The UFC invades our living room once again this Friday with UFC on FX 3 live from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. But first it’s time for us to break down some of the earlier preliminary fights on the card, starting with a pair that will be streamed live on Facebook.com at 5 p.m. (ET). First up, welterweight Sean Pierson (11-6) is on a two-fight skid after getting knocked out by Jake Ellenberger and dropping a decision to Kim Dong-Hyun. His opponent, Jake Hecht (11-3) is also coming off a loss, tapping to T.J. Waldburger in March. With both fighters coming off losses, matchmaking like this usually means someone’s job is on the line. With that said we have Jake Hecht opening as the favorite at -165 (bet $165 to win $100) compared to Pierson’s +135 (bet $100 to win $135) according to the MMA odds. Coming off a split decision loss in his UFC debut to Matt Riddle, Greg Jackson-trained fighter Henry Martinez (8-2) will then meet Brazilian Bernardo Magalhaes (11-2), who also lost in his debut. Both lightweights should be looking for the submission victory, with Martinez holding 4 victories by sub, and Magalhaes’ only finishes have come by a pair of sloppy submissions. With both fighters coming off a loss, we expect someone to grab a hold of his UFC destiny and get aggressive in the Octagon. Martinez is the more complete fighter and opened as the favorite at -180 while Margalhaes is a +150 dog. The next two fights will be televised on FUEL TV at 6 p.m. with four more prelimary bouts on deck after that before the main card gets underway on FX. Undefeated Caio Magalhaes (5-0 and no relation to Bernardo or Vinny) looks to continue his unbeaten ways in his UFC debut across from another debuting fighter in Buddy Roberts (11-2). Both middleweights have a collection of wins via KO, submission and decisions, but Caio will likely try to get it to the ground so he can sink in the submission win. This is a very even matchup with Margalhaes opening as a slight underdog at -105 with Roberts favored at -125. Lightweight Tim Means (17-3-1) is 1-0 in the UFC with a victory over Bernardo Magalhaes and looks to extend his winning to eight. Across from him stands Justin Salas (10-3), who himself is on a five-fight winning streak and also 1-0 in the UFC. These lightweights are on the rise and have something to prove, but Means has been on a tear and against solid competition. That’s why he opened as a solid favorite -150 compared to Salas at +120. Click here to preview the next four preliminary card fights
