Let me start off by saying that I’m not a sports gambler, I’ve never placed a fight bet in my life. However reflecting on this year in mixed martial arts, I wish I was. The number of upsets I picked this year could have yielded me a pretty penny if I would have made even the smallest of investment. One of the most reputable sports betting sites out there for the mixed martial arts industry is BetUs.com. Gamblers can visit their site to get the latest fight odds and even catch comprehensive fight reviews. Lets look at the 5 biggest missed opportunities in MMA betting so far this year and sit back and say to ourselves, “What if.”
B.J. Penn – 1100 vs Frankie Edgar +600 (UFC 112)
Now I’ll admit that this is one of the upsets that I did not pick. I don’t think there were too many sites out that (besides Edgar’s camp) that saw this one coming. Bottom line, Penn didn’t look good and Edgar couldn’t have been hungrier. After the decision, people instantly began screaming for a re-match, thinking it was a fluke, it could never happen again…the Prodigy would bounce back…
Fedor Emelianenko – 700 vs Fabricio Werdum +400 (Strikeforce: Fedor vs Werdum)
This fight on the other hand still haunts me. I wrote an entire article about why I thought Fabricio Werdum would defeat the Last Emperor. To me it was pretty cut and dry, the hype surrounding Fedor was becoming laughable. Fedor’s Achilles heel is an expert BJJ technician. If you look at his fight history, its apparent that he struggled against them. Factor in that Werdum was the Emelianenko Killer and you’ve got the perfect formula for a victory. ESPN‘s MMA analysts didn’t give Werdum a chance, going as far to say; “Defeating Emelianenko at this point might involve tagging the tissue-paper skin on his forehead and nose and hoping the ring doctor has a quick trigger finger.” This is still a tough pill to swallow.
B.J. Penn -350 vs. Frankie Edgar +250 (UFC 118)
UFC fans around the world were saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me after Edgar put together a dominating performance at UFC 118. Again Edgar was the hungrier of the two. No doubt about it. He was better prepared, in better shape and flat out wanted it more. The odds makers thought their Prodigy would return, well they were dead wrong. I’m guessing there were more celebrations on August 28th than there were back in April when Edgar shocked the world with his first upset.
Gegard Mousasi -225 vs. King Mo Lawal +180 (Strikeforce: Fedor vs Werdum)
Another fight that still stings, although much less than the Werdum fight. After getting to know King Mo last year at the UFC 100 Fan Expo, I’ll admit that my thought process for this fight was a slightly biased. Lawal dominated his fight with Mousasi. It wasn’t pretty, the fans didn’t like it but the strategy got King Mo the belt and the respect that came with it.
Yoshihiro Akiyama – 210 vs Chris Leben +165 (UFC 116)
Now this fight took a lot of mainstream MMA fans by surprise. It turned out to be a slug fest between two warriors in Leben and Akiyama at UFC 116. The main reasons I was skeptical of Akiyama in this bout was that he hadn’t stepped in the cage in quite awhile, he was training to fight Wanderlei Silva and that Chris Leben had absolutely nothing to lose by taking this fight. Facing wild man Leben is tough enough, but when he has everything to gain and nothing to lose…well to me, that’s a scary thought. Unfortunately for Akiyama he found out exactly how wild Leben is. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t place the bet!
If I would have only listened to my head, my pockets would be much heavier right now! What MMA fights do you regret not betting on? Use your imagination and think past 2010…Leave your responses in the comments section below!
