UFC 80 picks – UFC 80 predictions

UFC 79 record : 2-1 with $190 profit

UFC 80 takes place on Saturday, January 19th in Newcastle England at 3:00 PM EST.

UFC 80 picks and predictions

Headlining the night will be BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson. Gabriel Gonzaga also returns to the octagon coming off his loss to Randy Couture at UFC 74. Kendall Grove and Jorge Rivera round out the main bouts of the evening that currently have odds posted. You can bet on this event today at Bodog

BJ Penn (-285) vs. Joe Stevenson (+225)

  • Well the prodigy BJ Penn is taking on Joe Stevenson in what looks to be a great matchup. I originally was all over Joe Stevenson for this fight, but after I’ve seen a lot of support for Joe all over the net, it seems he’s not really the big underdog I thought he was. I still think Joe will present some problems for BJ in the cardio department, so I think a small bet on Joe is warranted.
  • My bet : $50 on Joe Stevenson at +225 to win $112.50

Gabriel Gonzaga (-260) vs. Fabricio Werdum (+200)

  • I did a piece for BloodyElbow.com last week and for this bout I had myself going with Gonzaga. Well some things have changed for me since then regarding this fight. I’ve seen an unusually large amount of people betting on Gonzaga in this fight and that’s never the right side to be on. This is very similar to the Liddell/Silva match form UFC 79 when 80% of the bets were coming in on Silva, and look what happened. The more I look at the fight, the more I start to realize that Gonzaga is still unproven… and at -260 thats a bad bet. I like Werdum to pull off the big upset in this fight.
  • $75 on Fabricio Werdum at +200 to win $150

Kendall Grove (-350) vs. Jorge Rivera (+275)

  • I really like Kendall Grove as a fighter, but there’s no way I’m going to back him in this spot as a 3.5-1 favorite. I like to stay away from larger favorites if I can, and this spot certainly warrants that. A young fighter at -350 just has bad news written all over it. I’ll be passing on this fight, as I really don’t see any value in betting Rivera.

Alessio Sakara (-150) vs. James Lee (+140)

  • This is a great value play spot for James Lee. He’s 11-2 with a great submission game, and has some good wins in non UFC leagues. Sakara has been on a little bit of a slide, losing 3 out of last 5 fights. If this wasn’t Lee’s first UFC fight, I might put a little more on him.
  • $50 on James Lee at (+140) to win $70

Other fights

  • No other bets for UFC 80

Bet on the fights

  • Get your bets in on the fights today at the best sportsbook for UFC betting, Bodog