UFC 148: Saturday, July 7, 2012 MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada UFC Lightweight Contender Yoislandy Izquierdo (-170) Profile: A relative newcomer to MMA, Yoislandy Izquierdo (6-1) made his promotional debut for the UFC in Sweden after only six professional fights. However, the 28-year-old Cuban fighter’s undefeated streak was snapped in his debut by a guillotine choke submission from Reza Madadi at UFC on FUEL TV 2 on April 14, and now he looks to regroup at UFC 148. Izquierdo has heavy hands and a solid overall game for only being a pro fighter for a little over two years, and his game should continue to develop as a naturally explosive athlete. UFC Lightweight Contender Rafaello Oliveira (+140) Profile: Rafaello Oliveira (14-5) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and has had an up-and-down UFC career so far. After a brief stint with the organization in 2009-10 that left him 1-2 and ended with him receiving a pink slip, the 30-year-old Oliveira set out to the independent circuit again, going 4-0 and earning a ticket back to the big show. Now he’s lost his last two in a row inside the Octagon to Yves Edwards and Gleison Tibau in rather devestating fashion, getting finished in the second round both times. After a bout scheduled earlier in the year was cancelled due to injury, Oliveira will be fighting for his UFC life at UFC 148 when he takes on Izquierdo. Opening UFC 148 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Izquierdo a small -170 favorite (bet $170 to win $100) while Oliveira opened as a +140 underdog (bet $100 to win $140) according to the MMA odds. Izquierdo is viewed by many MMA betting experts to be a much better fighter than he showed in his UFC debut, which is why he is favored against the more experienced Oliveira. However, Oliveira’s 1-4 mark in the UFC also should not be ignored even though he has lost to decent opponents in his past two bouts. He has yet to prove he really belongs here and might be fighting for his UFC life. This fight will be streamed live on Facebook.com to open UFC 148, so MMA fans will need to get online to watch these two lightweights duke it out.
