The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Pay Per View on Saturday, January 3rd for the promotion’s first event of the new 2015 calendar year with UFC 182. The event will be featuring eleven bouts in its entirety, and the evening’s main card will be live on Pay Per View at 10pm ET. Also, be sure to check your local movie theatre schedules, as UFC 182 will be playing live in select theaters nation-wide. Getting the action started for the Pay Per View card will be a welterweight match-up that sees the UFC return of Salt Lake City’s Josh Burkman, as he gets set to take on former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard, who is undefeated at 2-0 since dropping down to the UFC’s 170 pound division. After going 5-5 in his first stint with the promotion and on a three fight losing streak, Burkman was released from his contract, and has since gone on to post an impressive 9-2 record, including victories over UFC veterans Jon Fitch, Gerald Harris and Aaron Simpson, respectively. His impressive run has earned him another shot inside the Octagon, however it comes against a man no welterweight under contract with the UFC was willing to fight. As expected, Lombard opened as a heavy betting favorite in this contest at the line of -505, with Burkman being a +335 underdog. Action has since poured in on the Cuban, bringing current betting lines to -700/+500. The next bout of the evening’s main card comes in the flyweight division, as Japan’s Kyoji Horiguchi looks to extend his Octagon record to 4-0 against The Ultimate Fighter Season 14 veteran Louis Gaudinot. Both of these 125 pounders fight for the finish, so action is expected in this potential ‘Fight of the Night’ candidate. Horiguchi opened as a -600 favorite in this scrap, with the return on the heavy underdog Gaudinot being +400. The public has come in on Horiguchi, settling betting lines to a current -750/+525. Next up on UFC 182’s Pay Per View card is a middleweight scrap that will see The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 veteran Brad Tavares look to snap his two fight losing streak against the veteran Nate Marquardt. “The Great” snapped a losing streak of his own earlier this year with a first round armbar submission victory over James Te Huna. After dropping three straight at welterweight, he got his hand raised in his return to the middleweight division, where he will be looking to go 2-0 on Saturday night. Marquardt vs Tavares is a fight in which no result would surprise me, and regardless of the outcome, I expect it to be one of the more entertaining fights on the entire UFC 182 fight card. This is a fight that could end within a minute or go the full three round distance, and I believe either would be a treat. The betting odds for this 185 pound match-up opened at a coin-flip, with both fighters being -120. The public has since leaned towards Marquadt, making current betting lines -135/+115. The co-main event for UFC 182 is a lightweight contest that is expected to be a barn-burner. Fireworks are expected when Donald Cerrone looks to make it six in a row against the undefeated 26-year old Myles Jury. “Fury” enjoys a six-fight UFC winning streak heading into this match-up, which will be a major step up in competition and the biggest test of his professional mixed martial arts career. This is a very big fight for both 155 pounders, as an impressive victory will put the winner right behind Khabib Nurmagomedov and Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC lightweight title picture. “Cowboy” opened as a -150 betting favorite at the sportsbooks, with the return on the underdog Jury being +110. Action has since come in on Cerrone in loads, bring betting lines to a current -230/+190. Headlining the historic UFC 182 main card on Pay Per View is potentially the greatest light heavyweight title fight in mixed martial arts history. The battle for gold will be between two pound-for-pound greats in challenger Daniel Cormier and defending champion Jon Jones. This is a title fight between the elite of the elite, and one of them will truly taste defeat for the first time. From start to finish, fight fans everywhere will be on the edge of their seats during this one, as it will more than likely be an instant-classic and the hot topic at office water coolers on Monday morning. The defending champion opened as a -215 betting favorite over Cormier at the sportsbooks, with the return on the underdog challenger being +165. There has since been some back and forth action, but the public supports seems to be mostly in favor of the former heavyweight, as betting lines currently sit at -175/+155. If interested in wagering on these main card bouts, or any of the 11 scheduled bouts on the UFC 182 fight card, all lines will be made available at Several Bookmakerss.
