UFC 185 Date: 03/14/15 Arena: American Airlines Center City: Dallas, TX The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Dallas, TX on March 14th with UFC 185, featuring an action-packed fight card that includes two championship bouts. The main card gets underway at 10pm ET on Pay Per View, with preliminary action getting going on FOX Sports 1 at 8pm and UFC Fight Pass at 6:30pm before that. If interested in making this parlay, or any other wagers for this UFC fight card, you will be able to do so at Several Bookmakerss. Here are my plays for UFC 185’s Main and Co-Main Event: Lightweight title bout: Anthony Pettis (-450) vs Rafael dos Anjos (+360) Gabe’s Thoughts: I think this match-up is closer than the betting odds indicate, but rather than making a straight play on dos Anjos, I am opting to take the Over 2.5 rounds total at -135, because if dos Anjos does indeed win this fight, I think it will almost surely come after the 2.5 round mark, likely a close decision on the judges’ scorecards. On that same note, I also favor Pettis to win after the 2.5 round mark, should he walk away with the victory. I would not be surprised to see him stop the Brazilian early in the fight, but I think this is a match-up that he is more likely to win by decision or late finish than an early stoppage. Again, I expect this fight to be closer than the lines currently suggest, and I do think it goes past 2.5 rounds more often than not. That said, I thought exactly the same of Pettis’ last two bouts, which he ended up finishing in rounds one and two, so for that reason I’m going to keep this play smaller than I would have otherwise. Gabe’s Call: Pettis by Unanimous Decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Over 2.5 rounds (-135) 1.95u to win 1.45u Women’s Strawweight title bout: Carla Esparza (-165) vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk (+145) Gabe’s Thoughts: This is a classic “striker vs grappler” match-up and I think it will be very closely contested for five rounds of action, leaving it up to the judges’ to make the call. I think “JJ” will find some success in keeping the fight on the feet and winning rounds, but I think Esparza will find success with her wrestling and win rounds, as well. I think this is likely going to be a type of fight where regardless of the outcome, a rematch will make sense (though not an immediate one). To put it simply, I think this fight goes the distance more often than not, and I slightly lean with the champion defending her title. Gabe’s Call: Esparza by Split Decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Esparza/Jedrezejczyk Over 4.5 rounds (-155) 3.95u to win 2.55u
