UFC 69 - Bodog Odds - St. Pierre vs. Serra - Sanchez vs. Koscheck

On Saturday, April 7th, the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas will be home to UFC 69: Shootout, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship event to ever be held inside the state of Texas.

Below, I have listed the match-ups, as well as available gambling odds and my personal predictions. Check back after the weekend to see how I did.

Preliminary Matches

Luke Cummo vs. Josh Haynes (Welterweight) - Coming off of a loss to Jonathan Goulet, Luke Cummo, the popular Ultimate Fighter runner-up, will have his hands full as he attempts to pit his striking and slowly-improving ground game against Josh Haynes. Haynes, on the other hand, will attempt to get his career back on track after suffering losses in 4 of his last 5 fights.

Prediction: Cummo wins by TKO

Bodog Lines: Cummo -160 Haynes +130

Marcus Davis vs. Pete Spratt (Welterweight) - Davis is a former professional boxer who retired with an impressive record. Spratt holds a win over Robbie Lawler and once even turned down a title shot at Matt Hughes (he didn’t feel as though he was ready).

Prediction: Marcus Davis by TKO

Bodog Lines: Davis -400 Spratt +300

Thales Leites vs. Pete Sell (Middleweight) - Leites is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert who suffered his first loss during the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 4. Sell is also a practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has an upset win over Phil Baroni.

Prediction: Thales Leites by Submission

Bodog Lines: Leites -280 Sell +220

Brad Imes vs. Heath Herring (Heavyweight) - Imes is a former college and Arena League football player, while Herring had a promising career in PRIDE derailed. Even though Herring suffered a loss in his UFC debut, expect the company to try and help him along in order to make some money. In short, Imes is a hand-picked opponent.

Prediction: Heath Herring by TKO

Bodog Lines: Herring -290 Imes +230

Main Card

Alan Belcher vs. Kendall Grove (Middleweight) - Belcher is a skilled striker, but the 6’6” Grove is a difficult opponent for anyone with his grappling skills. Grove also trains full-time with Tito Ortiz and Team Punishment.

Prediction: Grove by Submission

Bodog Lines: Grove -155 Belcher +125

Mike Swick vs. Yushin Okami (Middleweight) - With an excellent MMA record of 12-1, Mike “Quick” Swick is a ferocious striker with a decent ground game. His opponent, Okami, has amassed an impressive 19-3 record after only competing on the professional level for the past 5 years.

Prediction: Yushin Okami by Submission

Bodog Lines: Swick -145 Okami +115

Roger Huerta vs. Leonard Garcia (Lightweight)

Prediction: Leonard Garcia by TKO

Bodog Lines: Huerta -850 Garcia +525

Diego Sanchez vs. Josh Koscheck (Welterweight) - A well-rounded fighter, Sanchez is 19-0 in his MMA career. He already has one win over Koscheck, that coming by a split decision on The Ultimate Fighter 1.

Prediction: Diego Sanchez by TKO

Bodog Lines: Sanchez -225 Koscheck +185

Georges St. Pierre (Champion) vs. Matt “The Terra” Serra (Welterweight) - This fight was delayed because of a knee injury suffered by St. Pierre. Serra is a master of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, while St. Pierre is well-versed in kickboxing, wrestling, and several other disciplines. If he can get past Serra, St. Pierre has another rematch with former-champ Matt Hughes to look forward to, as well as the impending title shot of undefeated Diego Sanchez.

Prediction: St. Pierre by TKO

Bodog Lines: St. Pierre -900 Serra +550

Good luck and enjoy the show!

UFC 69 - Bodog Odds - St. Pierre vs. Serra - Sanchez vs. Koscheck