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Free Picks: UFC 185 Pettis vs. Dos Anjos Betting Odds & Preview

UFC Betting Odds

The UFC gets back at it Saturday night in Dallas, Texas with perhaps the best card they have produced in some time. Let’s take a closer look.

UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos

Date: March 14, 2015
Time: 10 pm ET
Location: American Airlines Arena, Dallas
Broadcast: Pay-per-view, Fox Sports 1, UFC Fight Pass

Highlight reel Anthony Pettis puts his lightweight title on the line, the women’s strawweight championship will be contested and former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks will take on the ever-dangerous Matt Brown.

It should be an interesting night of fights to say the least.

Main Card (on Pay-Per-View)

Anthony Pettis (18-2): -420
Rafael dos Anjos (23-7): +350

Anthony Pettis gets back in the Octagon after a short layoff and an impressive submission victory over Gilbert Melendez when he takes on long-time UFC fighter Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight strap. Pettis will bring an immense all-around game into the Octagon while the steadily improving dos Anjos will try to limit the obvious speed advantage that Pettis holds over virtually every athlete he comes up against.

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Pettis has shown that his striking and movement can be minimized. The problem is that the fighters that accomplished this task, namely Benson Henredon and Gilbert Melendez were unable to go beyond minimizing what Pettis was out to do. The champion has proven time and again that his power, his speed and his patience will win out in the end.

dos Anjos is a nice fighter with a tremendous set of skills but he isn’t close to Pettis anywhere this fight happens to go. Look for dos Anjos to try to get this fight to the mat (it is his only real chance) but get caught by something in Pettis’s extremely diverse striking game. You can only hold Pettis down for so long before he makes you pay!

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MMA Betting Pick: Anthony Pettis -420

Carla Esparza (10-2): -150
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (8-0): +138

The women’s strawweight championship fight looks, on paper, to be one for the ages. The Ultimate Fighter champion Carla Esparza looks to keep an incredible run going when she takes on Polish kickboxer Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Jedrzejczyk is for the most part a one-dimensional fighter with power and technical striking ability to spare while Esparza has the ability to take a fight absolutely anywhere. The one thing that these two women have in common is endless gas tanks – there will be a ton of strikes thrown and a blistering pace will be set!

Look for Carla Esparza to use her superior movement to get the better of her Polish counterpart in this one. If the champion sits in front of Jedrzejczyk the challenger will definitely have a chance but I can’t see that happening. Esparza’s game is predicated on movement – getting in and out of danger zones – that’s the difference Saturday night!

MMA Betting Pick: Carla Esparza -150

Johny Hendricks (16-3): -260
Matt Brown (19-12):+295

A juicy matchup between violent welterweights Johny Hendricks and Matt Brown has Fight of the Night written all over it. Hendricks hits the Octagon for the first time since losing the strap to Robbie Lawler while Brown fights for the first time since losing to – you guessed it – Robbie Lawler in July.

Johny Hendricks meteoric rise up the Welterweight ladder was no fluke – his sensational wrestling background finally meshed with a skilled striking game- there is nowhere that Hendricks couldn’t beat you. His clinch game is tremendous, his takedowns are terrific and his top control is top notch. The one hole in Hendricks game is his gas tank- something I guarantee you he’s worked on since losing the crown.

Matt Brown is a pure fighter – he comes forward with everything – kicks, punches, elbows and everything else come at you when inside the cage with Brown. His clinch game is varied and dangerous, his grappling game is definitely sound and his wrestling is certainly passable. His only real hole is defense.

So whose deficiency will cost them this match? It may surprise you but I think it is Hendricks that is the one in trouble here. Brown will pressure Hendricks for 15 solid minutes, not giving him a chance to breathe. Brown is nasty, he is motivated and he is better as the fight wears along. In a huge upset take Matt Brown to wear the former champ down and hand Hendricks his second loss in a row.

MMA Betting Pick: Matt Brown +295

Roy Nelson (20-10): +170
Alistair Overeem (38-14): -200

Ahhhh, Heavyweights. Two guys that have been in there with the best with mixed results fight for their possible futures on Friday night – both showing cracks in their arsenal as of late. Nelson is just 1-3 in his last four fights and Overeem just can’t seem to put two good fights in a row together.

Saturday’s matchup pits Overeem’s glass jaw versus Nelson’s inability to outskill any top Heavyweight at the present time. My guess is that Overeem’s jaw is the determining factor again Saturday. All Roy has to do is connect once – Big Country’s skills may be diminishing but he still has the power to end this one early!

MMA Betting Pick: Roy Nelson +170

Chris Cariaso (17-6):+420
Henry Cejudo (7-0):-550

Flyweights kick off the pay-per-view on Saturday night in what looks like a pretty good fight. Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo will try to remain perfect in his MMA career against Chris Cariaso who fought Demetrious Johnson and lost convincingly this past summer.

Freestyle wrestler Cejudo is athletic, as quick and as dangerous an up-and-comer as there is in the division right now. Some more striking chops would make him an instant title contender. Cariasco is a well rounded guy but no part of his game really stands out.

Cariaso will be exposed on Saturday by the wrestling superiority of Henry Cejudo. This has lop-sided decision written allover it.

MMA Betting Pick: Henry Cejudo -550

Preliminary Bouts (on FX)

Ross Pearson (16-8): -360 vs. Sam Stout (20-10-1): +290
MMA Betting Pick: Ross Pearson -360

Elias Theodorou (10-0): -320 vs. Roger Narvaez (7-1): +270
MMA Betting Pick: Elias Theodorou -320

Daron Cruickshank (16-5, 1 NC): -145 vs. Beneil Dariush (9-1): +125
MMA Betting Pick: Beneil Dariush +125

Jared Rosholt (11-2): -310 vs. Josh Copeland (9-1): +260
MMA Betting Pick: Jared Rosholt -310

Preliminary Bouts (on UFC Fight Pass)

Sergio Pettis (12-1): -500 vs. Ryan Benoit (7-3): +385
MMA Betting Pick: Sergio Pettis -500

Jake Lindsey (9-2): +420 vs. Joe Duffy (12-1): -550
MMA Betting Pick: Joe Duffy -550

Germaine de Randamie (4-3): +135 vs. Larissa Pacheco (10-1): -155
MMA Betting Pick: Larissa Pacheco -155

Check out our Updated UFC Odds.

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By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.