UFC Fight Night 81 Date: January 17, 2016 Arena: TD Garden City: Boston, MA The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be making it’s return to the TD Garden in Boston, MA tonight (January 17, 2016) for UFC Fight Night 81: Dillashaw vs Cruz. The first Fight Night card of the year, UFC Fight Night 81 comes stacked with a 12-fight card that guarantees fireworks from start to finish. Preliminary action for this fight card will get underway at 6pm ET on UFC Fight Pass and will continue at 8pm ET on FOX Sports 1, with main card action to follow at 10pm ET on the same channel. 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 prop plays: Dominick Cruz (+120) vs TJ Dillashaw (-140) Cruz +5.5 (-215) 4.3u to win 2u Cruz -5.5 (+205) 1u to win 2.05u Despite the layoff, I really like Cruz in this match-up. I believe he is the better fighter and I think his size advantage will make a difference. I see him finding a way to get his hand raised and reclaiming his UFC Bantamweight gold Anthony Pettis (-325) vs Eddie Alvarez (+295) Alvarez by Decision (+390) 1u to win 3.9u Alvarez +3.5 (+150) 1u to win 1.5u I do not agree with the betting odds for this lightweight contest and see it as more of a coin-flip scenario in which I lean towards Alvarez to get his hand raised. I think the former Bellator lightweight champion remains competitive on the feet with Pettis and mixes in takedowns over the course of 15-minutes en route to a decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. I see him putting Pettis on his back in this fight and I think that will help him seal rounds in the eyes of the judges. Matt Mitrione (+135) vs Travis Browne (-145) Browne by Decision (+1005) 1u to win 10.05u Mitrione by Decision (+855) .35u to win 2.99u Fight Goes to Decision (+460) 1u to win 4.6u I favor this fight to end inside the distance, likely in the first stanza, but I see value in these lines and think they are worth playing. This is a very big fight for both big men in which they have a lot to gain and lose. I see them as being more conservative than trigger-happy in this match-up, so I think the chances of the fight hitting the judges’ scorecards for a decision are greater than the betting odds suggest. Chris Wade (-365) vs Mehdi Baghdad (+305) Wade -3.5 (-165) 3.3u to win 2u I believe Wade has a superior grappling advantage heading into this 155-pound contest and I see him using it to control Baghdad on the mat for three rounds of action en route to a unanimous 30-27 decision victory on the judges’ scorecards, though I think he stands a decent chance of securing a submission finish, as well. I think Baghdad’s takedown defense will be non-existant in this match-up, as I see Wade scoring takedowns at will, taking Baghdad into his world and doing whatever he wants. I think this is a good match-up for Wade and I see him walking away with it.
