Written by Thomas | Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

UFC 120 goes down in the next few days and is sure to feature some epic matchups. Below are some unique predictions for 3 of the bigger fights on the card, including the odds for each fighter and where you can bet the fight as well.

>>> Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Michael “The Count” Bisping, the man credited for bringing MMA to the UK, is back in the ring in front of his hometown once again. Bisping is facing Japan’s own Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama. While Akiyama has only had two UFC fights, both fights received fight of the night honors with Akiyama splitting the bouts, his loss being his first official loss in 5 years.

Bisping, the UFC veteran in this fight, has a 9 – 3 UFC record in which he also has had two fights awarded “fight of the night”. Even though Akiyama has knockout power, if this fight stays standing it will be in Bispings’ favor because of his stand up, striking style, as well as the stat that he has avoided 70% of strikes thrown at him so far in his UFC career.

Odds for this fight:   Bisping -200 (Sportsbook.com)   Akiyama + 170 (Bodog.com)

Prediction:  Bisping via unanimous decision. I think the -200 online sports betting line given at Sportsbook.com is an absolute steal. Bisping will win this fight far more than 2 out of 3 times.

>>> Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit

Coming off of his loss against George St. Pierre, Dan Hardy is looking to get back into the win column. Before facing GSP, Hardy was undefeated in the UFC, with notable victories over Marcus Davis and Mike Swick. Hardy will be looking to stand and strike in this fight, stating that he “wants to test [Condit’s] chin”.

Hardy went 5 rounds with possibly the best welterweight fighter in the world; therefore, conditioning and cardio will not be a problem. Carlos Condit was the last WEC welterweight champion ever. He was undefeated in the WEC (5 – 0), with every one of his victories by either submission (4) or TKO (1). So far in the UFC, Condit is 2 – 1. He is a well-rounded fighter and lands 50% of his takedowns.

Odds for this fight:  Dan Hardy – 160 (Bookmaker.com)  Carlos Condit +135 (Sportsbook.com)

Prediction:  Dan Hardy by KO in the third round. Hardy should be able to handle Condit fairly evenly in this fight. The -160 line on Hardy at Bookmaker.com is my favorite bet of UFC 120.

>>> John Hathaway vs. Mike Pyle

John Hathaway is looking to extend his undefeated record when he takes on Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt Mike Pyle. Hathaway is a very well rounded fighter with a perfect mixed martial arts record of 14 – 0, 4 of which were in the UFC, including his last bout against Ultimate Fighter 1 winner Diego Sanchez.

Pyle also has had 4 UFC fights where he has a 2 and 2 record. Pyle is fighting Hathaway because Dong Hyun Kim was forced to opt out due to injuries from training. Watch for this fight to go to the ground with Pyle looking for the submission while Hathaway will look to ground and pound.

Odds for this fight: Hathaway -455 (Bookmaker.com)   Pyle + 400 (Bodog.com)

Prediction:  Hathaway to extend his perfect record in the second round via TKO. There is no chance that Pyle wins this fight so even though the return isn’t the greatest I’m still betting on Hathaway at -455.

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