UFC 191 Date: September 5, 2015 Arena: MGM Grand Garden Arena City: Las Vegas, NV The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back in Las Vegas again for UFC 191: Johnson vs Dodson. The action-packed 11-fight card has a five fight Pay Per View main card that kicks off at 10pm ET, with preliminary action preciding it on FOX Sports 1 at 8pm and UFC Fight Pass at 7pm prior to that. If interested in wagering on these plays, or any plays for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available at Several Bookmakerss. Here are my live dogs for UFC 191: Light Heavyweight bout: Anthony Johnson (-615) vs Jimi Manuwa (+510) Gabe’s Thoughts: Contrary to popular opinion and the current betting odds, I slightly favor Manuwa to get his hand raised at the end of this light heavyweight bout. I think Manuwa should be a very slight -130 betting favorite over “Rumble” heading into this bout. He is the bigger fighter at 205-pounds and is the mentally tougher one of the two. We have seen Johnson quit several times before, which is something I can’t see Manuwa doing. Unlike Johnson, I think “Poster Boy” is the type of fighter who is full of heart and will leave it all inside the Octagon. In terms of power, they likely cancel each other out there, but if I had to pick, I’d say Manuwa probably has a slight advantage in that department. It will be interesting to see how they look next to each other at the fights, but at teh weigh-ins, Manuwa was clearly the larger fighter of the two. I could see him defeating Johnson via knockout or on the judges’ scorecards, and at +510, I believe there is a world of value in him. Being in possession of a signed WSOF 2 Anthony Johnson glove, it’s tough to say, but I like Manuwa in this match-up. Especially at these crazy odds! Gabe’s Call: Manuwa by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Manuwa (+510) 4u to win 20.4u Women’s Strawweight bout: Alex Chambers (+1050) vs Paige Van Zant (-1300) Gabe’s Thoughts: I see value in Chambers in her current ridiculously overpriced odds of +1050. I think this fight is a lot closer than those odds suggest, and while I favor Van Zant to get her hand raised, I don’t think she should be such a big favorite over a more experienced fighter in only her third Octagon appearance. Gabe’s Call: VanZant by T/KO (strikes, 4:59 round 2) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Chambers (+1050) 1u to win 10.5u Women’s Bantamweight bout: Jessica Andrade (-200) vs Raquel Pennington (+185) Gabe’s Thoughts: This is a rematch of a close fight that saw Andrade walk away with a split decision victory. I thought Pennington would win that fight the first time and she came up a bit short, though the decision could have gone either way. In this rematch, I again side with her to get the job done and believe if she lives up to her potential, she will get her hand raised. She seems to be more mentally in tune, so this time around, I think she will manage to get the job done, whether inside the distance or on the judge’ scorecards. I think she takes a unanimous nod on the cards, but I would not be surprised to see her pull off a submission. Gabe’s Call: Pennington by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Pennington (+185) 4u to win 7.4u Note: I also have a play on Frank Mir (+130) in the co-main event of the evening.
