This Friday, Titan Fighting Championship 23 “Fight For The Troops” is being broadcast live on HDNet from Fort Riley in Kansas starting at 10 p.m. (ET) and looks to fill a surprisingly empty week with some fun MMA betting action. The main card is a five-fight affair, with featherweights being the first order of business as Andrew Carrillo (5-2 and on a two-fight losing streak) takes on Freddy Assuncao (6-1, five-fight winning streak) in what should be an interesting bout. Assuncao has had trouble finishing his opponents early in his young career, with four of his wins coming by way of decision. Carrillo, on the other hand, has wins via KO, TKO and submission, but it seems to be kill or be killed with this guy. Assuncao is expected to be the more patient fighter and impose his will as the clear -355 favorite (bet $355 to win $100) compared to Carrillo as a +265 underdog (bet $100 to win $265). Next up, undefeated middleweight Brandon Bear (3-0) will look to make short work of Nick Budig (4-2) with his rapidly developing game. This should be one of those “don’t blink” fights as both fighters have extreme stopping power in both of their fists. While we may not know much about these youngsters yet, each fighter holds very quick knockout or technical knockout victories over their opponents. However, Bear has been more impressive in winning his first three fights and opened as the -315 favorite to Budig’s +225, according to the MMA odds. Jake “The Librarian” Lindsey (4-0) will make his Titan FC debut against Jordan Johnson (6-2), who is on a two-fight losing streak. These lightweights should both bring an aggressive style to the match, as Lindsey has been finishing his opponents with subs and his knockout power while Johnson tends to rely on his bread and butter physicality, as he has won four of his six fights with either guillotine chokes or arm triangles. Heading into the fight, Lindsey looks to be the superior talent, opening as the favorite at -345 to Johnson’s +255. In the co-main event, a pair of featherweights will battle as Josh Huber (9-3 with eight finishes) takes on Joe “The Nose” Wilk (16-6). Wilk is no stranger to the Titan cage, fighting there multiple times before with great success. The action should be strong in this fight since both of these guys have a killer instinct and the records to back it up. As it is with a lot of these shows, the eyes are on the headliners to see if they are ready to make the jump to the big leagues, and these two will try to prove it to themselves and others watching. The MMA odds favor “The Nose” at -325 to Huber’s +235. Then finally in the main event, Kansas gets a dose of “Miami Hustle” as the Sengoku King Jorge Santiago (24-10) once again brings his Hawaiian board shorts and trademark sunglasses to TFC. Santiago will take on Justin Guthrie (9-4) and look to repeat his last performance, in which he knocked out Leonardo Pecanha in under a minute. Although Santiago has found most of his success outside of the UFC Octagon (where he was 1-4), he always brings the fight to his opponent. Guthrie is a replacement for former UFC fighter Jay Silva and opened as a massive +375 underdog compared to Santiago at -575.
