TUF 19 Finale Date: July 6, 2014 Arena: Mandalay Bay Events Center City: Las Vegas, NV The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale will be live today (Saturday, July 6th) with 11 scheduled bouts, including a six-fight main card that will be live on Fox Sports 1 at 9pm ET, with preliminary action kicking off on FOX Sports 1 at 7pm ET. If interested in wagering on the props suggested in this article, or any other props or wagers for this card, you may do so at Several Bookmakerss. My prop plays The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale are: TUF 19 Light Heavyweight Final: Corey Anderson (-220) vs Matt Van Buren (+180) Fight Goes the Distance (-115) 1.15u to win 1u I feel Anderson is the better fighter here and has the brighter future in the sport, and I think the most likely outcome to this fight his him winning a decision. The odds on him winning by decision are +140, I not too much greater than the decision line of -115, which I’m playing here. The reason I am taking the decision prop instead of Anderson straight is because, of course: the judges. I have been screwed over by a number of poor decisions in recent weeks and this here is a “better safe than sorry” type of a situation for me. That said, Van Buren has shown improvements in his game since moving to Alliance MMA in San Diego, CA, so I would not be completely shocked to see him get his hand raised, though I really do favor Anderson. TUF 19 Middleweight Final: Dhiego Lima (-155) vs Eddie Gordon (+135) Gordon by Decision (+220) 1u to win 2.2u I think Gordon by decision is the most likely outcome to this match-up and I see value in it at +220. I think this fight will be competitive on the feet, with Gordon getting the better of the exchanges. It will likely be close on the feet, but I think Gordon will mix in takedowns to seal rounds on the judges’ scorecards. I think he will be effective when pressuring Lima against the cage, which should be part of his gameplan, as he will have a size advantage over the Brazilian heading into this bout. Bantamweight bout: Jumabieke Tierxun (+100) vs Leandro Issa (-120) Issa Wins Inside the Distance (+378) 1u to win 3.78u I expect the Brazilian to use his superior grappling to get this fight to the mat and dominate Tierxun there en route to securing a submission, if not a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. Tierxun has not faced anyone with the level of Jiu-Jitsu possessed by Issa, so I feel there is a decent chance the Brazilian will find his way towards a tap, and at +378, I feel it’s worth a play. I think Issa is going to win this fight by either submission or decision, and the prop on him winning by decision is +195. I favor him getting the submission slightly more than I do a decision, and the return on that prop is much greater, so I feel it’s a no brainer to make this value play. Light heavyweight bout: Keith Berish (+550) vs Robert Drysdale (-800) Fight Doesn’t Go to Decision (-600) 6u to win 1u I think this fight is going to hit the mat before the imaginary 24-second shot clock expires, and will possibly be over in under a minute. Drysdale is the far superior grappler in this grappler vs grappler match-up and I expect him to have secured a submission within two minutes into the fight. I am opting to take the Fight Doesn’t Go to Decision prop at -600 over Drystale Wins Inside the Distance at -400 because of the very small chance of Drysdale losing via some sort of fluke knockout or disqualification. Realistically, Drysdale should roll here, quickly picking up his first win in his Octagon debut. I’ve been looking forward to seeing him compete inside the Octagon, and am glad the time is finally here.
