UFC 121 is set to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on Saturday, October 23rd. With Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez headlining this is one of the most stacked cards in recent UFC history. Check out our UFC 121 betting predictions below. The odds listed for each fighter are the most favourable betting odds available out of our recommended online bookies.
Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez
Can anyone beat Brock Lesnar? So far in his UFC career, Lesnar has defeated possibly the hardest hitter in the UFC in Shane Carwin, submissions expert and former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, as well as, UFC hall-of-famer and 5 time UFC champion Randy “The Natural” Couture. Brock, however, may be up to his toughest challenge yet when he takes on undefeated (8-0) Cain Velasquez. While it’s obvious that Brock has the size and possibly the strength advantage, the one thing that Cain has over Brock is knockout power. While we can’t fault Brock for not knocking anyone out in only 5 UFC fights, Cain; however, has won by knockout or TKO in 5 of his last 6 bouts in the octagon. Look for Velasquez to take the same approach as Shane Carwin, which is to attack Brock with his superior striking; the only difference is Cain will not get winded like Carwin did. With that said, taking control of Brock Lesnar will not be an easy task. Look for Brock to use his size and strength to bring the fight to where he is most comfortable, which is on the mat.
Velasquez +130 (Sportsbook.com)
Lesnar –140 (Bookmaker.com)
Prediction: Brock Lesnar via ground and pound (TKO)
Jake Shields vs. Martin Kampmann
The long awaited UFC debut of Jake Shields has finally arrived. The transition from Strikeforce to the UFC should be easy for Shields who has already defeated former UFC fighters such as, Paul Daley, Robbie Lawler, and most notably Dan Henderson. Shields will take on welterweight top-contender Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann who is coming off a unanimous decision win over Paulo Thiago. This is a big fight for both fighters because the winner of this fight will most likely get a shot at Jon Fitch for the number one contender spot in the welterweight division. Shields is going to try and use his superior jiu-jitsu and look for the submission because, while he has good striking, Kampmann’s striking is better.
Kampmann +180 (Bookmaker.com)
Shields -215 (Sportsbook.com)
Prediction: Shields by submission.
Tito Ortiz vs. Matt Hamill
The mentor vs. the student. Matt Hamill was Tito Ortiz’ golden boy during season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter. After a solid run on the show and training briefly with each other after the show, the two now just see each other as competition. Both men are trying to get into a top contender spot in the UFC’s very tough light heavyweight division. Tito Ortiz is on a 4-fight winless streak (0-3-1) while Hamill is on a 4-fight win streak. Both men have very good wrestling and both like to take their opponents to the mat to ground and pound. The most significant stat regarding these two fighters is that Matt Hamill has been able to avoid 90% of his opponents’ takedowns (Ortiz has avoided 64%), meaning that Ortiz’ game plan of taking down Hamill is going to be a difficult task.
Tito Ortiz +145 (Bookmaker.com)
Matt Hamill -170 (Sportsbook.com)
Prediction: Matt Hamill via unanimous decision.
Hamill has the skills on the ground to roll with Ortiz, and he has a superior stand-up.
Written by: Stephan Barrette
Brock Lesnar • Cain Velasquez • Jake Shields • Martin Kampmann • Matt Hamill • Tito Ortiz • UFC 121