UFC 138 is set to kick off on Saturday, November 5th with some big time fights. The action will kick off in Birmingham, England and features a Middleweight fight between Chris Leben and Mark Munoz as the headline fight. The fights will be aired on Spike TV, and it is set to be an 11 fight lineup with a slight delay. Each of the fights will have a sports betting line on it, and should offer some excellent betting options for Ultimate Fighter fans as well. We’re going to take a look at each match-up and give a prediction and pick for each specific fight. Many fans will have their eyes glued to the TV for the match-up between Leben and Munoz, which will actually be the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 2011 debut for the UK.
UFC 138 Main Event- Chris Leben vs. Mark Munoz
- Chris Leben +200
- Mark Munoz -260
Leben is fresh off of an incredibly impressive first round KO against Wanderlei Silva, which saw the fight finish in just about 27 seconds. He’s a hard hitter and goes as hard as he can from the word go. Leben is currently 22-7 overall, and has won the impressive award of knockout of the night on three separate occasions. Now switching over to Munoz’s side, he is currently 11-2 overall, and is a wrestling specialist that is riding a wave of three consecutive wins in a row. This fight should be an intense one, and one that will feature some heavy blows fromt he word go. I think that Leben’s ground game will impress quite a few people and could make the difference in the end. I think that Leben is going to show up in a big way for this fight and pull off the upset in front of a ruckus crowd.
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UFC 138 Main Card- Paul Taylor vs. Anthony Njokuani
- Paul Taylor -400
- Anthony Njokuani +300
Paul Taylor is considered the “home team” for this match-up as he’s essentially a local to the UK. He has been a bruiser and has pulled out some impressive wins, including Fight of the Night honors three separate times. Overall, he is 11-6, and is a lightweight kickboxing specialist. Njokuani on the other hand is currently 14-5 and was born and raised in Nigeria. He has participated in two fights since the UFC merged, and has posted a 1-1 overall record. His first one was a loss to Edson Barboza, which earned Fight of the Night honors, and his second was a win against Andre Winner. This fight should be one of the most interesting of the night, and should end in a KO. In the end though, I’m giving the advantage to the home town fighter in Taylor, and I’m taking him to win in the third round.
» UFC 138 Main Card- Brad Pickett vs. Renan Barao
- Brad Pickett +105
- Renan Barao -135
This is the debut in UFC for Pickett, who has had quite a nice run through the bantamweight division in the WEC. Pickett wins a large number of his fights by submissions, which should make for an interesting match-up against Barao. Pickett is 21-4 overall in his career, and his opponent has an impressive record as well of 26-1. As incredible as the 26-1 record is, what is even more impressive for Barao is that he has actually won 26 fights in a row after losing his opening one. Barao has won most of his fights by submission as well, and he has only fought once in the UFC to this point in his career. As strong as both of these fighters are, I think that Barao comes out and makes a statement and extends that win streak to 27 fights in a row. He is incredibly good on the ground, and I’m taking him to win this one.
» UFC 138 Main Card- Thiago Alves vs. Papy Abedi
- Thiago Alves -300
- Papy Abedi +230
Papy Abedi is making his debut in the UFC and is coming out of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Abedi is a new face on the scene, and is one that many people have quite a few questions about when it comes to his fighting techniques. He has a record of 8-0 and has been a strong finisher with a good amount of his fights ending in KO’s. On the other side of it is a strong fighter in Alves who has actually struggled recently in losing three of his last four. While Alves is more well-known, he also has quite a bit to prove after his recent struggles. He has a record of 18-8, but is in a must win spot here. Alves knows he has to get the win to stay in contention for a shot at the title. I like Alves to come out and get the win against Abedi in this one.
» UFC 138 Main Card- Terry Etim vs. Edward Faaloloto
- Terry Etim -500
- Edward Faaloloto +350
Terry Etim has been away from fighting for a bit now (since April 2010 to be exact), and is hoping to avoid coming out rusty in this fight. Etim is excellent on the ground though, and has had two Submission of the Night victories before April 2010. He’ll be on the “road” here as he’ll be up against Faaloloto. Etim is 14-3 overall and his opponent is currently 7-2 overall. Faaloloto is an incredibly tough fighter though, and could cause some problems for the experienced Etim. He has had one other UFC fight, which resulted in a loss. These two have different fighting techniques though, which should make the fight all the more interesting as Faaloloto will most likely be looking to stay up, while Etim will likely want to get this one by submission. While Etim is more experienced, I think Faaloloto is going to show up in a big way in this one. His toughness will make the difference and he’ll pull out the win.