TUF 19 Finale Date: July 6, 2014 Arena: Mandalay Bay Events Center City: Las Vegas, NV The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale will be live on Sunday with 11 scheduled bouts, including a five-fight main card that will be live on Fox Sports 1 at 6pm ET. If interested in wagering on the bouts in this article, or any others on this fight card, these lines will be made available to you at Several Bookmakerss. Here are my plays for the TUF 19 Finals and Main Event… Light heavyweight final: Corey Anderson (-190) vs Matt Van Buren (+150) Gabe’s Thoughts: Anderson is undoubtedly the superior grappler in this match-up and I believe he will outwrestle Van Buren on the mat for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards, and ultimately claiming the title of The Ultimate Fighter. Out of these two light heavyweights, I believe Anderson is the one who has a bright future in the sport. Van Buren is already a Bellator reject, but hey, he’s still young enough to turn things around, and the fact that he made Alliance MMA in San Diego, CA his move may be what he needed to do so. I got Anderson at the opening odds of -140, and again when it became -160, but even now at -190 I believe there is great value, as I think he should be a -320 favorite in this match-up. Gabe’s Call: Anderson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Anderson (-190) 7.6u to win 4u Middleweight final: Dhiego Lima (-165) vs Eddie Gordon (+125) Gabe’s Thoughts: Gordon will have a size advantage heading into this bout, as Lima is naturally a welterweight, while Gordon has to cut a lot of weight to make the middleweight limit. I think this fight will be competitive on the feet, but I believe it will be Gordon’s wrestling that plays the difference, as I see him shooting for takedowns and outwrestling the Brazilian in order to seal rounds on the judges’ scorecards. I feel Gordon should be the favorite in this match-up, so I love getting him as an underdog. I was lucky enough to get him at the opening price of +175, but I still love him at +125. I think getting him as an underdog, at any price, is a gift. Gabe’s Call: Gordon by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Gordon (+125) 4u to win 5u Featherweight bout: BJ Penn (+425) vs Frankie Edgar (-550) Gabe’s Thoughts: “The Prodigy” is taking this fight more seriously than any fight I can recall, and the fact that he is now walking around at 160 pounds when he used to barely make 170 goes a long way to reflect that sentiment. This fight means more to Penn than anything in the world, and contrary to popular belief, I don’t think Frankie Edgar is the best Frankie Edgar there’s been, because the best Frankie Edgar should have been able to stop Charles Oliveira, or at least beat the Brazilian in a much more dominant fashion. Cub Swanson was much more impressive against Oliveira than Edgar was. Nonetheless, it was a solid outing by “The Answer” and he will look to claim his third victory out of three fights over Penn on Sunday night in Las Vegas. Penn will look to get revenge, and maybe I’m being biased because I’m a big BJ fan, but I am of the belief that he has a good chance of scoring the upset. I feel there is value in him at these odds, and I will be making a play. Gabe’s Call: Penn by Majority Decision (49-48, 49-48, 48-48) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Penn (+425) 2.4u to win 10.2u
