The UFC 153 prelims are coming at us live from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this Saturday on FX and Facebook.com. If the previous UFC shows out of Brazil have proved anything, it’s that every single fight on this card will be worth watching. Something about Brazil brings out the warrior spirit in the fighters, and we can expect no different this time around. The night starts off with a pair of bouts that will be streamed live on Facebook at 6:45 p.m. (ET) before giving way to four more preliminary fights on FX, beginning with a welterweight battle between Black House team member Sergio Moraes (6-2) and fellow Brazilian and Team Noguiera member Renee Forte (7-1). Despite his relative inexperience in the sport, Forte is a solid fighter with strong hands and a decent grappling background. Moraes is equally experienced and opened as a -245 favorite (bet $245 to win $100) with Forte a +185 underdog (bet $100 to win $185) according to the MMA odds. Both of these fighters come from great camps, which should lead to a close and exciting fight. Next up are featherweights Diego Brandao (14-8) and Joey Gambino (9-1), who will be looking to put on a show for the MMA fans. Brandao wants to fight well in front of his home country with Gambino hoping to rain on his parade. Brandao has double the experience, and the argument can be made that he is more well-rounded than his opponent. However, Brandao has a suspect chin and Gambino can knock someone out with just about any given punch despite not being the most powerful striker in the world. Brandao (-170) just needs to make sure Gambino (+140) does not get the chance to throw what could be a lethal strike. The third prelim on FX features Gleison Tibau (25-8), who is a long-time UFC vet that debuted against Nick Diaz at UFC 65 and has gone 11-5 inside the Octagon since then. The 29-year-old Tibau will meet a relative UFC newcomer and fellow Brazilian in Francisco Trinaldo (11-1). Jungle Fights veteran Trinaldo will be participating in his third UFC fight after going 10-1 throughout Brazil with nine finishes. Tibau may be the more experienced fighter record-wise, but the 34-year-old Trinaldo is no spring chicken and has been around the fight game for a long time. Trinaldo made his name in the Brazilian run of TUF, and although he was not extremely successful, he proved to be exciting. Tibau opened as a small favorite at -155 against Trinaldo (+125). In the featured fight of the UFC 153 prelims, two more featherweights will battle as American Sam Sicilia (11-1) will walk into the cage to take on Brazilian hometown favorite and TUF Brazil winner Rony Mariano Bezerra (11-3). Sicilia is also a TUF vet and one of the few featherweights with true knockout power while Bezerra is a BJJ ace fighting with Team Noguiera behind him. If styles make fights, this should be a good one. Sicilia uses his strikes to set up submissions when he can’t get the knockout, but going to the ground with Bezerra could be extremely dangerous. Both fighters have an equal amount of UFC cage time, appearing in the respective finales of their TUF seasons, so this should be an intriguing matchup. Bezerra opened as a solid -275 favorite against Sicilia and will be one of 15 Brazilian fighters overall hoping to use the home crowd to his advantage. Following is a complete list of the prelim matchups and opening UFC 153 odds… UFC 153: FX PRELIMS SAM SICILIA +205 RONY “JASON” MARIANO BEZERRA -275 FRANCISCO TRINALDO +125 GLEISON TIBAU -155 JOEY GAMBINO +140 DIEGO BRANDAO -170 RENEE FORTE +185 SERGIO MORAES -245 UFC 153: FACEBOOK PRELIMS CHRIS CAMOZZI +140 LUIZ CANE -170 CRISTIANO MARCELLO +170 REZA MADADI -230
