UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre defends title against Carlos Condit in the main event of a stacked UFC 137 card on October 29th.
St-Pierre was originally scheduled to defend against Nick Diaz, but after failing to show up to promotional events former Strikeforce title-holder Diaz was dropped from the title fight in favour of Condit.
The champion is the heavy favourite to defend his title against Condit and is offered at (1.243). The champion’s wrestling and improved boxing skills have been more than any opponent has been able to handle, and they should prove too much for Condit as well.
Condit finally gets his shot at the title in a talent-rich division but will need to be creative if he’s going to beat the champion.
He’s on a four-fight win streak that includes three bonus cheques for either Fight of the Night or KO of the Night against the top names in the division, but St-Pierre will be prove to be another level of opponent. As the heavy underdog at Pinnacle Sports, Condit will pay (4.550) for the upset.
Penn is looking forward to showing MMA fans that Diaz, despite his success in Strikeforce, is not a big deal among the UFC ranks when the two step into the Octagon on the undercard.
Diaz has won 10 straight fights against opponents outside of the UFC, but Penn will be a big step-up in competition.
If Diaz can come into UFC and beat one of the best Welterweights in history he will pay off at (2.010). He will need to out-box his opponent and stay off the ground, where he will surely give a big edge to Penn.
As the favourite, Penn is priced at (1.901) because of his superior ground game and experience.
In Heavyweight action Cheick Kongo gets back into the Octagon following his heroic comeback KO over Pat Barry. This time he takes on the ever-improving kickboxer and former NFL player Matt Mitrione
Kongo is handicapped as a (2.170) underdog despite his striking skills and superior MMA experience and could be a great pick for an underdog payout. The undefeated Mitrione (1.775) will need to keep his distance and out-strike Kongo for three rounds.
The question in this fight is whether or not Mitrione is ready for an opponent at the level of Kongo; if he isn’t it will be a short night for the Ultimate Fighter alum.
Other action available at
Pinnacle Sports on the UFC 137 fight card includes Mirko Filipovic (3.450) vs. Roy Nelson (1.361), George Roop (3.600) vs. Hatsu Hioki (1.339), Dennis Siver (2.860) vs. Donald Cerrone (1.481), and Bart Palaszewski (3.350) vs. Tyson Griffin (1.377).
