UFC on FOX 15 Date: April 18, 2015 Arena: Prudential Center City: Newark, NJ The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to New Jersey tonight with UFC on FOX 15, headlined by a five round middleweight contest between top contenders Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Luke Rockhold. The four-fight main card kicks off on FOX at 8pm, with preliminary action preceding it on the same channel at 6pm ET and UFC Fight Pass at 4:30pm prior to that. After the event concludes, the promotion will be awarding $50,000 checks to two fighters for ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. If interested in wagering on these props or any other plays for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available at Several Bookmakerss. The ‘Fight of the Night’ plays that hold the most value are: Swanson/Holloway +400 – I think this fight has an equal or slightly better chance at taking home the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors than the main event of the evening between Luke Rockhold and Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida. The odds on that five rounder taking home the bonus is at +200, and the return on this fight is +400, so I think this is the play to make for sake of value. It would be a surprise to nobody for the main event to take it, but it isn’t worth a play at +200, in my opinion. That’s a fight that could result in an early finish, whereas it’s hard to see this one not playing out for the majority, if not all three rounds of action. I think there’s a good chance these featherweights will produce a very entertaining 15-minute war, and when it’s all said and done, they will likely be taking home an extra 50k for their efforts. Swanson had his six fight winning streak snapped by Frankie Edgar in his latest outing and looks to rebound by snapping Holloway’s five fight winning streak. Should these two take home the bonus, it would mean the sixth time for Swanson under the Zuffa (UFC/WEC) banner, while being the first for the Hawaiian. Sterling/Mizugaki +750 – This is a “passing of the torch” sort of match-up between an up and coming prospect in the division and one of the more talented veteran’s at 135-pounds. Getting passed Mizugaki would certainly speak volumes for Sterling and likely catapult him into the division’s top 15 rankings. People are already labeling this kid as a future title contender and/or champion, so this is going to be one fight to keep an eye on this evening. Both of these bantamweights are quite skilled and well-rounded, presenting threats in every area. I think more often than not, regardless of the outcome, these two will produce a highly entertaining fight. At the current betting tag of +750, I think there’s a lot of value and think it is worth a stab. Should they manage to take home the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors, it would be the very first time for Sterling, while being the second for Mizugaki under the Zuffa (UFC/WEC) banner.
