WSOF 31: Ivanov vs Copeland Date: June 17, 2016 Arena: Foxwoods Resort Casino City: Mashantucket, CT World Series of Fighting returns tonight (June 17, 2016) with WSOF 31: Ivanov vs Copeland. The 12-fight card kicks off with a seven-fight preliminary card streaming live at MMAJunkie.com at 6pm ET, with card card action following it on the NBC Sports Network at 9pm ET. If interested in wagering on these plays, or any plays for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available at Several Bookmakerss. Here are my live dogs: Lightweight bout: Jason High (-165) vs Mike Ricci (+155) Gabe’s Thoughts: I think this 155-pound contest is much closer than the betting odds currently suggest. I think of this bout as more or less a coin-flip scenario and I give a slight edge to Ricci. I think he should be a very slight -120 betting favorite here, with the return on High being an even +100. That means I think there’s some value to be had with Ricci at his current asking price of +155. This is a close fight and it’s hard to confidently back either fighter, but we are betting the lines here and the value is with Ricci at +155. I think he keeps this fight on the feet for the majority of two out of three rounds to outstrike High for a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards, possibly landing a knockout blow along the way. Gabe’s Call: Ricci by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Ricci (+155) 1u to win 1.55u Welterweight bout: John Howard (-560) vs Michael Arrant (+475) Gabe’s Thoughts: I think Arrant is being tremendously undervalued in this spot and his horrid professional mixed martial arts record of 15-10 may have something to do with that fact. Training out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, NV, Arrant is a game fighter who recently saw a six-fight winning streak snapped by UFC veteran Brock Jardine. Arrant seems to come up short every time he takes a step up in competition and this could be one of those times, but I think he has it in him to pull off the upset, especially against a guy who has suffered knockouts in his last two defeats. Howard will be competing for the first time since a second round knockout loss to Tim Means six months ago, the loss which put him on a 1-3 skid in the UFC and ultimately resulted in him receiving his pink slip from the promotion. “Doomsday” hopes to string together a few wins to earn him a third stint back in the big show. This is a fight that he very well could win but I believe the betting odds are way out of whack. I think this is a close fight and could really see it going either way. I think it will hit the judges’ scorecards more often than not, where it could be anybod’s fight. I do believe the betting value is with Arrant at his current underdog tag +475, so I’ll be taking him for a play and I’ll pick him to win the fight outright, ultimately securing the biggest victory of his professional mixed martial arts career. Gabe’s Call: Arrant by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Arrant (+475) 1u to win 4.75u
