and Varner, but I have more reasons to pass than to bet each of these fights.

From a fan perspective, I am loving this undercard. Even with the most anticipated shows, there is usually one or two fights I have no interest in seeing. This is not the case with this pay-per-view. Enjoy the fights.

Later today, UFC 155 will kick off with three prelim fights that will be shown on Facebook. Each of these three fights has an interesting dynamic or fighter featured, and should be fun to watch.

In this column we will look at current betting lines for each of the three fights. Lines will be pulled from 5Dimes at approximately 1AM EST.

Chris Cariaso (+140) vs. John Moraga (-160): It is unfortunate that this fight is so far down the prelims, because it looks to be a great fight. Chris Cariaso is a more known quantity in the UFC, with a well-rounded skill set, and a few good wins under his belt. Moraga is coming off of some forward momentum himself, having defeated Ulysses Gomez by brutal knockout in his UFC debut.

I favor Moraga to win this fight due to his superior wrestling, and increased ability to finish fights. If the fight stays standing, it should be pretty even. However, I give the grappling advantage to Moraga. Moraga comes from a wrestling background and should be able to secure takedowns against Cariaso, or use his clinching abilities to do damage against the cage.

Moraga opened up as the underdog, and I was able to snag him at +120. I love him at the underdog price, but do not like a bet at current prices. I recommend a pass here. Cariaso is no scrub, and this should be a close fight. Moraga is a finisher, which gives him additional chances to win the fight, while Cariaso’s most likely path to victory is by decision.

Leonard Garcia (+325) vs. Max Holloway (-400): Leonard Garcia’s fan-pleasing brawling style may be no more in the UFC following this bout. Holloway is heavily favored, with good reason. He is by far the more technical and capable striker between the two. He should be able to use Garcia’s blind aggression against him, and pick him apart for three rounds, or even induce a stoppage.

There really isn’t much more to say about this fight other than the above. I definitely like Holloway to win the fight, but am not ready to lay that kind of steep price on the kid. On the flip side, I just can’t back a guy like Leonard in this fight, even at +325. I will watch this as a fan.

Phil De Fries (+305) vs. Todd Duffee (-365): In this bout, a returning Todd Duffee will look to get his second go-round in the UFC off to a good start by beating the young submission grappler, Phil De Fries. It is definitely an interesting matchup that will tell us a lot about where each fighter is, and better define their capabilities.

I do feel pretty strongly about avoiding a bet in this fight. With all due respect, I think you need to have your head examined if you are willing to lay a steep price like this on Todd Duffee. In the last three years, he has only fought times, losing two of the bouts. He was knocked out with one punch by the grappler, Mike Russow in epic fashion during his last stay in the UFC. Following that, he has been in two fights that have a combined time of 53 seconds. Duffee’s chin might be a concern as well, evidenced by the two knockouts he has sustained from Overeem and Russow.

I favor Duffee to win the fight, due to his knockout power on the feet. De Fries is not a wrestler, but a submission grappler, and does not have a reliable way to get this fight to the ground. Compounding his problems, Duffee has recently been training at American Kickboxing Academy, which is populated with very strong wrestlers. It is possible that Duffee has developed his takedown defense to a reasonable level. It is for these reasons I do not feel comfortable betting the underdog. Total and complete pass on this fight. If you are a degenerate, and must bet the fight, bet the underdog and try for a big score. Don’t throw a bunch of money at Duffee.

Some good matchups to start the show here. I will be looking at each fight closely, even the ones I do not have money on. You never know what you might see in the fight or a particular fighter that will help you later. Some of these guys on the prelims might be in more high-profile fights later, and this will give you a leg up versus all the people who only watch the main cards.

The UFC’s lightweight division is one of the most stacked divisions in mma and could be adding more talent sooner than later. Current Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez will be consumed by the UFC as soon as Strikeforce ends in January. Melendez isn’t the only top lightweight prospect outside of the UFC.

Eddie Alvarez, the former Bellator lightweight champion, has received his first official offer from the UFC. Alvarez’s contract officially expired just a few short months ago following his first round knockout victory over Patricio Freire at Bellator 76. Bellator has two weeks to make a counter offer to keep one of the top ranked lightweights in their organization.

CEO Bjorn Rebeny waived the re-signing period so Alvarez could shop around. No one actually figured Bellator would be in a position to offer a competitive deal to the  former champion, but according to Rebney they are.

Rebney has always said they would try to match the UFC’s offer if it was in their reach. Now the Bellator CEO says they have seen the terms and are discussing the upside in matching them.

Rebney told  MMAJunkie:

“It really becomes for us a mathematical analysis. We know where we would want to be with Ed, we know what kind of a deal structure would work for Bellator and our partners at Spike TV, and we’re just waiting…. We’d like to keep him, but it will all boil down to the numbers.”

Alvarez has done nothing but increase interest in other companies since avenging a prior loss to Shinya Aoki earlier this year. Then  he went on to finish the heavy-handed Freire in an amazing one rounded war keeping himself on every mma companies radar. Rebney is a great businessman, and we all know he will do everything in his power to do what is best for all parties.

Final Thoughts:

Alvarez is one of the top ranked lightweights in mma, and ranked #7 in my rankings. His talent needs to be showcased inside the octagon, and until Melendez or Alvarez fights top level competition inside the UFC, they will always be “second best” in my opinion.

This past weekend was a slightly positive one for me. The picks that I made on The MMA Analysis podcast, and my betting columns on this site, went a combined 15-6 between the two cards. In addition, my regular sized bets went 6-3, and my smaller plays (done at approx. 1/10th of the unit size of regular bets) went 2-3. In this column, I will review the actual wagers made and look for any improvements that need to be made in my selections or overall betting strategy. The following plays only represent my regular-sized bets. My smaller plays will be reviewed  at the end of the column.

Wager #1: Norman Parke (+105) – My first bet was my most successful one, both in prediction and execution. I described the fight almost exactly the way it went down on The MMA Analysis, and I was able to get the price I wanted for the fight. Satisfying win.

Wager #2: Seth Baczynski (+305) – This particular bet was the first of my two biggest failures over the weekend. I made the correct pick, even describing Baczynski as having little chance in the fight. I predicted the fight to be filled with  takedowns and clinch work by Mike Pierce, and that is exactly what happened. I became enamored with the rising line, and made a big mistake in betting on a dog that had little chance to win. My execution was off as well, as I didn’t even catch the best price on Baczynski. This bet was a colossal failure on my part.

Wager #3: Hector Lombard (-220) – I lost a good deal of money on Lombard in his UFC debut. As a result, I was very hesitant to believe that he was going to show up on Friday night. I went back and forth throughout the day, and ended up placing a regular-sized bet on him to win, approximately 5 minutes before the fight started. When it came down to it, I could not see a way that Palhares could win this fight. A decent win, but not spectacular because I was not able to get the best line. I almost pulled the trigger at -200, but it took me a little longer to work the fight out and commit to a bet.

Wager #4: Tim Elliott (-160) – I correctly broke down the fight and predicted Elliott as the better overall fighter. This was a good win, but not perfect. Even after all of the adversity that Elliot went through during the fight, it was clear that this was a HUGE mismatch. I do regret not seeing it as such prior to the fight happening. Hindsight being 20/20, I would have liked a bigger bet here. This is an example of where I could have had a bit more confidence in my analysis.

Wager #5: Rustam Khabilov (-230) – This fight is very similar to the Tim Elliot bout. I thought that the Russian would overwhelm Pichel with his grappling, and he did. More confidence in myself would have led to a larger bet. Good win.

Wager #6: Mike Ricci (-230) – Betting on someone who has not shown good takedown defense in his career vs. a guy who does nothing but wrestle, was my second of two colossal failures on my part. The stars seemed to be aligned for Ricci to win this. He was the more well-rounded fighter, more experienced in terms of overall fights and quality of competition, and he comes from a great camp. However, Ricci had absolutely nothing for Colton Smith. After the first takedown in round 1, I knew I made a big mistake.

Wager #7: Mike Pyle (-195) – This was a moderate victory for me. I was not able to get the best line, but was on the right side. Pyle closed at -130, which was way better than I could have ever predicted. I can’t beat myself up over this play.

Wager #8: Reuben Duran (-130) – Duran was completely steamrolled by Hugo Viana in this fight. I predicted that it would be a competitive bout, with Duran having slight advantages in range and variety of strikes thrown. Unfortunately, It looked as if Duran didn’t show up to fight at all. At the same time, Viana looked incredible in his boxing-centered attack. Sometimes you are just wrong. I don’t regret anything here. A standard loss.

Wager #9: Pat Barry vs. Shane Del Rosario – Under 1.5 Rounds (-205) – I was going back and forth about which side I was going to play here. I liked SDR’s overall skillset more than Pat Barry’s kickboxing-only approach, but I did not like the price for a standard play. I was also hesitant to bet Pat Barry, even at plus money. I was not even thinking of the over/under in this bout until another gambler brought it up. After pondering it for a couple of hours, I placed a normal-sized bet on this. Good win. I need to be looking at over/under bets more often in the future.

Results: 6-3 on regular bets for a gain of 1.45 units.

Smaller bets and wrap-up: In addition to my regular plays, I must add that I placed a total of three smaller wagers. Two of them were impulsive, where I was not confident in a particular side, but wanted to play them small for a fun-sized bet. These bets serve two purposes: 1) I maybe be getting actual value on the line. 2) This satisfies my urge to “gamble” without hurting myself too bad in the process. I have done these types of bets only on underdogs, and play them at 1/10th normal unit size. I played Brad Scott (+185) and George Sotiropoulos (+170), losing both for a loss of .2 units.

My last small bet was a reverse action play for a total of .5 units at risk. The three fighters I had in it were Shane Del Rosario, Roy Nelson, and Dustin Poirier. Because two out of the three won, I was able to recover almost all of the money invested for a small overall loss (-.07 unit). I was doing this bet as kind of a test, because I had not previously used this method of betting before. I will be looking to incorporate this method in the future.

Overall Results: 8-6 on all bets combined for a gain of 1.18 units.

Lessons Learned and Possible Alteration of Betting Strategy: 1) Eliminate smaller, impulsive bets on tempting underdogs. 2) Trust in my own opinion more. 3) Pull the trigger more readily on spots perceived as large advantages.