The UFC’s next trip North of the border isn’t being met with much anticipation from fans (regardless of nationality), as it is yet another card depleted by a series of cancellations. Originally scheduled as a dual title bill, bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was forced out of his rematch with Renan Barao due to a broken rib. The card then lost its most recognizable name, as Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s scheduled UFC return was squashed by legal drama between the former UFC champion and Bellator. Now, flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson finds himself atop another lackluster Canadian card which seems destined to do poorly by every financial metric. As it stands, only three bouts on the card have betting lines. The betting public sees Johnson’s title defense against Kyoji Horiguchi as another lopsided bout, with the champion currently a -900 betting favorite (bet $900 to win $100). Michael Bisping has been pegged as a slight favorite over CB Dollaway, and bantamweight prospect Thomas Almeida is strongly favored at the sportsbooks over Yves Jabouin. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas added lines for the remaining nine bouts on UFC 186 today at Several Bookmakers. The final two main card fights feature former hockey player Steve Bosse stepping in for ‘Rampage’ to make his UFC debut against Fabio Maldonado, and a pair of talented Canadian lightweight strikers in John Makdessi and Shane Campbell. The undercard will showcase an additional ten Canadians, with former middleweight title challenger Patrick Cote and top five women’s bantamweights Alexis Davis and Sarah Kaufman amongst them. Check out the full betting lines for UFC 186 below: ——————– MAIN CARD (PPV, 10pm ET)
——————– PRELIMINARY CARD (Fox Sports 1, 8pm ET)
——————– PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30pm ET)
——————– Brad’s Analysis: The signing and placement of Steve Bosse on this card illustrates the desperate state of the UFC roster in 2015. Bosse has not competed since May 2013, and actually retired in March 2014 (after being signed to the UFC and scheduled for a bout) due to numerous injuries suffered through his MMA and hockey careers. He has fought a grand total of once since the beginning of 2012. That said, he is extremely powerful, undefeated as a light heavyweight and should hold a speed advantage over Maldonado early. If how Maldonado’s chin reacted in the Stipe Miocic fight is more the norm than the exception for him at this point, Bosse could put him away early. However, I have to believe that Maldonado weathers the early storm and TKOs Bosse in round two or beyond. Shane Campbell has been a frustrating fighter to watch rise through the Canadian circuit over the past few years. He’s a talented striker, but I’m not sure how committed he truly is to succeeding at the highest level in MMA. He prefers to fight at catchweights or at welterweight, as he doesn’t like to cut weight, and you have to wonder how a fighter like that will react against the best in the world. Campbell won’t hold his usual massive striking advantage in this bout, and despite holding a reach advantage here, John Makdessi uses a very good jab to fight longer than he is. I think Makdessi may be able to keep Campbell out of his rhythm and win a decision in a close fight, but Campbell will be a live dog who may be worth a shot if the public pushes this line any further than it is right now. Joe Riggs is held together by some combination of tape, glue, and gum at this point. He’s suffered a ton of injuries through his career, and even though Patrick Cote isn’t as durable as he once was, you have to think he’ll hold together better than Riggs in this fight. Cote has actually looked decent at 170, and I think he should be able to control this fight in the clinch or on the feet, potentially scoring a stoppage at some point. The women’s bantamweight division feels like it’s in a timewarp. Kaufman and Davis fought in a contender’s bout just as Ronda Rousey was making her ascension to the top of the division, and here they are nearly five year later doing the exact same thing. This is a completely serviceable fight, I just have no interest in it, despite their second bout (this is their third fight, and Kaufman is 2-0, by the way) being a fantastic scrap. There are no implications here, and I’d be surprised if this lived up to their last encounter. Oh, and I expect Kaufman to move to 3-0 against Davis. Chad Laprise is a class above Bryan Barberena when it comes to striking, and I don’t think Barberena’s tenacious approach will be enough to bridge the gap for him here as it was against Joe Ellenberger. Laprise will be able to hit first and then make himself scarce when Barberena tries to answer, and I expect that to happen for 15 minutes. David Michaud’s only real skillset is in his grappling, and he’s facing a far superior grappler in Olivier Aubin-Mercier. The UFC seems to have some pretty decent hopes for the young Quebecer, as their booking for him early in his career has been relatively favorable, and I could even seen this as a spot where he keeps the bout standing and tries to show off his standup against an inferior striker. If he chooses to return to his roots and grapple, I’m not sure he submits Michaud, but I do think that would be a fairly simple path to victory for him as well. I don’t look forward to Nordine Taleb fights, as they can be extremely dry if they go his way, and I think this one has a good chance of going his way. That means he’ll likely be tentative at distance, close to the clinch, and look to drag Chris Clements down to the mat. He’ll probably have some success doing that, as Clements doesn’t have the most stout takedown defense. For the sake of us not having to watch 15 minutes of that, I hope Clements can replicate his performance against Vik Grujic, getting some offense off as Taleb tries to close the distance, and as Taleb doesn’t have the greatest defense or chin, a knockout from Clements isn’t an unreasonable possibility, and it may be one where the line is long enough to warrant a shot. Jessica Rakoczy is 1-4 in her MMA career and fighting in the UFC. She was also ranked at 135lbs for a significant period of time. I try to take the women’s divisions in the UFC seriously, I really do, but that sort of stuff just shows how shallow they are. She actually has a shot in this fight though, as Valerie LeTourneau may choose to stand and strike with her, rather than taking the easy path to victory and grappling. I still have to favor LeTourneau given that she can win standing or on the ground, but with both women dropping 20lbs since their last UFC appearances I have no interest in betting this fight. The complete opposite of that last fight, Markos/Daly should actually be good. Markos is a solid wrestler who showed tremendous improvement in her striking in her TUF Finale bout against Jessica Penne. I think that will come in handy here, as Daly is tricky on the ground but an inferior athlete to Markos, so she will likely struggle to get it there. On the feet Markos should be the faster striker, and flashed a bit of power in her last bout which could cause Daly to think twice about being too reckless. I like Markos to take a decision.