Off the heels of its first appearance on network TV, WSOF returns to its usual stomping grounds on NBC Sports Network for WSOF 12. While this card lacks the star power of their last offering, it could be a chance for some of the organization’s lesser known fighters to step out of the shadows and make a name for themselves. In the main event, Luis Palomino and Lewis Gonzalez will look to prove that they are worthy of a title shot against WSOF lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, although Melvin Guillard likely waits in line before either of these fighters. The co-main event features UFC veteran Ronny Markes moving up to 205 to take on Cully Butterfield. Former MFC champion Elvis Mutapcic and Olympic wrestling silver medalist Alexis Vila also find themselves on the televised card. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting lines for the WSOF 12 main card today at Several Bookmakers. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (NBC Sports Network, 9pm ET) Lewis Gonzalez -180 Luis Palomino +140 Ronny Markes -600 Cully Butterfield +400 Elvis Mutapcic -230 Kelvin Tiller +170 Alexis Vila -190 Brandon Hempleman +150 Bryson Hansen -210 Matt Sayles +160 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: I’ll start this off by saying that I’m more familiar with most regional cards than I am with this one, so if you’re looking for some sage wisdom on betting these fights, you’re out of luck. Lewis Gonzalez looked impressive in his last outing against Antonio McKee, which is a very solid win. I think WSOF wants to push him a bit more than Palomino, especially since he was tapped to take on Justin Gaethje once already. I think he’ll get the job done here too. Palomino’s takedown defense and striking looked good against ‘Macaco’ but that’s a fighter who is 40 years old and wasn’t spectacular at his best. I expect Gonzalez to be able to get this fight to the ground, where he looks to use solid guard passing and ground-and-pound. Don’t be misled by his five submissions, as three have come to strikes, he’s there to do damage once he gets it to the ground. It’s always heartening to see a fighter who misses weight badly due to a lack of focus and motivation then decide to jump up a weight class. That’s what we refer to as sarcasm, but somebody must not have told Ronny Markes, who is making that exact move so he can come into this bout against Cully Butterfield in presumably worse physical condition than last time around. Luckily he’s facing another fighter used to competing at middleweight, but I still think betting on Markes here is a disaster waiting to happen. He’s talented and should win, but if he’s just hit a wall in terms of wanting to perform at a high-level in MMA, he could be on track for his third consecutive TKO loss. Elvis Mutapcic was unable to get anything going against Jesse Taylor, which was a bit surprising given his normally solid takedown defense. Against Kelvin Tiller he faces a similar challenge in terms of having to be wary of his opponent’s grappling. Tiller was featured on a number of Bellator prelims, as they saw potential in him, but he’s been out for over a year now (potentially in an attempt to escape the promotion). That kind of layoff makes this a tricky fight to bet, as Tiller could have stagnated due to lack of action, or made massive strides in the gym being so young in his career. I think the value may lie in Tiller, but I’m not confident enough to bet it. Brandon Hempleman is lucky that he fought Marlon Moraes before WSOF crowned a bantamweight champion, otherwise he would have had to endure another ten minutes of his legs getting completely destroyed. In that fight, he proved that he’s tough, but didn’t show much else. By the time this bout rolls around, he’ll have been out of action for 367 days, which seems to be a trend on this WSOF card. Alexis Vila may be 8,000 years old and was a medalist in the Olympics nearly 20 years ago, but physically he still looks excellent in the cage. His combination of power and wrestling will give anyone trouble, but at some point he’ll have to hit a wall. Will it be in this fight, or does he still have a couple years left in him? I’m not particularly willing to put money down to find out even though I lean slightly towards him. Even though Bryson Hansen is 28, this is a really solid matchup between two prospects. Both Hansen and the 20-year-old Matt Sayles are powerful wrestlers who like to incorporate striking on the ground. Both come from respected camps as well. It’s hard to get a great read on Sayles based on 121 seconds of cage time and very meager opposition, but he does seem to be a prospect Alliance expects big things from. I’m not sold quite yet, but he’ll have every chance to prove it against his first real test in MMA.
