Heavyweight bout: Alistair Overeem (-220) vs Travis Browne (+180) Fight Breakdown: The UFC Fight Night 26 main card delievers a co-main event MMA fans are itching for when vicious striking legend Alistair Overeem takes on the always dangerous Hawaiian, Travis Browne. Overeem is currently the favorite at -220 ($220 to win $100) while Browne is the underdog at +180 ($100 to win $180) at Several Bookmakerss. Alistair Overeem (36-12 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is coming off a major upset loss to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156, a fight in which he was knocked out in the third round after dominating the first two. Overeem made the transition from Strikeforce to UFC and many believed he would soon become UFC heavyweight champ, but such hasn’t been the case. He had a shot against Junior Dos Santos but he failed his drug test and that bout was scrapped. He served a suspension and returned out of shape in a losing effort to Bigfoot, a fight he chose to wrestle in, when everybody expected him to get a first round knockout victory. Overeem displayed solid wrestling skills in that bout, as he controlled Bigfoot on the mat for ten minutes. He has morphed into a complete fighter. Striking is Alistair Overeem’s bread and butter, though, as he’s arguably one of the best kickboxers in the history of the sport, having a K-1 Grand Prix Championship on his resume. Overeem lost his last bout by knockout in the third round because he had nothing left; he was gassed out after controlling the fight for ten minutes. His cardio was not in shape and he did not fight smart; his gameplan should have been to knock Bigfoot out ASAP; there’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that goal could have been achieved within the first frame. Overeem enters this bout looking to go back to his roots so he can put a striking clinic on Travis Browne in front of the Boston crowd. Travis Browne (14-1-1 MMA, 5-1-1 UFC) is a 6’7″ Hawaiian born beast training out of Jackson-Winklejohn MMA in Albequercque, NM under the tutelage of coaches Greg Jackson and John Winklejohn. Browne is a very heavy striker who packs a lot of power, he is certainly a knockout artist in the UFC’s heavyweight division, as 10 of his 14 career victories have come by way of knockout; 8 of them in the first round, 7 of them in under 2 minutes. One of the 8 is Stefan Struve, a knockout which earned Browne a knockout of the night bonus and a very impressive (and career-best) addition to his highlight reel. The lone blemish on Travis Browne’s resume is a first round TKO loss that came at the hands of prevesiously mentioned Brazilian Heavyweight Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Browne was doing OK in the begining of the round, then he “pulled a hammy,” and was eventually stopped by Bigfoot. He had a solid rebound in his last outing versus Gabriel Gonzaga, finishing Gonzaga by TKO in under 2 minutes with elbows to the head while defending a takedowon attempt. Travis Browne has arguably the best coaches in MMA in his corner and he’s likely to have a smart gameplan going into this bout. He is a well versed fighter in most aspects of mixed martial arts. Much like most heavyweights, he does not have good cardio — but it is still better than the cardio of most, including Alistair Overeem. Fight Breakdown: Coming off the first round TKO win over Gabriel Gonzaga, Travis Browne looks to make it 2 in a row as he attempts to climb his way to a title shot, and believes a win over Alistair Overeem will put him right in the mix of things. Overeem is by far… I repeat, by far the best opponent Travis Browne has ever faced. If Bigfoot managed to finish Overeem, it certainly isn’t unimaginable that a powerful beast with a solid chin like Browne can do the same. Overeem does not have a good chin and Browne hits hard, plus he’s got a brilliant coach in Greg Jackson in his corner, which increases his odds of playing it smart and doing damage. Ultimately, I think Browne tries to strike with Overeem and knock him out but ends up on the wrong end of the knockout stick. If he shows up a little too confident in his striking, that’ll likely do him in. I think Overeem exposes the holes Browne’s striking en route to a Unanimous Decision or TKO/KO victory. Gabe’s Pick: Alistair Overeem by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) — That’s my gut talking. I was thinking Overeem wins this by KO, but in the past 24 hours I’ve been liking the odds of him winning by decision. Gabe’s Recommended 4*UNIT Play: 2.5U on Alistair Overeem -220 and 1.5u on Overeem by Decision +604 — I think there is definite value in that Decision prop. — NOTE: There will be no value in Overeem -220 if he shows up out of shape. Watch the weigh-ins before locking in your bets for this one!
