The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is finally set to return to Los Angeles this Saturday night (February 28, 2014) for UFC 184. The event will feature an entirety of 11-bouts, including a five-fight main card that will be live on Pay Per View at 10pm ET. Preliminary action will precede it at 8pm ET on FOX Sports 1, with a pair of scraps coming before that on UFC Fight Pass at 7pm ET. If interested on making any wagers for this fight card, all lines will be made available to you at Several Bookmakerss. Headlining the UFC 184 preliminary card on FOX Sports 1 is a middleweight contest that will see veteran Mark Munoz look to snap a two-fight losing streak when he squares off against Roan Carneiro. Needless to say, this fight is very important for Munoz, but it is just as important for the Brazilian. Carneiro posted a 2-3 record with the UFC in 2007-08, with wins over Rich Clementi and Tony DeSouza, and losses to Jon Fitch, Kevin Burns and Ryo Chonan, respectively, but was released from the promotion following consecutive losses to Burns and Chonan. He has since gone on a 7-1 run on the regional circuit and currently enjoys a five-fight winning streak, with three of those victories coming in one evening just over four months ago. When Munoz’s original opponent Caio Magalhaes pulled out of the bout due to injury, the UFC turned to Carneiro, who answered their call. The Brazilian will be stepping up from welterweight to the middleweight division for his Octagon return, so while he does not have to worry about cutting weight, he will be giving “The Philippino Wrecking Machine” a distinct size advantage. Munoz turned 37-years old earlier this month, Carneiro will also be turning 37 this June, and with both men circling the tail-end of their professional fighting careers, they are both expected to leave it all inside the Octagon this Saturday night. This should be a fight that send the prelims into the Pay Per View main card on a high note. “The Philippino Wrecking Machine” opened as a -280 favorite at the sportsbooks, with the return on the underdog Carneiro being +200. The public has backed Munoz, as current betting lines for the bout are -330/+270. Preceding Munoz vs Carneiro will be a bantamweight contest that sees the return of another veteran in 2005 Featherweight of the Year Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, who returns to action after three years to take on 27-year old Roman Salazar. The Japanese veteran has his back against the wall heading into this scrap, as he is 1-5 in his last six bouts and 0-3 inside the Octagon. “Kid” will be looking to pick up his first UFC win this Saturday night and aims to do so in highlight-reel fashion. Salazar will also be hoping to get his hand raised inside the Octagon for the first time, as he was defeated by first round rear naked choke submission in his lone UFC appearance against French-Canadian Mitch Gagnon nearly five months ago. After the loss, Salazar quit his job as a cable guy and has been training MMA full time, so he looks to make an impression in his second outing. “Kid” opened as a -210 betting favorite in this contest, with Salazar being an underdog to win at +160. Initial action came in on Yamamoto, driving him up to -360, but action poured in on Salazar when he neared 3-to-1. Betting lines for this contest are currently -280/+240. The second bout on the UFC 184 preliminary card on FOX Sports 1 comes in the welterweight division, and it is between The Ultimate Fighter Season 18’s Dhiego Lima and Power MMA’s Tim Means. Both fighters look to remain in the win column, and while one will move a step up the UFC’s 170-pound ladder, the other will unfortunately return to the drawing board. Lima vs Means is a fight that has a good chance of being entertaining, and it could end up being a real treat for the fans. Means returned as a slight -140 betting favorite in this contest, with Lima being +100. After initial action on Lima and evened up the lines at -110, action started coming in on Means, which brought betting lines to the current -140/+120. Getting the action started for UFC 184’s FOX Sports 1 preliminary card will be a heavyweight match-up between knockout-artist Derrick Lewis and South Africa’s #1 heavyweight Ruan Potts. Next to the main event of the evening, this fight is the next safest bet to not go the distance. Lewis started his UFC career strong with consecutive knockout victories and asked for a step-up in competition by requesting a match-up with Matt Mitrione. He received his wish, but it did not go how he had hoped, as he was knocked out less than a minute into the fight. After the brutal defeat, which also marked the first knockout loss of his professional mixed martial arts career, Lewis looks to get back on track this Saturday night against Potts. The South African also looks to get into the win column, while simultaneously picking up his first UFC win. There is certainly more pressure for him heading into this contest, as he has suffered T/KO defeats in both of his Octagon appearance, so a third will likely send him packing from the promotion. Lewis opened as a -385 favorite at the sportsbooks in this contest, with Potts being the betting underdog at +265. The public has supported Lewis, driving betting lines to a current -500/+400.
