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UFC heads to Chicago
January 26, 2013
By Sportsbook
Sportsbook.ag UFC on Fox 6 Preview
Demetrious Johnson (16-2-1) vs. John Dodson (15-5)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Johnson -250, Dodson +190
UFC flyweight championship belt holder Demetrious Johnson will look to defend the title for the first time in its history as he takes on John Dodson Saturday night in Chicago as the main event of UFC on FOX 6.
Johnson eked out a split decision against Joseph Benavidez in his last fight, winning the UFC Flyweight Tournament and earning the inaugural title. Dodson is the former winner of The Ultimate Fighter 14, but did so as a bantamweight. He has won his two fights since returning to the flyweight class, but he has just not fought a difficult class of flyweight fighters. Johnson has regularly gone up against the best of the best flyweights such as Benavidez and Ian McCall while Dodson lost as a flyweight at the end of 2009, fighting for the low-level Ultimate Warrior Challenge flyweight championship. Johnson should have no problem here in his first title defense.
Prior to his win against Benavidez, "Mighty Mouse" Johnson beat the talented Ian McCall, who he had previously drawn in their previous fight. A loss to Dominick Cruz preceded that for Johnson, but that was in the bantamweight class and against the world's premier bantamweight fighter. Johnson can win any which way, though he likes to take it to the judges or win by submission, which he has done seven and six times, respectively, in his career. Both of his UFC wins as bantamweights have been decision victories. With his incredible speed and precise form, Johnson will look to take Dodson down, earning him the favor of the judges or setting up a chance for a submission. He is an extremely talented wrestler, something that may be difficult for Dodson to defend.
John "The Magician" Dodson has looked good his past two fights as a flyweight, easily beating weaker competition. First he earned a unanimous decision against Tim Elliott before TKO-ing Brazilian Jussier Formiga with a fury of punches. Like Johnson, Dodson's strategy is based on his speed, but rather than using that to take an opponent to the ground, he focuses on his strikes and winning that way. He has six career knockouts and six career decisions to his credit with just two submissions.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (32-9) vs. Glover Teixeira (19-2)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Teixeira -340, Jackson +260
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will bring his historic MMA career to an end Saturday night as he goes up against heavily favored Glover Teixeira.
Jackson fell to Ryan Bader his last time out and for the first time in his MMA career lost two consecutive bouts. Prior to the Bader loss he fell via fourth round submission to Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight championship. Teixeira, on the other hand, is the up-and-comer, having won 17 consecutive bouts. Just two of those were UFC, though, and he won those both emphatically. Still, he enters this bout as a surprisingly heavy favorite given Jackson's experience and the fact that he may lay it all out there in his final fight.
Bettors don't have much confidence in Jackson even though he was far from dominated in either of his two losses. The defeat to Bader was a decision, and anybody who can withstand Jon Jones for four rounds deserves credit for making it that far. Jackson is a punishing bruiser who has 14 career knockouts. He is an elite kickboxer and wrestler, meaning he is happy to try and take his opponents down or engage in a striking battle. At 6-foot-1, he cedes an inch to Teixeira but his strength is unmatched.
Of Teixeira's 19 career wins, 12 have been knockouts. He is coming off a Round 2 TKO of Fabio Maldonado and prior to that earned a 1st-round submission against Kyle Kingsbury in his first UFC fight. Overall, if Teixeira wins, he doesn't like to take it to the final bell, which he has done just twice in his career. He is also happy to engage in a striking battle, but he also brings a deft Jiu-Jitsu background to the table that could yield a potential submission. And even though he has been climbing up the MMA ranks since his jump to UFC, the Brazilian is no spring chicken at 33 years old, just one year younger than Jackson.
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4-2 L6, 8-3 L11, 20-9 L29 Picks |
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