UFC 89 Betting – Vera and Jardine at a Crossroads
BetUS Sportsbook bettors who like to bet on mixed martial arts will bear witness to an intriguing match from the United Kingdom this Saturday (October 18), when Brandon Vera, who has defeated former heavyweight champ Frank Mir, takes on Keith Jardine, who has wins over Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell under his belt. The scheduled three-round match is set for Birmingham, England, and it’s the co-feature to a fight involving Michael Bisping and Chris Leben.
BetUS MMA Betting Odds
UFC – Light Heavyweights
October 18 — Birmingham, UK
BRANDON VERA -185
KEITH JARDINE +145
For betting purposes, let’s look at the contestants:
VERA (9-2, 6 KO’s), the -185 favorite in the BetUS UFC betting odds, is a former member of the Air Force who turned pro as a mixed martial arts fighter in July of 2002 when he stopped Adam Rivera. He won four straight fights, in the process winning a heavyweight tournament in WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) before entering the UFC on an Ultimate Fight Night in October 2005 and stopped Fabiano Scherner with knees in the second round. Vera scored his best career win in November of 2006 when he scored a TKO over former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir in the first round. That got him a shot at Tim Sylvia eleven months later. Vera broke his hand in that fight, but went the whole distance in losing a unanimous decision, the first defeat on his record. After losing his next fight, on a controversial TKO to Fabricio Werdum, Vera moved down to the light heavyweight division. and has had one fight there, winning a decision over Reese Andy in July. But the performance wasn’t what he expected.
JARDINE (13-4, 6 KO’s), the +145 underdog at BetUS, has been a professional MMA fighter since 2001, and won six of his first seven fights. He spent time in King of the Cage, Extreme Challenge and Pancrase, among others, and came aboard with the UFC in the Ultimate Fighter 2 finale. His first loss in the UFC took place against Stephan Bonnar, but two fights later scored a very big victory when he knocked out current light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin in one round (December 2006). But he failed in trying to follow up on that, getting blown out by journeyman Houston Alexander in 48 seconds. Jardine did redeem himself, though, by winning a split decision over MMA legend Chuck Liddell last September, in a bout he thoroughly controlled. In Jardine’s last fight, he was quickly knocked out (36 seconds) by Wanderlei Silva on May 24. So he’s looking for a little redemption.
What Vera has to be worried about with Jardine is an early onslaught. He is extremely aggressive, and wants to set the tone of the fight right from the outset. What Vera might have to do is exercise some patience and look for Jardine to leave an opening for him. That can happen in stand-up mode, where Vera has some ability as a striker and has some of that Muay Thai background that makes him a little more versatile in that regard.
Like a lot of fighters who moved from one weight division down to the one below, Vera would claim to be more comfortable at the lower weight (205 pounds). Except that he has actually had some success in the higher class, beating Mir, among others. So obviously he’s no slouch. And one shouldn’t make too much of his lackluster performance in his light heavy debut. On the other hand, the losses to Silva and Alexander in particular are something of a revelation for Jardine, who has not inspired a lot of confidence in his chin. If you are going to get into a striking match, the chin helps.
There is no question that Jardine, who is a fine grappler and certainly not one to be intimidated, is capable of pulling off this mild upset. But the price isn’t necessarily appetizing. Vera has less downside, and can do more things. In a fight that might indeed go the distance, we’ll take Vera, the -185 favorite in the BetUS UFC betting odds.
