BodogFight - Fedor vs. Lindland - MMA Event from St. Petersburg, Russia

BodogFight started as a television series and mixed martial arts competition which was created and produced by Bodog.com founder, Calvin Ayre. In February of 2007, ION Television announced an exclusive deal with BodogFight to air episodes of the show. The storyline of the episodes features a group of American fighters traveling to Costa Rica in an attempt to earn a place on “Team USA.” Later on, members of this team will travel to Russia and fight members of the Russian Red Devils team in a series of pay-per-view matches.

On April 14th at the ICE Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, one such pay-per-view will occur. Dubbed “The Clash of the Nations,” MMA fans will get to see Fedor Emelianenko, the fighter most experts view as the best in the business, take on Matt “The Law” Lindland.

Fedor is the current PRIDE Heavyweight champion and possesses a frightening mix of striking and submission skills. He has one loss on his record, but it was due to a doctor’s stoppage from a freak cut in the opening seconds of a match (and is in no way an indication of his fighting abilities). PRIDE announces him as undefeated, and that’s far closer to the truth.

His opponent for the match is Matt Lindland, a fighter considered by many to be one of the best Middleweights in the world. With a record of 20-4, Lindland is a world-class wrestler with Olympic experience. Unfortunately, he’ll be giving up about 40 pounds in the fight.

Bodog has the odds for the fight at -800 for Fedor and +500 for Lindand. If you’re looking to bet on an underdog, this is not the fight to do it.

In th other major fight of the night, Fedor’s brother, Aleksander Emelianenko, will be taking on Eric Pele. Aleksander is a Sambo expert and has the advantage of massive size (6’6”, 254 pounds). His record is 9-3, with losses coming to Fabricio Werdum, Josh Barnett, and Mirko Cro-Cop.

Eric Pele is the current King of the Cage Superheavyweight Champion, and he is also featured prominently on the television show Inked. His MMA record is 10-2, and he weighs in at 340 pounds.

Bodog has Aleksander as a -325 favorite, while Pele comes in at +250. I suppose Pele’s got a puncher’s chance in this one, but I’d still wager that Aleksander will come out on top with a 1st round KO.

Looks to me like it’s going to be a good night for the Russian Red Devils team.

BodogFight - Fedor vs. Lindland - MMA Event from St. Petersburg, Russia