Now that UFC 71 is history, it's time to focus on UFC 72 "Victory" betting odds, and what a time for UFC sports bettors it is!  The last few UFC bouts have resulted in huge upsets and massive payouts.

We witnessed this with UFC 71 May 26 when favored Chuck Liddell got crushed by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson but even bigger perhaps was the defeat of -550 favored Keith Jardine at the hands of Houston Alexander

"Betting on UFC and Mixed Martial Arts events in general is gaining huge momentum," comments Tyrone Black of Sports911.com. 

The Sports911.com website witnessed a tremendous surge in UFC 71 betting inquiries heading into Saturday evening, making the event one of the most sought after of the year. UFC traffic had continued to surpass all expectations through Sunday morning.

With the focus now turned to the June 16 UFC 72 Victory extravaganza in Northern Ireland, UFC 72 Victory betting odds are presently being offered by Bookmaker.com website with a $500 limit.

Rich Franklin is the -210 favorite to beat Yushin Okami at +170 odds.

The former math teacher and one-time UFC middleweight champion, Franklin, 32, has a record of 21 wins and 2 losses. 

His opponent, Yushin Okami, 25, has a record of 20 wins and 3 losses.  The Japanese mixed martial artist fights at middleweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

A relative newcomer to the sport, Okami has only been competing on the professional level since 2002. Okami started his career fighting in several different organizations, such as Pancrase and PRIDE, amassing a record of 6-0 before being defeated by Amar Suloev.

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Christopher Costigan, Sports911.com

Originally published May 27, 2007 12:55 pm ET