Diving into the FOX Sports 1 Prelims for UFC 192

benavidezThe Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Houston, TX for the fourth time in promotional history this Saturday night (October 3, 2015) with UFC 192: Cormier vs Gustafsson. The action-packed and stacked 13-fight card kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6pm ET, with televised prelims following on FOX Sports 1 at 8pm ET and main card action getting going on Pay Per View at 10pm. If interested in wagering on any bouts for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available at Several Bookmakerss. The first bout on the evening’s televised preliminary card on FOX Sports 1 will come in the women’s strawweight division and sees “Thug” Rose Namajunas take on fellow TUF 20 cast-mate Angela Hill. Both ladies look to get back in the win column following their recent Octagon defeats. Namajunas and Hill are both fan favorite fighters who like to deliver action and put on a show for the crowd. Though all the way on the bottom of the televised prelims, this women’s 115-pound scrap could potentially steal the show and take home the evening’s ‘Fight of the Night’ honors come post-fight bonus time. “Thug” opened as a -350 betting favorite at the sportsbooks in this contest, with Hill being a +250 betting underdog. Betting lines have since tightened up and sit at a current -265/+225. Next up on the FOX Sports 1 prelims for UFC 192 in Houston is a welterweight contest between two exciting, up and coming strikers who will be looking to add another knockout to their resumes. No less than a barn-burner is expected when Albert Tumenov and Alan Jouban square off inside the Octagon. Both 170-pounders are looking to extend their winning streaks, while simultaneously breaking into the UFC’s top 15 welterweight rankings. Tumenov rides a three-fight winning streak and aims to make it four, while Jouban hopes to get his hand raised for the third straight time. He is 3-1 in the UFC, with his lone defeat being a controversial split decision against Brazil’s still-undefeated Warlley Alves. If the nod went his way that evening, he would currently be enjoying a four fight UFC winning streak, and six overall including two wins under the RFA banner prior to signing with the big show. Tumenov opened as the -230 favorite for this contest, with Jouban being a +170 underdog. There appears to be at least some public support for Tumenov, as betting lines are now -240/+200. The barn-burners keep coming, as the next bout of the evening gives us the scrap that is Yair Rodriguez vs Daniel Hooker. Both featherweights are eager to climb up the division’s 145-pound ladder and in an effort to do so, they are expected to leave it all inside the Octagon when they go toe to toe this Saturday night. The TUF: Latin America season one winner made an impression with his upset unanimous decision win over fellow cast-mate Leonardo Morales in his Octagon debut, however it was the split decision upset win over American Top Team’s Charles Rosa in the following bout that really opened peoples eyes to him. He won over many fans with his performance that evening, all of whom are eagerly anticipating his next outing. The New Zealand native made waves in the UFC’s 145-pound division with a first round TKO of Ian Entwistle in his promotional debut, however he failed to live up to expectations in his next bout, where he took on veteran Maximo Blanco and dropped a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards. He appeared to be en route to another unanimous decision defeat in his next outing, where he faced another veteran in Hatsu Hioki. It was a fairly one-sided fight in favor Hioki, until Hooker landed a brutal head-kick towards the tail-end of the second frame that knocked the Japanese veteran down. Hooker followed it up with some ground-and-pound to earn the stoppage and more importantly, the biggest win of his professional mixed martial arts career. Rodriguez opened as a -230 betting favorite in this affair, with the return on the underdog Hooker being +170. There has since been some public support for the Mexican, as current betting lines are -290/+245. Headlining the FOX Sports 1 prelims for UFC 192 will be a flyweight contest between former 125-pound title challengers Joseph Benavidez and Ali Bagautinov. Though on the preliminary card, many consider this bout more deserving of a main card slot than a couple of other bouts on the card. “Joe B” enjoys a three-fight winning streak heading into this contest, including a first round guillotine choke submission of Tim Elliott and a pair of unanimous decision victories over Dustin Ortiz and John Moraga, respectively. The tapout of Elliott was one of the most memorable guillotine chokes in UFC history, as Elliott had his arms trapped and literally had to use his feet to submit. This is a rare “winner vs loser” match-up, but it is one that makes sense in this razor-thin division. Bagautinov is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in his failed bid for Johnson’s 125-pound gold. The defeat snapped an 11-fight winning streak for the Dagestani fighter, three of which came inside the Octagon. He was suspended following the bout for a failed post-fight drug test, and now having served his suspension, he hopes to get back into the win column with the biggest victory of his professional mixed martial arts career. Benavidez opened as a -300 betting favorite in this bout, with Bagautinov being a +220 underdog. Some public action has since come in on the Team Alpha Male fighter, as current betting lines are -335/+275.

Written by Gabe Killian

Leave a Reply

UFC 192’s Ryan Bader: ‘There’s a lot of stuff in Rashad Evans’ head right now’

The MMA Analysis – UFC 192 Preview