UFC 183 Date: January 31, 2015 Arena: MGM Grand Garden Arena City: Las Vegas, NV Lightweight bout: “Raging” Al Iaquinta (-190) vs Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon (+165) Fight Breakdown: UFC 183’s main card will be featuring a lightweight contest that is expected to be a barn-burner. Fireworks are likely when Long Island’s “Raging” Al Iaquinta squares off against Massachusetts native Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon. Iaquinta is the betting favorite heading into this scrap at -190 (bet $190 to win $100), with the return on the underdog Lauzon being +165 (bet $100 to win $165) at Several Bookmakerss. “Raging” Al Iaquinta (10-3-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is coming off back-to-back knockout wins over Rodrigo Damm and Ross Pearson, respectively, and will be looking to make it three in a row against Lauzon on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The 27-year old is a talented striker with solid boxing skills and exceptional Muay Thai. His skills on the mat are also great, as he owns a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under former UFC welterweight title holder Matt Serra. Iaquinta is a Long Island, N.Y.-based fighter training out of the Serra-Longo fight team under the tutelage of Serra and one of the finest striking coaches in MMA, Ray Longo. “Raging Al” is a training partner of current UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, so we know he works with the absolute best on a daily basis. He is a technical striker who prefers to stay calm and collected rather than engaging in a brawl. He has good footwork and moves well around the cage. He hits hard and he hits often. The Long Islander has excellent conditioning and will have an edge in that department over Lauzon heading into this three round contest. Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon (25-3 MMA, 11-6 UFC) last saw action at UFC Fight Night 50 nearly five months ago, where he scored a second round TKO over Michael Chiesa. The win put him on a two-fight winning streak, and like his opponent Iaquinta, he will be looking to extend it to three come Saturday night. “J-Lau” trains out Lauzon MMA, his gym which he runs with his brother, former UFC fighter Dan Lauzon. His striking is not very good, but he has been making improvements in the department. The Massachusetts native’s ground game is exceptional; he is both brilliant in offensive and defensive submission grappling. He is very capable of submitting opponents from any position, and loves going for submissions from any angle, often giving up position to do so. Lauzon had been notorious for his poor conditioning but has made improvement in the department. That said, I believe he will be at a cardio disadvantage heading into this 15 minute affair against the Long Island native. Gabe’s Thoughts: The only way I see Iaquinta losing this fight is by mentally slipping and getting caught in a submission, but I don’t think that is going to happen. I think he is going to dominate Lauzon and earn his third straight finish inside the Octagon. I could see him submitting Lauzon, but more often than not, I think he gets another T/KO stoppage. Iaquinta is the superior mixed martial artist heading into this match-up, and I see a lot of value in him at the current price of -190, as I think he should be a -400 favorite. Gabe’s Call: Iaquinta by T/KO (punches, 1:01 round 3) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Al Iaquinta (-190) parlayed with Sara McMann (-210) at +125 for 4.75u to win 5.95u
