Terry Etim (+155) Profile: Etim (15-4) was once viewed as one of the up-and-coming lightweight fighters in the UFC before hitting a roadblock with consecutive losses following an impressive 10-0 start to his pro career. The 26-year-old Brit is still relatively young though and reeled off four straight wins before dropping two of his past three bouts. His last fight resulted in a third-round knockout loss to Edson Barboza via spinning wheel kick at UFC 142 on January 14 after he had submitted three of his previous four opponents, earning Submission of the Night honors each time. Etim’s strength remains his ground game, and 12 of his 15 career wins have come by submission to go along with two knockouts and one decision. Joe Lauzon (-205) Profile: Lauzon (20-7) is also a submission specialist who has seen four of his last five fights end that way. He won three of them and earned Submission of the Night honors in the process while the loss during that stretch was named Fight of the Night. The 27-year-old Massachusetts native is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Anthony Pettis at UFC 144 on February 26 after winning his previous two in the first. UFC odds have had Lauzon as an underdog in three of his last four fights, and he has responded by winning just once under that scenario, losing to Pettis and George Sotiropoulos and beating Melvin Guillard. Opening Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas sees Lauzon as a moderate -205 favorite (bet $205 to win $100) against Etim, the +155 underdog (bet $100 to win $155). Both are similar fighters, but Lauzon has battled tougher opponents with more experience overall than Etim. Lauzon’s four losses in the last five years have come against top-flight lightweight foes, and three of them ended up winning Fight of the Night honors. He is 6-1 in his last seven fights as a favorite, with the lone loss coming against Sam Stout at UFC 106. Meanwhile, Etim is another worthy opponent with a similar style and can make a big statement here with an upset victory. The winner of this bout could be considered a Top 10 contender in the lightweight division.
