World Series of Fighting 2 Revel Resort & Casino, Atlantic City, NJ, USA Saturday, March 23, 2013 Bantamweight Fight: Marlon Moraes (-185) vs. Tyson Nam (+155) Fight Breakdown: A terrific bantamweight fight is the co-headliner of World Series of Fighting 2, as Marlon Moraes takes on Tyson Nam in a fight between the two best 135ers not currently under Zuffa control. Moraes is currently a -185 favorite (bet $185 to win $100) at Several Bookmakers, while Nam is the underdog at +155 (bet $100 to win $155). Moraes (9-4) is coming off the biggest win of his career, a split decision victory over former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres at WSOF 1. Moraes is an excellent striker and the 24-year-old seems to keep improving with every bout as he trains at a solid camp called The Armory along with Edson Barboza. Moraes is a well-rounded fighter who has three knockouts, three submissions and three decision victories to his credit, but it’s no doubt the stand-up department where he’s at his best. Going against Nam, it remains to be seen if Moraes will look to out point his opponent on the feet or take him to the ground, but in either realm he should be able to hold his own. Nam (12-4) is coming off an incredible upset KO victory over Bellator bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas at a Brazilian regional circuit event last summer. That big win led Nam, who was signed to Bellator, to get into a nasty contract dispute with his former employer, but ultimately he was allowed to sign with WSOF and this fight against Moraes will mark his debut with the promotion. The 29-year-old member of the Sports Lab is an extremely powerful puncher and has six career knockouts on his resume. However, he’s also been knocked out a few times himself so he really is one of those guys who either kills or gets killed. Against Moraes look for Nam to keep the fight on the feet and look for that knockout punch, but it remains to be seen whether or not he can land it. Fight Prediction: This should be a very exciting fight but I do see it hitting the scorecards. And while it could be close, because Nam could very well win the first round with his explosive striking, I do think that rounds two and three should be all Moraes so I’m going to go ahead and pick him to win the decision. Adam’s Pick: Moraes via decision (click for latest MMA odds) Adam’s Recommended Play: I think Nam is overrated coming off of the win for Dantas, and if it wasn’t for that W these lines would be a lot more skewed in Moraes’ favor. Still, now all the way up to -185, the line for Moraes is almost out of betting range. I don’t know if you can play him straight anymore at the price, but I do think he’s still worth parlaying with either another fighter on the card or with someone/something from another sport, so if you like Moraes that’s the way I would approach betting him at this point. And to those who managed to snag Moraes at anything under -150, good job.
