Believe in Upsets? Bet on UFC 83!

Got a few extra bucks to spend this weekend? Bodog and BetUS are both showing odds for UFC 83 that just might make you want to drop a few bucks on Matt Serra, Travis Lutter, or even Mark Bocek.

After watching Matt Serra dismantle Georges St. Pierre during UFC 69 last April along with St. Pierre’s domination of Matt Hughes, this fight could easily go either way. Bodog is showing lines of -500 for St. Pierre and +300 for Serra while BetUS has Serra up at +350. You could make $350 for every $100 if Serra pulls off another “upset.” It’s only an upset if Serra wins because it’s one of those fights where many are thinking St. Pierre will come away with the victory, but there’s some uncertainty. Remember the last time this happened? It was Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson and although a great fight ensued, the upset just wasn’t there. Things may change this time around if Serra doesn’t let the Montreal crowd get to him.

The Rich Franklin/Travis Lutter fight has the two men who can’t seem to get past Anderson Silva up against each other. Bodog says -350 Franklin and +250 Lutter while BetUS says Franklin has even more of a chance of taking this fight with odds of -400 and +300. Lutter’s last fight was in February 2007 when he lost against Silva in the second round while Franklin’s last defeat, also at the hands of Silva, was more recent; UFC 72. While Franklin has only lost to one other fighter during his long fight career and carries an impressive 22 wins, you know he’s not feeling too great about himself after failing to get past the Middleweight champ – twice. As for Lutter, he’s had a long time to get ready for this fight. There’s big upset potential and with odds like those, you almost feel dumb not wanting to drop a few bucks on Lutter…just in case.

As for Mark Bocek, well, he’s up against Mac Danzig. You can’t take much away from The Ultimate Fighter 6 winner, except that he was up against a house of inexperience while he walked around with his 20+ fights. Danzig dominated in the finale, but has yet to fight since and aside from his finale win, he has two recent losses to content with. Mark Bocek hasn’t done much yet, but with odds like +350 against Bodog and BetUS’s -550 and -500 respectively, there’s upset potential that could yield a few extra bucks if you’re willing to take a small risk on this fight.

Many of the other fights on the UFC 83 card also have extremely contrasting odds, more than normal for a UFC event. Spend that extra cash from your income tax return, providing you overpaid, have kids, or paid your mortgage last year, and let us know what happens!